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Atmospheric pollutants put a strain on the environment and harbor health hazards for humans. The Empa spin-off MIRO Analytical Technologies developed a technology to simultaneously analyze nine greenhouse gases and pollutants with only one device and at an unprecedented speed and precision. Air pollution is a problem that affects us all.

Atmospheric pollutants put a strain on the environment and harbor health hazards for humans. The Empa spin-off MIRO Analytical Technologies developed a technology to simultaneously analyze nine greenhouse gases and pollutants with only one device and at an unprecedented speed and precision. Air pollution is a problem that affects us all.

Research should set things in motion. This is the motto of Matthias Koebel, Head of Empa's Building Energy Materials and Components lab. The chemist has ambitious goals and successfully combines an inquisitive spirit with entrepreneurial flair. Matthias Koebel is a pragmatic. One who not only understands things but also wants to use them.

Even if the wound looks superficially harmless, steam burns must be cooled persistently. Empa researchers have now been able to show for the first time how hot steam achieves its vicious effect: It penetrates the upper skin layer and can cause severe burns in the lower skin layers - initially almost invisible.

Summer. Blue sky. Sunshine. But you don't notice much of it in the office or in your home, because the blinds block the view so that the heat stays outside.

The energy transition depends on technologies that allow the inexpensive temporary storage of electricity from renewable sources. A promising new candidate is aluminium batteries, which are made from cheap and abundant raw materials. Scientists from Maksym Kovalenko's research group, which is based at both ETH Zurich and in Empa's Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics , are researching and developing batteries made from abundant raw materials.

Last year Empa's inorganic analytics lab was granted the status of "Reference Laboratory" within the scope of the ProSUM project, funded by the EU. Fine-grained samples of shredder waste from scrapped cars, e-waste or mine dumps from all over Europe end up here. Empa chemists find out what is in them, what is worth extracting and what could be dangerous for staff at recycling plants.

A novel bandage alerts the nursing staff as soon as a wound starts healing badly. Sensors incorporated into the base material glow with a different intensity if the wound's pH level changes. This way even chronic wounds could be monitored at home. All too often, changing bandages is extremely unpleasant, even for smaller, everyday injuries.

Trees can also get sick. In urban areas, this usually means that the infested tree has to be felled for safety reasons.

Researchers from ETH Zurich are using a new method for digital timber construction in a real-world project for the first time.

Researchers from ETH Zurich are using a new method for digital timber construction in a real-world project for the first time. The load-bearing timber modules, which are prefabricated by robots, will be assembled in the "DFAB HOUSE" unit at Empa and Eawag's NEST research and innovation building, thus combining architecture with robotics and craftsmanship.

Do violins made of wood that had been treated with fungi sound the same as a fine, antique instrument? Acoustics experts at Empa are currently studying the body and soul of instruments made of "mycowood". Precision structure-borne sound measurements and psycho-acoustic tests with volunteers should reveal whether a fungal treatment can really improve an instrument.

To keep the body warm and dry during winter sports, high-performance clothing is a must. The demands on these textiles are high, as a person sweats up to one liter per hour on his upper body alone when skiing.

A type of quantum dot that has been intensively studied in recent years can reproduce light in every colour and is very bright. An international research team including scientists from Empa has now discovered why this is the case. The quantum dots could someday be used in LEDs. An international team of researchers from ETH Zurich , IBM Research Zurich, Empa and four American research institutions have found the explanation for why a class of nanocrystals that has been intensively studied in recent years shines in such incredibly bright colours.

Water could form the basis for future particularly inexpensive rechargeable batteries. Empa researchers have succeeded in doubling the electrochemical stability of water with a special saline solution.

The average sea temperature is an essential parameter of the global climate - but it is very difficult to measure. At least until now, because an international team of researchers including Empa scientists have now developed a novel method using the concentration of noble gases in the eternal ice. This allows conclusions to be drawn on the changes in sea temperature from the last ice age to the present day, as the researchers report in the current issue of "Nature".

The energy transition depends on technologies that allow the inexpensive temporary storage of electricity from renewable sources. A promising new candidate is aluminium batteries, which are made from cheap and abundant raw materials. Scientists from Maksym Kovalenko's research group, which is based at both ETH Zurich and in Empa's Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics , are researching and developing batteries made from abundant raw materials.