science wire

Students at ETH Zurich are working together with engineers from the technology firm Bühler to accelerate innovation and minimise the attendant risks. It's a fruitful collaboration that other companies are also poised to benefit from. Innovation is critical for companies to remain successful over the long term.

Vacant land, community gardens and public parks are key resources for liveable cities. Fritz Kleinschroth calls on urban planners to focus on giving nature more space and on granting equitable access to green spaces. Fritz Kleinschroth is a senior scientist at the Chair of Ecosystem Management at ETH Zurich and researches the consequences of urbanisation for ecosystems.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provides medical supplies to people in need. A planning tool developed by researchers at ETH Zurich will make this complex task more efficient in future and save the ICRC millions.

Roughly one in two wearers of ventricular assist devices are diagnosed with an infection. The reason for this is the thick cable for the power supply.

At ETH Zurich, there is a room where the sun shines at the touch of a button; one hour it's noon in the Sahara, the next it's January in Berlin. Researchers use it to test newly developed building systems, components and materials. How well does the new building material protect against the midday heat in Marrakesh? How must a new façade be printed so that it's not too cold in the Berlin winter and not too hot in the summer? researchers can now simulate this one-to-one in the Zero Carbon Building Systems Lab, a silvery grey building on the Hönggerberg hill.

Two years ago, Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine. One direct consequence of the conflict is the destruction of buildings and infrastructure.

The European Space Agency's most expensive and complex mission, the LISA space antenna, has reached a major milestone: it has passed the stage of intensive testing by experts in the Mission Adoption Review process - a significant step for the LISA consortium.

For Anthony Patt, Europe's ambitious plans for a hydrogen economy may be too ambitious, tipping the scales towards the interests of the fossil fuel industry, rather than energy consumers and the climate.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare condition in which a person's immune system attacks the peripheral nerves. People affected suffer from muscle weakness and paralysis. A research team led by ETH Zurich has now clarified the mechanism of this autoimmune disease. Patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) face a rare and heterogeneous disorder of the peripheral nervous system that is often triggered by preceding infections and causes severe muscle weakness.

There are some striking parallels between how skin wounds heal and how malignant tumours grow. Cell culture can help us understand the mechanisms involved - but animal testing still has a role to play. Picture the scene: you're chopping an onion, and suddenly the knife slips, leaving you with a painful cut on your index finger.

Researchers from the Automatic Control Laboratory and the electricity supplier AEW Energie AG have won the 2024 Watt d'Or award in the Energy Technologies category.

Climate neutrality and nuclear phase-out: Switzerland's ambitious green electricity targets are realistic if the electricity supply is profoundly and rapidly transformed, as a study by the SWEET EDGE consortium shows.

As Thomas Bernauer sees it, information on the impact that different segments of the population have on the climate is an essential ingredient in making climate policy measures fair and acceptable to the majority.

On the road to recovery, patients come into contact with clinicians from a whole range of disciplines.

Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow at the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich.

Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it either in recycled concrete aggregate or in geological reservoirs in Iceland is not only technically feasible, but also has a positive carbon footprint.

There are some striking parallels between how skin wounds heal and how malignant tumours grow. Cell culture can help us understand the mechanisms involved - but animal testing still has a role to play. Picture the scene: you're chopping an onion, and suddenly the knife slips, leaving you with a painful cut on your index finger.

What's the best way to translate research findings into clinical practice? A discussion with Monika Jänicke, CEO of the University Hospital Zurich, Rahel Kubik, head of radiology at Kantonsspital Baden, and Christian Wolfrum, VP for Research at ETH Zurich.

From the giant blue whale to minuscule microbes, all creatures on this earth continuously shed traces of their DNA. These clues help researchers to determine the degree of biological diversity. ETH doctoral candidate Anish Kirtane stands in the middle of the River Limmat near the Werdinsel island, below the city of Zurich, wearing a large pair of rubber boots.

On the road to recovery, patients come into contact with clinicians from a whole range of disciplines.

Sascha Quanz searches for traces of life on extrasolar planets orbiting alien stars. The astrophysicist believes that gaining an understanding of life and its origin on Earth is an important stepping stone. Our Earth was formed around 4.5 billion years ago, and fossil evidence of life can be found in rocks that are over 3.5 billion years old.

A doctoral researcher studying architecture at ETH Zurich is using 3D printing to produce lightweight insulation building components from cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste. These could cut heating and cooling costs for buildings, and encourage more efficient use of construction materials.

What happens when cities gear their road space primarily to the needs of cyclists and e-bikers? On a new popular-science website, researchers use examples from the city of Zurich to show what such an "E-Bike City" could one day look like. What would the streets look like if a city took half its traffic space and gave it to cycling and e-biking?

Warfare is increasingly spreading to the realm of cyberspace. In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wants to protect its digital infrastructure and that of humanitarian organisations with a digital emblem.

As society increasingly expects the responsible use of digital technologies, firms with better practices will have a distinct advantage, says .

How productive are we when we work from home? It's an increasingly common question. But Gudela Grote believes it's the wrong question, because it says more about our conceptions of human nature than about effective ways of working. 2020 proved that being flexible about where we work (and the hours we work) can benefit employees and employers.

The Alps are being increasingly affected by floods and droughts. According to Manuela Brunner, we can do something about this problem: use water more sparingly and think about hazard protection in broader terms.

ETH Zurich is present at the Olma trade fair in St Gallen. Using spin-offs and games, the ETH booth illustrates how research can contribute to making Swiss food and agriculture sustainable.