Research

The smallest of all plastic particles have remained largely unexplored until now, because they could not be detected in the environment. Now researchers at Eawag show: Nanoplastics stick to slimy biofilms, which can for example be found on stones in streams or rivers. When freshwater snails feed on the slime, the nanoplastics are taken up.

ETH Zurich biologist Daniel Richter has developed a method that enables proteins to be linked to a drug molecule or biomarker with a high level of stability. He plans to use this method in the future to identify tumour cells and open the door to more effective cancer drugs.

An international research team led by drone expert Mirko Kovac of Empa and Imperial College London has taken bees as a model to develop a swarm of cooperative, 3D-printing drones. Under human control, these flying robots work as a team to print 3D materials for building or repairing structures while flying, as the scientists report in the cover story of the latest issue of Nature.

Scientists at EPFL have gotten bacteria to spontaneously take up fluorescent carbon nanotubes for the first time. The breakthrough unlocks new biotechnology applications for prokaryotes, such as near-infrared bacteria tracking and “living photovoltaics” – devices that generate energy using light-harvesting bacteria.

Scientists often are either in the lab or at their desks researching, thinking, writing, reading, and analysing discoveries. What happens if their expertise aligns with current affairs in the media, such as the war in Ukraine and nuclear threats? How does their work change when they suddenly have to spend more time in talk shows than in the library?

In the FOXIP project, researchers form Empa, EPFL and the Paul Scherrer Institute attempted to print thin-film transistors with metal oxides onto heat-sensitive materials such as paper or PET. The goal was ultimately not achieved, but those involved consider the project a success – because of a new printing ink and a transistor with "memory effect".

Densification is a fundamental principle of urban planning and development today. Nevertheless, it often encounters local resistance. A group of ETH researchers has now systematically investigated factors influencing public acceptance of densification, focusing on the canton of Zurich and six cities of global importance. One key factor: affordable housing.

Which are the next walls to fall in science and society? Guided by this question, the brightest minds in the international scientific community submitted their groundbreaking projects for the prestigious "Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year 2022". The jury has made its choice - selecting among 95 nominations a project led by Empa researcher Roman Fasel as one of ten winners in the "Physical Sciences" category.

Scientists at EPFL have developed an implantation technique that allows unprecedented optical access to the “spinal cord” of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. This work can potentially lead to breakthroughs in the fields of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and bio-inspired robotics.

The physics professor Ursula Keller has received the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist for her pioneering work in ultrafast lasers. Her theoretical models and experimental discoveries have repeatedly tested the boundaries of ultrafast laser physics.

The Swiss energy system is expected to be climate-neutral by 2050. The key to this is science: CO₂ can be converted by electrolysis into raw materials for chemicals or synthetic fuels and the cost of a fossil-free energy system can be calculated using modelling.

EPFL biophysicists have developed control software that optimizes how fluorescence microscopes collect data on living samples. Their control loop, used to image mitochondrial and bacterial sites of division in detail, is released as an open source plug-in and could inspire a new generation of intelligent microscopes.

During the MOSAiC research expedition, conducted in the Arctic pack ice between 2019 and 2020, EPFL and PSI scientists observed an atmospheric perturbation triggered by the intrusion of a highly polluted warm air-mass. A first study providing further insight into the phenomenon and its potential implications has just been published.

Safely packed in a sturdy wooden crate, a high-tech component from PSI has begun its journey to Australia. The device was in use at PSI for more than ten years – now, with the commissioning of the Swiss X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL, it has reached the end of its service life and will be given a new task at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne.

Mildly stressing mitochondria with an antibiotic can increase tolerance against respiratory infections, shows a study by scientists at EPFL.