Society

Online hate speech can be curbed by inducing empathy for those affected. In contrast, the use of humour or warnings of possible consequences have little effects. A team of social scientists and 13 ETH Zurich students has demonstrated this in a new scientific publication.

Researchers from 90 scientific institutions worldwide have stated that freshwater biodiversity research and conservation lag far behind the efforts carried out in terrestrial and marine environments. In a new publication in Ecology Letters, they propose a research agenda with 15 priorities aimed at improving research on biodiversity in lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands. This is urgently needed, as biodiversity loss is taking place much faster in inland waters than on land or in the oceans.

An international research team including EPFL scientists has found that whenever we encounter ozone, it reacts with lipids in our skin to create nanoparticles.

Researchers Christoph Vorburger and Florian Altermatt talk about the importance and state of aquatic biodiversity in Switzerland and Eawag’s commitment to conserving natural biodiversity.

Rising temperatures, invasive species and other factors have changed the composition of species in Lake Constance over the last century. Researchers are trying to understand how this could have happened and what it means for the lake.