Research

Switzerland is monitoring its biological diversity as part of a global effort to understand its changes and prevent further biodiversity loss. Researchers from ETH Zurich are working on a pioneering pilot study that includes the analysis of genetic diversity of native species.

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL have discovered microbes that degrade plastic at cool temperatures. This opens up new perspectives for recycling certain types of plastic. Most known microbes require at least 30°C for their decomposition work.

Eawag researcher Johannes Raths has won a prize for his study of increased pollutant absorption with rising water temperatures.

Scientists at EPFL have developed PeSTo, an AI model for predicting protein binding interfaces with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, ions, and small molecules with high confidence. The model's low computational cost enables the processing large amounts of structural data, opening up opportunities for discovering new biology.

ETH Zurich researchers have succeeding in demonstrating that quantum mechanical objects that are far apart can be much more strongly correlated with each other than is possible in conventional systems. For this experiment, they used superconducting circuits for the first time.

EPFL engineers have found a way to control the interactions between excitons – quasiparticles that may one day transport data and replace the electrons in electronic devices. The engineers’ method involves applying an electric field to a two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting material.

During the course of Alzheimer's disease, protein fibrils appear in the spinal fluid of affected individuals. Empa researchers, together with the Department of Neurology at the Cantonal Hospital in St. Gallen, have now visualized the wide spectrum of protein aggregates from oligomers, protofibrils to fibrils in the spinal fluid. The conclusion: Ultra-long protein fibrils are a signature of severe Alzheimer’s disease. The study, recently published in Communications Biology, sheds light into the delicate role of protein aggregation in the development of Alzheimer's disease and is expected to improve early detection of dementia.

When glaciers retreat, the habitats for cold-water organisms also change. Researchers have now modelled where refuges that are vital for biodiversity in glacial rivers will remain in the future.

Researchers from Basel and Zurich are creating a high-resolution atlas that depicts the development of the human retina. One technique they use is a new method that allows them to visualise more than 50 proteins simultaneously.

A research team from EPFL has developed a novel machine-learning algorithm that can reveal the hidden structure in data recorded from the brain, predicting complex information such as what mice see.

An Eawag study shows that a large variety of living organisms leave their DNA traces in groundwater – which also depends on the land use in the catchment area. In future, these biological parameters could be used to assess groundwater quality.

The cells of our body interact with their immediate environment. Researchers have now studied this interaction in detail. In time, they hope to use these findings for improved diagnosis and treatment of wound-healing disorders and cancer.

There are fewer and fewer insect species, individuals and biomass worldwide. Moreover, their composition is becoming more uniform. This is highlighted in a special issue of the journal Biology Letters. It outlines the causes and consequences of the global crash of insect populations and possible measures to counter it.

By using deep learning-generated ‘fingerprints’ to characterize millions of protein fragments, EPFL researchers have computationally designed novel protein binders that attach seamlessly to key targets, including the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

This doesn’t happen often: For his final project, an electronics apprentice at ETH Zurich produced a test device that will save physicists a lot of time in developing a novel microscope. His work has been published in a scientific journal.