Research

Scientists at EPFL and the University of Warwick have used a virus to identify a peptide that can serve the same function as antifreeze proteins. By preventing ice formation, the compound could play a key role in preserving cells and organ transplants and in food conservation.

EPFL scientists are generating oxygen from sunlight, water and semiconducting polymers. They present a promising way towards economical and scalable solar fuel production.

The OECD gives the green light to the fish cell line assay developed at Eawag. This paves the way for companies and authorities around the world to determine the environmental toxicology of chemicals without having to resort to animal testing.

What holds true for meadows would seem to apply to arable land, too: mixed cultures are more fruitful than monocultures. This was the outcome of an ETH Zurich research project led by Christian Schöb.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a condenser for countries where water is in short supply. Theirs is the first zero-energy solution for harvesting water from the atmosphere throughout the 24-hour daily cycle. It relies on a self-cooling surface and a special radiation shield.

Crystal structure analysis, computer models, cell cultures – to pursue research on Sars-CoV-2, PSI is exploring many avenues. An overview.

While Domenico Giardini, Professor of Seismology and Geodynamics, already has his hands on Mars, Adrian Glauser, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, has to be patient. Among many others, Adrian worked on the James-Webb-Telescope that shall finally launch this fall, with a delay of many years.

ETH Zurich researchers examined chemicals in plastics worldwide. They found an unexpectedly high number of substances of potential concern intentionally used in everyday plastic products. A lack of transparency limits management of these chemicals.

Neuroscientists at EPFL identify the brain mechanism that we use to prepare a timely action while suppressing premature execution.

Intense agricultural use is causing soil degradation in many areas. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a rapid test for measuring soil quality on site. This should allow farmers to monitor the health of their land themselves in the future.

It is a common misconception that trees grow in the daytime, when photosynthesis produces carbohydrates from CO₂. However, growth not only requires carbohydrates, but also highly depends on tree water tension. A study led by the Swiss Research Institute WSL has now shown that tree growth takes place primarily in the dark, mainly because in daylight, it is inhibited by dry air, even in moist soil conditions. Therefore, trees only grow for a small number of hours per day and per season. This finding may change the way we look at the impact of climate change on forests, in particular for predicting the carbon sink of forests.

EPFL engineers have developed a neural interface that disappears harmlessly in the body after several months and allows natural tissue to grow back. What’s more, it can be implanted in a patient’s blood vessel rather than inside the brain, thereby avoiding the need for invasive surgery.

A cultural landscape reflects the combined activity of nature and humans. Where has the equilibrium of this union been lost? And how can we restore the balance? 

Athina Anastasaki joined ETH Zurich in 2019. Her research focuses on the next generation of polymers and recycling processes for these. She wants to recover all the starting materials and use them to produce new materials for other applications.

Is natural always good and artificial always bad? We talked to psychologist Angela Bearth and biotechnologist Sven Panke about science, scepticism, misunderstandings and how language influences the way we think.