Medicine

EPFL researchers have discovered that it is not just molecular density, but also pattern and structural rigidity, that control super-selective binding interactions between nanomaterials and protein surfaces. The breakthrough could help optimize existing approaches to virus prevention and cancer detection.

Borrowing from methods used to produce optical fibers, researchers from EPFL and Imperial College have created fiber-based soft robots with advanced motion control that integrate other functionalities, such as electric and optical sensing and targeted delivery of fluids.

Scientists at EPFL, Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research, and CHUV have identified a key protein that helps tumors evade attacks by the immune system, contributing to poor responses to immunotherapy in the clinic.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are taking magnetic resonance imaging a step further. With their new method, they can visualise metabolic processes in the body. Their objective is to improve the future diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

Empa researchers are developing a medical chip in collaboration with the ETH Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital of St. Gallen that will allow statements to be made about the effect of substances on babies in the womb. The Zurich-based ProCare Foundation is funding the project, which was recently launched.

A new study by scientists at the NeuroRestore research center has identified the type of neuron that is activated and remodeled by spinal cord stimulation, allowing patients to stand up, walk and rebuild their muscles – thus improving their quality of life. This discovery, made in nine patients, marks a fundamental, clinical breakthrough. The study was published today in Nature.