Research

The war in Ukraine has fanned the flames of inflation. Is this merely a temporary shock – or the start of a new normal?

Anyone who lives in an old building with wooden floors knows the problem: Even if the neighbors from above glide across the floor with graceful elegance, it sounds as if you were living under a bowling alley. Impact sound is a challenge even for the most modern wooden buildings. Scientists at Empa are now tinkering with a solution.

Monitoring freshwater ecosystems by means of environmental DNA methods offers new opportunities for detecting invasive species. An Eawag study has shown that an invasive jellyfish is more widespread in Switzerland than previously thought.

Today, the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Technology (INSAIT) has been launched in Sofia. INSAIT is a new Bulgarian Institute established in partnership with ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne.

Two DNA defense systems protect the bacterial strains responsible for the ongoing seventh cholera pandemic from potentially harmful genetic material and viruses, EPFL scientists have found. Their study also shows that the defense systems may have been key in the evolution and success of these strains.

EPFL engineers have developed a low-temperature annealing method that maintains the structure of gold and silver when the two metals are combined in an alloy. Their discovery will prove useful in the manufacture of contact lenses, holographic optical elements and other optical components, since the new alloys reflect the full spectral range.

Researchers have developed a wearable device that plays specific sounds to enhance deep sleep. The first clinical study has now shown that the device is effective, but not at the same level of effectiveness for everyone.

Electronic implant reactivates spinal-cord nerves of a patient with a neurodegenerative disease that causes dramatic blood pressure drops.

If 60% of the conventional gasoline- and diesel-powered passenger cars in Switzerland were to be converted to "electricity-based" vehicles by 2050, i.e., battery vehicles, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles and vehicles powered by synthetic fuels, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the fleet could be reduced by two to 4.5 million tons annually, which is substantial when compared to the current level of around six million tons. However, the framework conditions are crucial.

EPFL’s Blue Brain Project has found a way to use only mathematics to automatically draw neurons in 3D, meaning we are getting closer to being able to build digital twins of brains.

International higher education think tank, QS releases its World University Rankings by Subject. Sixteen ETH Zurich disciplines place in the top 10 contributing to Switzerland’s place as the third best in the world’s higher education sector.

EPFL and the Smart Living Lab will embark on an eight-year research project designed to help Switzerland cut its energy use. A key feature of the project lies in the way it will engage with people through Living Labs. By bringing together universities, businesses and public-sector organizations, the project consortium hopes to develop sustainable systems that can also increase users’ comfort and well-being.

Empa and BASE (Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy) launched a data-science driven mobile app that aims to minimize the loss of food production and lower greenhouse gas emissions by enabling access to cooling facilities and allowing smallholder farmers to monitor the shelf-life of their produce. After successfully implementing the app "YourVCCA" in India, the team has recently expanded the project into Nigeria where they have cemented key partnerships with public and private stakeholders in the industries of technology, data science and financing.

Writing in Nature Chemistry, three EPFL scientists propose an open platform for managing the vast amounts of diverse data produced in chemical research. Based on principles of accessibility, collaboration and efficiency, the proposed platform could be spearheaded by EPFL.

Researchers at PSI have observed for the first time how tiny magnets in a special layout align themselves solely as a result of temperature changes. This view into processes that take place within so-called artificial spin ice could play an important role in the development of novel high-performance computers. The results were published in the journal Nature Physics.