Politics

Conferring benefits on vaccinated persons by means of a vaccine passport is a controversial issue. Alexander Stremitzer argues that governments are not only legally permitted to lift restrictions for those vaccinated, but may even be obligated to do so.  

The scientific community is taking a clear stand on the CO₂ Act. Given their expertise, they are not only permitted, but obliged to do so, asserts Reto Knutti.

The national innovation platform Switzerland Innovation is expanding in Eastern Switzerland with its latest addition, the Innovation Park East. On 21 April, the Federal Council has given the thumbs up. The main location is in the immediate vicinity of Empa in St. Gallen.

EPFL researchers show that foreign companies are less likely to have their patent applications granted in China than their Chinese counterparts. This discrimination occurs in technologies of strategic importance to the Chinese government: the telecommunication and biotech industries.

Many cocoa farmers live in poverty – yet the fairly traded chocolate bunny often stays on the shelves. We should pay more attention to origin when buying chocolate, believes Isabel Günther.

Parliament kept us in suspense once more during spring session. The ETH Act required a conciliation committee to reach a compromise between the National Council and the Council of States. On the other hand, the issue of the popular initiative "Yes to the ban on experiments on animals and humans" was clear: all parliamentary groups in the National Council rejected the proposal.