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A new gene therapy for treating an inherited form of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis has been given an Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency. The therapy is already in preclinical development at EPFL. "We are thrilled that the EMA endorses the soundness of our new therapy against this devastating rare disease," says Bernard Schneider, the EPFL scientist who leads the development of a new drug aimed at Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Using a new mode of atomic force microscopy, researchers at EPFL have found a way to see and measure protein assembly in real time and with unprecedented detail. Proteins and molecules assemble and disassemble naturally as part of many essential biological processes. It is very difficult to observe these mechanisms, which are often complex and take place at the nanometer scale, far smaller than the normal visible range.

People using brain-computer interface are more efficient when both human and machine are allowed to learn. EPFL researchers trained two tetraplegic users to compete in the international Cybathlon BCI race. Both incrementally learned how to control the BCI, and obtained the best performances at the competition, confirming researchers' hypothesis that mutual learning plays a fundamental role in BCI training.

An endosymbiotic bacterium, Spiroplasma, specifically kills the males of its fruit-fly host (Drosophila). This has perplexed biologists since the 1950's, but EPFL scientists have now solved the mystery by identifying the gene behind this gender-specific killing. In the fifties, geneticists were faced with a mystery: when two strains of the same fruit fly species (Drosophila) crossed, they only produced female flies instead of the expected 50:50 sex ratio.

European public spaces are becoming more original, but also more homogeneous. The author of an architecture thesis, written at EPFL, explains this paradox and calls on critics and public authorities to do something about it.

In an effort to improve drug, cosmetic and other chemical product tests, Nagi Bioscience has created a device that automatically grows, feeds, houses and analyzes laboratory worms. This invention will save researchers both time and money and sharply reduce the number of tests that require laboratory rondents.

EPFL scientists have developed a new type of "double-bridged peptide" that can be tailored to bind tightly to disease targets of interest. The peptides' highly efficient binding, combined with their small size and high stability make them ideal for drug therapies. The work is published. Image:  A model of a double-bridged peptide (the peptide in light blue, the two bridges in yellow).

As cities grow at an ever-faster pace, concerns about global warming rise and fossil fuels become increasingly scarce, cities will have to adopt more sustainable energy solutions. EPFL researchers have developed a model that can be used to design urban energy systems by analyzing the building not as a standalone structure but as one piece in an urban puzzle.

For his thesis, Derek Christie studied people who walk outdoors for more than one hour per day. Little research has been done into these frequent walkers, who could nevertheless help to shape public policies on mobility.

EPFL scientists have completed the fastidious task of analyzing 27 dwarf galaxies in detail, identifying the conditions under which they were formed and how they've since evolved. These small-scale galaxies are perfect for studying the mechanisms of new star formation and the very first steps in the creation of the universe.

Algorithms are used to personalize our newsfeed on social media. But the risk is that the points of view we are presented with become increasingly limited and extreme. EPFL researchers have developed a solution that would make users' personalized content more balanced, and their project has already generated interest among human rights campaigners.

Using transmission electron microscopy, EPFL scientists have examined a slice from a meteorite that contains large diamonds formed at high pressure. The study shows that the parent body from which the meteorite came was a planetary embryo of a size between Mercury to Mars. The discovery is published.

Researchers at EPFL and UNIL have discovered a dangerous liaison between immune cells that limits the efficacy of immunotherapy in melanoma. But they also found a way to disrupt it. Immunotherapies are treatments that stimulate a patient's immune cells to attack the tumor. They can be very effective in melanoma - a common and aggressive form of skin tumor - but still fail in the majority of the patients.

The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), an international committee headed by an EPFL professor, has just unveiled JPEG XS. With this new format, the image-compression process uses less energy, and higher-quality images can be sent with low latency over broadband networks like 5G. JPEG XS will have applications in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality, space imagery, self-driving cars and professional movie editing.

EPFL spin-off Embion Technologies has developed a soluble fiber powder made from barley residue from the beer-making process that can be used to reduce the sucrose content of a wide range of foods. This by-product also appears to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

EPFL researchers were able to map out in real time how charges are transported across and along membranes simply by observing the behavior of adjacent water molecules. Their non-invasive and label-free method represents a valuable new tool in the effort to understand how cells - and neurons in particular - function.

EPFL biologists and geneticists have uncovered how the circadian clock orchestrates the 24-hour cycle of gene expression by regulating the structure of chromatin, the tightly wound DNA-protein complex of the cell. The work is published in Genes & Development. The circadian clock is an internal, biological "metronome" that dictates our 24-hour activity pattern.

EPFL and Nissan researchers are able to read a driver's brain signals and send them to a smart vehicle so that it can anticipate the driver's moves and facilitate the driving process.

The efficacy of target specific therapies in lymphoma is limited to subgroups of patients. EPFL scientists have identified a mechanism that confers resistance against a common therapy for lymphoma.

Scientists at EPFL and GRT Group have built the world's first integrated power supply unit that can produce electricity from formic acid, using a fuel cell in an energy-efficient, safe, cost-effective, and sustainable way.