science wire

MedCo , developed in the lab of EPFL professor Jean-Pierre Hubaux in collaboration with professor Bryan Ford 's DEDIS lab and the Lausanne University Hospital ( CHUV ), is the first operational system to protect sensitive patient data - including genetic information - so that it can be used collectively for crucial medical research.

EPFL has become the coordinator of Be-Smart, an EU research project that aims to step up the deployment of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and cut their costs by 75% between now and 2030.

The European Commission has chosen Time Machine as one of the six proposals retained for preparing large scale research initiatives to be strategically developed in the next decade.

The solar panels developed by startup Insolight boast an impressive 29% yield - a record for the retail market. These systems, which have now been standardized for mass production, contain lenses that focus sunlight on tiny high-yield photovoltaic cells, employing what is a pioneering approach for the solar-power industry.

EPFL's smart living lab, located on the Fribourg campus, is at a pivotal moment in its development. Martin Gonzenbach, the lab's new director of operations, tells us why.

This summer, 40 international scientists will participate in the GLACE expedition around Greenland in order to study the effects of climate change in that region.

The first rapid screening test for cancer developed by EPFL spin-off Lunaphore is being released today.

The first call for proposal for the EPFL Open Science Fund attracted nearly 50 propositions. Nine projects were selected and will receive support to develop ideas fostering open and reproducible research on campus, and beyond. In September 2018, EPFL President Martin Vetterli announced the creation of the Open Science Fund to support the best ideas from everyone on campus with a total of CHF 3 Mio over the period 2019-2021.

A beekeeper teamed up with the Signal Processing Laboratory 5 and a group of EPFL students to develop an app that counts the number of Varroa mites in beehives.

An EPFL researcher has developed a system based on fuel cells to reduce the carbon footprint and energy consumption of cruise ships, which are increasingly popular among vacation goers around the world.

Four EPFL researchers will explore New Zealand's glacier-fed streams for two months, marking the first step in a global journey that will take them across 15 countries by 2021.

This week, four EPFL-designed drones are being shown in the Swiss Pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

This week, eleven EPFL startups are in Las Vegas to tout their technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show, one of the largest events of its kind.

Throughout his 50-year-long career, architect Mario Botta has seen his profession undergo profound change, from the introduction of modern styles to the advent of post-modernism.

For his thesis, EPFL PhD student Raphaël Lamotte studied rush-hour traffic congestion. He suggests implementing a system whereby commuters reserve time on a special traffic lane - like booking a seat on a flight - to help cities accommodate a growing number of car-sharing programs and, eventually, self-driving cars.

A new EU regulation that went into effect in May has prompted consumers to pay more attention to how websites use the personal data they collect. With Polisis, an AI-based program developed at EPFL, consumers can get quick, easy-to-read summaries of websites' data protection policies. And the program is becoming highly popular - EPFL's Technology Transfer Office has received numerous license requests.

The MOBiLus consortium, made up of nearly 50 organizations including EPFL, has just won major EU financing to study new approaches to urban transportation.

In a new book, EPFL researchers trace the history of La Buvette d'Evian - a former lakeside refreshment area that is also an icon of modern architecture. With some light renovation work, La Buvette could reinvigorate the entire region. The book launch will take place on 6 December at EPFL. For over 40 years, tourists and people with kidney ailments came to La Buvette d'Evian for the healing properties of the region's water.

Last fall, EPFL introduced a new continuing education program whereby participants earn a Certificate of Open Studies (COS) - the only one of its kind in Switzerland. The first COSs were handed out at a ceremony this past Thursday. Switzerland's very first Certificates of Open Studies (COSs) were handed out this past Thursday at a ceremony at EPFL.

For the past 15 years, EPFL's Urban Sociology Laboratory has been showing students and researchers the value of incorporating social-science related concepts into engineering and architecture.

A small lab-grown diamond measuring a few millimeters per side could one day enable civilian drones to be recharged in mid-flight through a laser. Thanks to the diamond, the laser beam can remain strong enough over a long distance to recharge photovoltaic cells on the drones' surface. This system, which poses no threat to human health, is being developed by EPFL spin-off LakeDiamond.

The medical researcher and EPFL professor Andrea Ablasser , who studies how cells defend themselves against viral and bacterial attacks, has won the 2018 National Latsis Prize in recognition of her excellent research work on immunity.

The GlobalDiagnostiX X-ray system is about to go into production. This robust machine - initially designed for the challenging conditions of countries in the Global South - has also turned out to be an attractive solution for industrialized nations owing to its low cost.

Architect Bernard Tschumi has donated the archives of his Bridge City project - developed for the City of Lausanne in 1988 - to EPFL.

Creating and modifying a virtual reality environment just got a lot easier thanks to software being released today by Imverse, an EPFL spin-off.

EPFL scientists will soon be heading off to Antarctica, where they will spend four months collecting reams of meteorological data at Australia's Davis research station.

Jacques Lévy has been awarded the 2018 Vautrin-Lud Prize, a geography award modeled on the Nobel Prize.