Research

Are you concerned about hackers stealing your fingerprint and face data for accessing your smartphone? EPFL researchers have found numerous security flaws in Android’s most privileged components before hackers do and give advice to users on how to reduce risks.

Thanks to sensor technology and mathematical modeling, smart dummies provide new insights into how workplaces can be brought to a comfortable temperature in an energy-efficient way and how to prevent patients from getting cold feet in the operating theater.

Cities need to become more sustainable and use their water resources more efficiently. Managing water in small-scale cycles is one possible solution. A new white paper shows how this can be achieved.

Starting today, the Earth will be passing through a meteor shower. But in astronomy, the human eye is very much a limited tool. But increasingly powerful instruments are allowing us to peer ever deeper into the cosmos and ever further back in time, shedding new light on the origins of the universe. 

The joint campus of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf has grown by three buildings in the past three years. These offer employees and guests more comfort, attractiveness and security – and provide significantly more space for research and innovation. Innovations from the Empa and Eawag laboratories have also been implemented during their construction, for instance in the field of energy generation and storage as well as wastewater treatment and recycling. The campus extension bears the evocative name co-operate – because that is what Empa is all about.

A team of scientists from EPFL and other research institutes have identified just how an Alpine flower is surviving by adapting its genes to local habitats. This discovery has important implications for the protection of ecosystems under threat.

Catastrophic volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet millions of years ago shed new light on how plants evolve and regulate climate. Researchers reveal the long-term climate effects of disturbed natural ecosystems - its implications both in geological history and for today.

Extreme heatwaves are on the rise. When do they become critical for forest trees? In the hot summer of 2023, a research team led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) investigated this in Switzerland, southern France and Spain.

The brain chemical orexin is crucial when we choose between sport and the tasty temptations that beckon everywhere we turn. This research finding could also help people who find it difficult to motivate themselves to exercise.

New EPFL research has found that the exchange of comments between members and non-members of fringe communities (fringe-interactions) on mainstream online platforms attracts new members to these extremist groups. It has also suggested potential ways to curtail this growth.

In a new study, EPFL scientists found that rhinoceros beetles use passive mechanisms to deploy and retract wings instead of muscles. The findings inspired them to develop a new microrobot, demonstrating a simple, yet effective, approach to the design of insect-like flying micromachines.

This winter, the SLF tested a new system to better assess the risk of avalanches to traffic routes. The results are promising and should allow roads and railroad lines to be closed for shorter periods of time in the future when conditions are tight.

In an important study for understanding how memories are made, EPFL scientists show that the flexibility of chromatin – packaged DNA inside the cell – plays a crucial role in “deciding” which neurons are involved in forming a specific memory.

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.

Under the leadership of Empa scientist Mashael Yazdanie, an international research team is investigating ways to better plan for climate-resilient energy systems in the Global South. Focusing on the case study of Accra, the capital of Ghana, the multidisciplinary team expanded conventional energy system modeling approaches by incorporating a range of socio-techno-economic challenges, climate change impacts, and resilience metrics into their models. Their approaches are applicable worldwide to support widespread sustainable and resilient energy system transitions.