wire - news in brief

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it either in recycled concrete aggregate or in geological reservoirs in Iceland is not only technically feasible, but also has a positive carbon footprint.

There are some striking parallels between how skin wounds heal and how malignant tumours grow. Cell culture can help us understand the mechanisms involved - but animal testing still has a role to play. Picture the scene: you're chopping an onion, and suddenly the knife slips, leaving you with a painful cut on your index finger.

What's the best way to translate research findings into clinical practice? A discussion with Monika Jänicke, CEO of the University Hospital Zurich, Rahel Kubik, head of radiology at Kantonsspital Baden, and Christian Wolfrum, VP for Research at ETH Zurich.

From the giant blue whale to minuscule microbes, all creatures on this earth continuously shed traces of their DNA. These clues help researchers to determine the degree of biological diversity. ETH doctoral candidate Anish Kirtane stands in the middle of the River Limmat near the Werdinsel island, below the city of Zurich, wearing a large pair of rubber boots.

On the road to recovery, patients come into contact with clinicians from a whole range of disciplines.

Sascha Quanz searches for traces of life on extrasolar planets orbiting alien stars. The astrophysicist believes that gaining an understanding of life and its origin on Earth is an important stepping stone. Our Earth was formed around 4.5 billion years ago, and fossil evidence of life can be found in rocks that are over 3.5 billion years old.

A doctoral researcher studying architecture at ETH Zurich is using 3D printing to produce lightweight insulation building components from cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste. These could cut heating and cooling costs for buildings, and encourage more efficient use of construction materials.

What happens when cities gear their road space primarily to the needs of cyclists and e-bikers? On a new popular-science website, researchers use examples from the city of Zurich to show what such an "E-Bike City" could one day look like. What would the streets look like if a city took half its traffic space and gave it to cycling and e-biking?

Warfare is increasingly spreading to the realm of cyberspace. In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wants to protect its digital infrastructure and that of humanitarian organisations with a digital emblem.

ETH is offering a new continuing education programme in the serviceability and repairability of buildings and products.

As society increasingly expects the responsible use of digital technologies, firms with better practices will have a distinct advantage, says .

How productive are we when we work from home? It's an increasingly common question. But Gudela Grote believes it's the wrong question, because it says more about our conceptions of human nature than about effective ways of working. 2020 proved that being flexible about where we work (and the hours we work) can benefit employees and employers.

The Alps are being increasingly affected by floods and droughts. According to Manuela Brunner, we can do something about this problem: use water more sparingly and think about hazard protection in broader terms.

ETH Zurich is present at the Olma trade fair in St Gallen. Using spin-offs and games, the ETH booth illustrates how research can contribute to making Swiss food and agriculture sustainable.

Students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts have broken the previous world record for acceleration with their hand-built electric racing car, mythen.

With the return of the original telescope from 1864, the year the observatory was founded, ETH is taking a further step towards collecting, documenting and preserving its architectural and scientific heritage.