wire - news in brief

DNA sequencing was revolutionized after scientists discovered a new bacterium in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park, and today it's a common research technique.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and ZHAW Winterthur are simulating in a new study how the future Swiss power system could be structured to withstand a drastic fall in gas and electricity imports.

An international team of researchers has examined the environmental, social, economic and legal aspects of wind energy. In this interview, Russell McKenna, an expert in energy system analysis, explains where he sees the greatest need for action to further develop wind energy. ETH News: What is the study about, and what is its core message? Russell McKenna: The study looks at the impacts of wind energy on the systems in which it is embedded; whether environmental and climate systems, socio-economic, techno-economic, or political-legal systems.

A researcher at EPFL working at the crossroads of neuroscience and computational science has developed an algorithm that can predict how surprise and novelty affect behavior.

The fourth Antarctic campaign of the -Beyond EPICA - Oldest Iceproject, funded by the European Commission, has achieved a historic milestone for climate science.

Whether on your bank's website or your telephone provider's help line, interactions between humans and chatbots have become part of our daily lives.

A battery that needs feeding instead of charging? This is exactly what researchers have achieved with their 3D-printed, biodegradable fungal battery.

Until now, contraception has been the method of choice for zoos to avoid surplus animals.

Researchers have developed 4M , a next-generation, open-sourced framework for training versatile and scalable multimodal foundation models that go beyond language.

The University of Geneva coordinates the participation of Swiss institutions in the CTAO project, which addresses the most fascinating questions of high-energy astrophysics.

Gold mining has long been linked to malaria surges in the Amazon region. A recent analysis by Swiss TPH and partners illustrates how a 2023 crackdown on illegal gold mining in Brazil triggered a malaria outbreak in neighbouring Guyana. Displaced miners carried infection into indigenous communities, driving further transmission.

Earth-observation satellites deliver data for a wealth of applications - from monitoring climate change and documenting war crimes to planning disaster relief and assessing snow depth.

Bacteria can cause dangerous infections after surgery on the eye. Particularly feared are antibiotic-resistant germs, which are almost impossible to treat and can lead to the loss of the eye.

Here are the most widely read scientific, academic, student and institutional news items of the past 12 months, broken down by faculty and the institution. Stimulating hypothalamus restores walking in paralyzed patients Researchers at EPFL and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), led by Grégoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch, have achieved a major milestone in the treatment of spinal cord injuries.

The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other partners conducted a comprehensive review of Chagas disease in Switzerland.

As we come to the end of a year in which half the world's population went to the polls, researchers developed and field-tested a groundbreaking new technology to protect remote electronic voting or e-voting from voter coercion and vote buying.

Cambridge University Press has published the volume "An Introduction to Energy Economics and Policy", written by Prof. Massimo Filippini, Full Professor at USI Faculty of Economics and Dr Suchita Srinivasan (ETH).

Deep geothermal energy is climate-friendly and base-load capable - but how can this heat be tapped safely? researchers are working on minimizing the earthquake risk and developing completely new systems, for example with closed CO2 cycles.

An international research team led by the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena has excavated one of the most significant and ancient burial mounds in Siberia. These discoveries provide valuable insights into the cultural origins of the Scythians, a horse-riding culture of the Eurasian Steppe, and have now been recognized by Archaeology Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2024." The Scythians of the Eurasian Steppe were known for their mobile lifestyle, archery skills, and intricate animal-style art.

A new study by Swiss TPH in Lao PDR found that financial support significantly increases exclusive breastfeeding rates amongst new mothers in Lao PDR. These findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, highlight the potential of cash transfers to improve maternal and child health by promoting adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life.

Today, over 60 experts from research, federal and cantonal administration, the police, politics and hospitals are meeting to discuss the current status and future of wastewater monitoring in Switzerland.

Earth-observation satellites deliver data for a wealth of applications - from monitoring climate change and documenting war crimes to planning disaster relief and assessing snow depth.

How can we ensure that as many Swiss households as possible adopt not only solar panels, but also their own battery to store solar energy, a heat pump, and an electric car? Researchers at the Universities of Basel and Geneva have looked into just this question. Climate protection and the energy revolution must continue to make progress, and Swiss households could make a significant contribution to this goal if they would use environmentally friendly technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles, and heat pumps.

In a real-world example of how construction materials can be reused, a team of 230 EPFL students is building a community pavilion in Ecublens, near the Lausanne campus, through a low-tech, participative approach.