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24. EPFL researchers have come up with a way to optimize information transfer, solving a problem that has confounded researchers for 60 years. Their breakthrough could enhance the quality of our , from smartphones to satellite transmissions and data storage. We all need to send and receive data, such as when ing a movie, saving photos to a hard drive and talking on the phone.

20. EPFL researchers have developed an innovative cardiac support system in the form of a small ring placed on the aorta.

17. It generates particulate-matter air pollution and degrades mechanical parts. Adhesive wear a major, yet poorly understood problem. Using simulations, researchers from EPFL offer new insights into what happens when seemingly smooth surfaces rub against each other. Adhesive wear can cause machine failure, particulate-matter air pollution, and many other societal woes.

14. Scientists at EPFL have found a way to starve liver cancer cells by blocking a protein that is required for their metabolism - while leaving normal cells intact. The discovery opens new ways to treat liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with current treatments being very limited.

14. An international team of scientists at EPFL and the US have discovered a material that can clear out radioactive waste from nuclear plants more efficiently, cheaply, and safely than current methods. Figure: The crystal structure of SBMOF-1 (green = Ca, yellow = S, red = O, gray = C, white = H). The light blue surface is a visualization of the one-dimensional channel that SBMOF-1 creates for the gas molecules to move through.

14. Scientists from EPFL and ETHZ have developed a powerful tool for exploring and determining the inherent biological differences between individuals, which overcomes a major hurdle for personalized medicine. One of the biggest obstacles in successfully treating metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, fatty liver etc, is the variation in the way patients respond to medication.

13. One of the major obstacles with treating cancer is that tumors can conscript the body's immune cells and make them work for them. Researchers at EPFL have now found a way to reclaim the corrupted immune cells, turn them into signals for the immune system to attack the tumor, and even prevent metastasis.

10. EPFL researchers have developed a website that calculates the likely winners of Euro 2016 soccer games, using a more complex and accurate model than conventional statistical methods.

08. Light, wireless probes the size of a large pen have been developed to identify cancer cells and suspicious lymph nodes during surgery.

03. Thymio, the teaching robot designed by EPFL and widely used in French-speaking Switzerland, is now making inroads elsewhere in Europe.

01. A new software program reduces the time needed to identify weak points in large structures like cranes, bridges and mining equipment from several days to several minutes.

25. An EPFL team is working on a smart visor that, combined with a thermal imaging camera, will help firefighters see what's around them in real time, even at night and in smoke.

24. For the first time, EPFL researchers have used mobile phone records to reconstruct the spread of a cholera epidemic. While cholera has hardly changed over the past centuries, the tools used to study it have not ceased to evolve. Using mobile phone records of 150,000 users, an EPFL-led study has shown to what extent human mobility patterns contributed to the spread of a cholera epidemic in Senegal in 2005.

19. A consortium of European researchers is pursuing a new and unexpected lead in Alzheimer's research. They are examining the intestinal microbiome and its effect on neurodegeneration. EPFL is coordinating the consortium, which is part of the pan-European Horizon 2020 initiative. Why are some people predisposed to Alzheimer's? A consortium of researchers has recently identified some unexpected and promising leads in the quest to understand the relationship between our intestinal bacteria and Alzheimer's.

18. Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. Using state-of-the-art tools, EPFL scientists have described a million-atom "tail" that bacteriophages use to breach bacterial surfaces. The breakthrough has major implications for science and medicine, as bacteriophages are widely used in research.

17. The features that make cities unique are important to understanding how cities affect weather and disperse air pollutants, researchers highlight in a new study. Compared to their surroundings, cities can be hot - hot enough to influence the weather. Industrial, domestic, and transportation-related activities constantly release heat, and after a warm day, concrete surfaces radiate stored heat long into the night.

10. No two bacteria are identical - even when they are genetically the same. A new study reveals the conditions under which bacteria become individualists and how they help their group grow when times get tough. Whether you are a human or a bacterium, your environment determines how you can develop.

09. Looking into the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, scientists led by EPFL have found clues that could help doctors diagnose or even treat Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the appearance of plaques in the brain. The plaques are gradually made up by the aggregation of a small protein called amyloid-beta or "Abeta".

05. While studying worm infections, EPFL scientists have discovered a surprising ability of the immune system. In order to fight invading pathogens, the immune system uses "outposts" throughout the body, called lymph nodes. These are small, centimeter-long organs that filter fluids, get rid of waste materials, and trap pathogens, e.g. bacteria or viruses.

04. EPFL researchers have discovered that the human brain suppresses the sensory effects of the heartbeat. They believe that this mechanism prevents internal sensations from interfering with the brain's perception of the external world. This mechanism could also have something to do with anxiety disorders.