Research

One year after announcing an efficiency record, Empa scientists have achieved a new mark of 22.2% for flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer film. Solar cells of this type are especially suited for applications on buildings, vehicles, satellites, airships, and mobile devices.

Nature conservation pays off: amphibians benefit from new ponds - despite many causes of endangerment that still affect them. This is what researchers from WSL and Eawag found in a joint study using data from amphibian monitoring in the canton of Aargau. The study was published in the scientific journal PNAS.

Physicists at EPFL have developed a formulation to solve the longstanding problem of electron self-interaction when studying polarons – quasiparticles produced by electron-phonon interactions in materials. The work can lead to unprecedented calculations of polarons in large systems, systematic studies of large sets of materials, and molecular dynamics evolving over long time periods.

Researchers at ETH Zurich are growing human brain-like tissue from stem cells and are then mapping the cell types that occur in different brain regions and the genes that regulate their development.

A high fraction of the endemic biodiversity of the Alps is very old. The endemics – species found only in a confined area – have developed over the past millions of years during the cycles of glacial and interglacial periods or even before these cycles began. Fish, however, are an exception: most endemic fish species emerged only after the end of the last ice age about 15,000 years ago.

The truffle yield in Switzerland and southern Germany is declining. This is shown by a monitoring programme led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL. The increase in extremely hot and dry summers best explains this decline. This is not only a culinary problem, but also an ecological one.

High temperatures, fuelled by climate change, dried out soils across Europe and the Northern Hemisphere this summer, finds a team of climate scientists led by ETH Zurich in the name of the World Weather Attribution group.

This year’s Swiss HR Barometer focuses on working conditions that promote innovative behaviours amongst employees. Approaching errors in an open manner, a practice prevalent in Switzerland, has a positive effect on innovative behaviour as well as attitudes to work. Scope for improvement is found in areas such as support for new ideas, personnel development and compensation.

The goal is clear: zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But how can Switzerland manage the energy transition at the lowest costs possible and ensure the security of the energy supply? PSI researchers are providing answers with a computer model that is unique in its scope.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, in collaboration with ETH Zurich, have optimised a method for tumour diagnosis using radionuclides. Potential side-effects can now be significantly reduced through a molecular trick. The researchers report their results in the current issue of the scientific journal Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry.

At a conference the international ice core science community discusses the latest developments in their field.

For his Master’s project, architecture student Jeremy Morris assessed the life cycle of building materials in Vaud Canton. His research shows that the construction industry could shrink its carbon footprint by making more regular use of soil. Morris proposes three courses of action, which he will present at the Quinzaine de l’Urbanisme.

To reduce rail noise for residents, noise barriers or quieter wheel systems and brakes are not the only options. An inconspicuous component under the railway tracks is a beacon of hope for quieter rail traffic for a team of researchers with Empa involvement – and first tests on passing trains show a positive effect.

In the extremely dry summer of 2018, beech leaves discoloured in many places as early as July. Now, studies by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL show that up to 10% of these trees died - a multiple of the natural mortality rate. The summer of 2022 is likely to have further affected beech trees in dry locations.

Researchers from ETH Zurich are studying how alpine vegetation is responding to a warming climate – and how some plant communities are continuing to stand firm against newcomers from lower elevations.