wire - news in brief

Southern Europe is currently battling a heat wave. Jan Carmeliet explains how cities can tackle the summer heat.

To transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables - which are intermittent by nature - we'll need to rework our entire system of power storage, transmission and distribution. Yet experts haven't yet found the right energy mix or power storage system, or how to balance supply and demand effectively.

Data collected by satellites, drones, radars and microscopes provide a goldmine of information to better understand our environment. And when these data are coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), they can unlock the secrets of phenomena taking place at all levels. In a rapidly changing world where environmental threats abound, obtaining a better understanding of natural and anthropogenic processes can help corroborate points of view, guide conservation and renewal efforts, and orient new research.

Despite a wet and grey June, summers in Switzerland are getting hotter than expected. The increased summer temperatures harbour risks that we are not well prepared for, says Dominik Schumacher.

EPFL was selected by the EUROfusion consortium to develop an advanced visualization system for a preliminary process in nuclear fusion.

A study from IOR, affiliated to USI, published in the journal Haematologica. explores the potent anti-cancer activity of loncastuximab tesirine, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CD19-positive B cell lymphomas. The research, led by Dr Chiara Tarantelli (IOR Senior Investigator) and Prof. Francesco Bertoni (IOR Group Leader and Deputy Director, USI Adjunct Professor), involves a collaborative effort from prominent institutions, including Case Western Reserve University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Weill Cornell Medicine, among others.

Biodiversity is dwindling rapidly, while measures to protect it are lagging behind the targets. Only one thing can help: utilising scarce resources as efficiently as possible where they are most effective. The "Lanat-3" research project lays the foundation for this with the help of the latest data and AI-supported models.

The VSA Water Quality Platform and Eawag have analysed the effects to date of the measures taken under the "Action Plan for Risk Reduction and Sustainable Use of Pesticides" on water quality.

The close collaboration between the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the University Children's Hospital Zurich for the benefit of children suffering from cancer began 20 years ago.

"La Suisse de A(rbon) à Z(oug): Portrait en 12 villes", a new book published by EPFL Press, eschews the traditional focus on major conurbations.

EPFL officially joined the Multi Spectroscopic Telescope (MUST) project, led by China's Tsinghua University, as a founding member.

Copenhagen Atomics, a Danish molten salt reactor developer, and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, Switzerland's largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences, have signed a large-scale experimental collaboration agreement.

An art historian, researcher and curator with a charismatic personality and solid academic and curatorial experience, Nadia Radwan will take charge of the Visual Arts Department at HEAD - Geneva on September 1, 2024.

Rasmus Kyng has written the near-perfect algorithm. It computes the maximum transport flow at minimum cost for any kind of network - be it rail, road or electricity - at a speed that is, mathematically speaking, impossible to beat.

Everyone talks about Artificial Intelligence but its current adoption rates are low in the Swiss tech industry, especially in manufacturing-related applications.

Public transport ticket included: HSLU study examines the effects of free outward and return journeys in tourism Anyone who books three or more overnight stays in Appenzell Innerrhoden receives a free public transport ticket for the outward and return journey.

Bern, 26. The number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is on the rise all'over the world. This poses a growing threat to the effective treatment of infections and places a significant burden on health systems, including Switzerland's.

Machine learning helps researchers to use weather stations to investigate the consequences of climate change for the growth of alpine vegetation. This text was automatically translated. Six days earlier than in 1998, on June 14 instead of June 20, plants begin to grow on average at higher altitudes in the Alps.

Jessica Droujko's start-up, Riverkin, measures the water quality of freshwater ecosystems and helps quantify and respond to risks such as floods and pollution. Thanks to an ETH Pioneer Fellowship, her work is now picking up speed. Jessica Droujko is passionate about water - and rivers in particular.