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Some of the universe's greatest mysteries could soon be resolved thanks to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a huge radio telescope that will be built in South Africa and Australia. Several EPFL labs are involved in this epic project. With the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope, scientists hope to be able to view matter and forces that have been invisible until now.

Embodied carbon in the construction industry is a major factor of climate change, but it is rarely measured accurately.

EPFL researchers have developed a new type of retinal implant for people who have become blind due to the loss of photoreceptor cells in their retinas. The implant partially restores their visual field and can significantly improve their quality of life. Thirty-two million people around the world are blind.

A team from EPFL and NCCR Marvel has identified more than 1,000 materials with a particularly interesting 2D structure. Their research, which made the cover page of Nature Nanotechnlogy, paves the way for groundbreaking technological applications. 2D materials, which consist of a few layers of atoms, may well be the future of nanotechnology.

Disasters like tsunamis, hurricanes and dam failures are rare but can have devastating consequences on a country. A thesis at EPFL has shown that appropriate construction methods can substantially reduce the impact of such catastrophic events. Davide Wüthrich, a PhD student at EPFL, has just finished his thesis on methods for reducing the damage caused when a wave hits a building.

EPFL scientists have produced controllable stable skyrmions using laser pulses, taking a step towards significantly more energy-efficient memory devices. The work is published in Physical Review Letters. A skyrmion is a collection of electron spins that look like a vortex in certain magnetic materials.

In a breakthrough for biological imaging, EPFL scientists have developed the first microscope platform that can perform super-resolution spatial and temporal imaging, capturing unprecedented views inside living cells. The landmark paper is published. Super-resolution microscopy is a technique that can "see" beyond the diffraction of light, providing unprecedented views of cells and their interior structures and organelles.

Using data gathered during a cholera outbreak in Chad, EPFL researchers have found that a response strategy that targets the neighborhood close to reported cases can more effectively contain the outbreak than a large-scale campaign that targets a wider district or an entire city. The World Health Organization aims to eradicate cholera by 2030.

EPFL-based startup Loop Medical is working on a needleless device to take pain-free blood samples at home.

It's a safe bet that some of the websites and apps you use collect and subsequently sell your personal data.

How much impact does research carried out at individual universities have on innovation globally? To find out, a team of scientists from several schools developed a ranking system based on citations in patent literature. And on that score, EPFL sits in seventh place, just behind Stanford and above the California Institute of Technology.

Researchers at Idiap and EPFL have been working with psychologists to understand how people form first impressions from photos.

Poor pesticide practices in Burkina Faso pose a threat to human health and the environment. An EPFL thesis has quantified this problem for the first time through an analysis of soil, water, sediment, vegetable and hair samples. Small-scale vegetable growers in Burkina Faso are unfamiliar with the proper use of pesticides and end up exposing both people and the environment to serious contamination risks.

Vanadium dioxide's unique properties make it perfect for outperforming silicon and giving rise to a new generation of low-power electronic devices.

EPFL scientists systematically study the path of the sequential deposition reaction used to build perovskite solar panels. The study is published in Science Advances and offers much-needed, fundamental understanding of perovskite formation and its different stages. Image:  Scanning electron microscope (SEM) image showing the formation of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI 3 ) by the reaction of lead iodide (PbI 2 ) films with methylammonium iodide (CH3NH3I) solution for 2 seconds in the dark.

EPFL scientists, working in association with Valais Hospital in Sion and Fudan University in Shanghai, have developed a method for analyzing bacteria that - for the first time ever - lets doctors quickly see exactly which proteins are associated with antibiotic resistance. Some bacteria contain proteins that indicate resistance to antibiotics.

Limiting population movements during an epidemic outbreak may not always be the best approach. This type of response may adversely affect a society's ability to resume functioning normally, according to an EPFL study. When an epidemic outbreak - such as those caused by the H1N1, Zika or SARS viruses - takes place, containment measures may seem to be the most reasonable solution.

EPFL researchers have developed models of magnesium alloys to understand how to make the metal more pliable. Magnesium is the lightest metal on earth but cannot easily be shaped into usable forms. The researchers hope that with the models will lead to the discovery of new, more malleable alloys, so that carmakers can make lighter vehicles that consume less energy.

Scientists led by EPFL have isolated leprosy bacteria directly from human samples, and analyzed the purified genomes to identify mutations that confer drug resistance to the bacterium, as well as gain insights into the origins of the disease. The study is published , just ahead of the World Leprosy Day , 28th January 2018.

Researchers at EPFL have created artificial molecules that can help the immune system to recognize and attack cancer tumors.