Research

A European consortium involving EPFL has managed to guide lightning using a high-power laser installed at the top of Mount Säntis in Switzerland.

In a new journal article, EPFL professor Tom Battin reviews our current understanding of carbon fluxes in the world’s river networks. He demonstrates their central role in the global carbon cycle and argues for the creation of a global River Observation System.

Large amounts of particulate matter in the air are known to be harmful to human health. But many questions remain unanswered: Which components are particularly dangerous? At what concentrations? The "oxidative potential" of particulate matter could serve as a criterion for assessing risks in the future – and Empa researchers have explored it for Switzerland.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal research institute WSL have developed a flying device that can land on tree branches to take samples. This opens up a new dimension for scientists previously reserved for biodiversity researchers.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has appointed the SLF to be the world's leading competence centre for snow monitoring. The WMO's Infrastructure Commission based its decision on the fact that the SLF already possesses high-quality measuring infrastructure and over 80 years of knowledge.

Ecosystems respond sometimes very differently to human impacts. However, it is still poorly understood what causes these differences. A team of researchers from Eawag and WSL is now proposing an integrative approach based on four fundamental processes shaping biodiversity on land and in water. The approach provides guidance for how biodiversity in blue (water) and green (land) ecosystems can be better protected.

Synthetic energy carriers are carbon-neutral and make renewable energy transportable and storable in the long term. Synthetically produced methane is one of them. The problem: The production involves rather high energy losses; moreover, existing processes require the methane to be purified. To change this, Empa researchers have developed a new, optimized reactor concept for methanation.

EPFL researchers have developed a novel approach to network analysis that allows them to reveal and interpret, for the first time, interactions among multiple variables in data from neuroscience, economics, and epidemiology.

By combining a checkpoint inhibitor with a new immunocytokine, scientists at EPFL, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, CHUV and Roche have made a breakthrough in fighting against immunotherapy-resistant cancers.

Until now, microscopic robotic systems have had to make do without arms. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an ultrasonically actuated glass needle that can be attached to a robotic arm. This lets them pump and mix minuscule amounts of liquid and trap particles.

Annalisa Manera’s career has taken her through half of Europe and to the USA. Now she is a nuclear researcher at PSI and a professor at ETH Zurich. She exudes enthusiasm for her subject and never loses sight of the big picture.

EPFL researchers have collaborated with those at Harvard and ETH Zurich on a new thin-film circuit that, when connected to a laser beam, produces finely tailorable terahertz-frequency waves. The device opens up a world of potential applications in optics and telecommunications.

An EPFL researcher has, for the first time, documented slicks – those visually arresting, moving patches of smooth water – and explained what is happening beneath the surface. 

ETH Zurich researchers have been able to show which genes inhibit self-fertilisation in grasses. Plant scientists can now use this mechanism in a more targeted way to breed new varieties of forage grasses as well as rice or barley.

Life has existed on Earth for billions of years. Stabilising mechanisms have helped our planet remain habitable to this day.