EPFL

Microplastics, owing to their chemical properties, can carry micropollutants into a fish’s digestive system where they are subsequently released through the action of its gastric and intestinal fluids. EPFL scientists, working in association with other research institutes, have studied this process by looking specifically at progesterone – often pointed to as an endocrine disrupter.

Like many viruses, SARS-CoV-2 relies on lipid modifications carried by host enzymes to organize their membrane structure and coordinate the function of virulence proteins. Scientists at EPFL have discovered the enzymes that transfer fatty acids to one of the main components of SARS-CoV-2, its fusion protein Spike. The findings reveal that such fatty acids are important for the production of infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles, and can help develop new drugs for treating coronaviruses and other viruses like herpes and influenza.

The CLIMACT center brings together experts in climate change from the University of Lausanne and EPFL. Its goal is to serve as an effective interface between science and society. Presentation and interviews.

It’s an age-old question – who lives on in a society’s collective memory after they die? New EPFL research has tracked the mentions of thousands of public figures in the year following their deaths, helping to reveal who is remembered, and who is not, after they are gone. 

EPFL and Microsoft Research scientists demonstrated ultrafast optical circuit switching using a chip-based soliton comb laser and a completely passive diffraction grating device. This particular architecture could enable an energy-efficient optical datacenter to meet enormous data bandwidth requirements in future.