Research

EPFL researchers have discovered that Vanadium Dioxide (VO₂), a compound used in electronics, is capable of “remembering” the entire history of previous external stimuli. This is the first material to be identified as possessing this property, although there could be others.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and WSL have for the first time reconstructed the extent of Switzerland’s glacier ice loss in the 20th century. For this purpose, the researchers used historical imagery and conclude that the country’s glaciers lost half their volume between 1931 and 2016.

Zebrafish eggs are among the most commonly used model organisms in genetic, developmental and toxicology research. A device developed by EPFL spin-off Bionomous cuts the time it takes to sort these embryos from several hours to just a few minutes.

Canadian researchers have discovered that they can stick hydrogel plasters to the skin very effectively using ultrasound. ETH Zurich professor Outi Supponen has now explained the underlying mechanism: imploding bubbles that form within the adhesive located between the plaster and the skin anchor the one on the other.

A new technique keeps cells alive during extraction to track the activity of thousands of genes across time. The breakthrough method is called Live-seq and was jointly developed by scientists at EPFL and ETH Zurich.

It has recently been supposed that humans could trace their ancestry back to a strange microscopic creature with a mouth and no anus. Thanks to analysis of 500 million year old fossils at the Swiss Light Source SLS, we can be relieved to find out this is not true: Saccorhytus is not a deuterostome like us, but an ecdysozoan. The findings, published today in Nature, make important amendments to the early phylogenetic tree and our understanding of how life developed.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and EPFL are expanding the emerging field of single-cell analysis with a ground-breaking method: Live-seq makes it possible to measure the activity of thousands of genes in a single cell without having to isolate and destroy it.

Where do the many workpieces and components needed for complex scientific experiments at PSI actually come from? They certainly cannot be ordered on the Internet. Some are produced in PSI’s large workshops as part of long-term planning. Many essential components such as mountings for samples, heating structures or vacuum feedthroughs are also produced more or less on demand by technical staff such as those working in PSI’s own dedicated small workshop: Kleinwerkstatt Ost.

As an additive in toothpaste, it protects our teeth from decay. But when fluoride occurs in nature in larger quantities and accumulates in groundwater, it can become a hazard for our health. For the first time, Eawag scientists have produced a detailed map of global fluoride contamination in groundwater and shown which regions of the world are particularly affected.

Researchers from ETH Zurich discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth’s mantle. The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed.

Throughout Switzerland, infections with bacteria of the genus Legionella are increasing significantly. Researchers at Eawag have now outlined how the growth of these microbial inhabitants of drinking water systems could be curbed with the help of other organisms.

Most vaccines require constant refrigeration during shipment to remain effective. An international research team led by ETH Zurich has now developed a special hydrogel that vastly improves the shelf life of vaccines, even without refrigeration. The development could save many lives and lower the cost of cold chains.

25 years ago, urine-diverting toilets were no more than an idea, challenging the central paradigm of wastewater treatment plants. Since then, however, modular water technologies have become increasingly important. Using a new method, scientists at Eawag have mapped the dynamics of this transition.

Researchers of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and ETH Zurich have created the first full connectivity map of the human immune system, showing how immune cells communicate with each other and ways to modulate these pathways in disease.

Hubert Keiber, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Werner Siemens Foundation, describes why the Board decided to award a 15 million Swiss francs grant to a team of Empa researchers.