Switzerland Today
Sunny regards from Bern!
Travellers in Europe are on the move this summer season. However, those looking for a cheaper travel alternative might be disappointed to find that the cost of a train ticket within Europe can often be more expensive than taking a flight.
Sadly, there is no train travel possible to Australia or New Zealand, co-hosts of the Women’s FIFA World Cup, where the Swiss women’s team is a contender for the title. But for those in Switzerland looking to travel somewhere closer, why not consider travelling to Gstaad for the Longevity of Life Conference, which looks to find the answers for eternal life. One option for extending life being…young blood? All this in today’s Briefing, curated especially for you, from Switzerland.
In the news: Belarus Red Cross sparks outrage, job cuts and European train travel.
- Outrage after the Belarus Red Cross secretary general admits to the organisations involvement in transferring Ukrainian children from Russian-held territory.
- Asylum applications surge to 43% more than the previous year. However, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) says this number is not unexpected, but that Swiss cantons do need to prepare for a possible next wave of asylum seekers.
- Swiss textile machinery firm Rieterto cut at least 300 jobs, but possibly up to 600 jobs, mainly in the Swiss city, Winterthur.
- An HIV cancer patient in Geneva found their HIV to be in remission following a bone marrow transplant. Though this patient is not the first to have seen their HIV go into remission following a transplant treatment for cancer, this is unique as the donor did not have the rare CCR5 delta 32 genetic mutation, known to make cells naturally resistant to HIV.
- Swiss firm Stadler Railwins first European order for hydrogen trains and signed an agreement today with two Italian railway operators to supply a total of 25 hydrogen-powered trains.
- But until then, travellers in Europe will have to contend with the fact that train travel can often be more expensive than flight for intra-Europe trips. At least by train you can bring more wine.
Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia
Today marks the kick-off for the Women’s FIFA World Cup. The Swiss women’s team has been defined as being an “electrifying teamExternal link” after winning eight out of ten matches to qualify for a place at the finals in Australia and New Zealand.
Switzerland lost only one game in the qualifying rounds, putting them at the top of the second-place teams. Their first game will be against the Philippines, and their second match against Norway, which has already lost their first game against World Cup co-host New Zealand.
However, while the Swiss women’s team is receiving wide praise, biases remain.
A study conducted by the University of Zurich, together with colleagues in the US and Norway, showed how these biases take shape, and did this by removing “shape” from the equation. Confused? Allow me to explain:
The team of researchers showed 613 participants videos of “world class” men’s and women’s football, with each video clip lasting between five to fourteen seconds. For some of the participants, the video was blurred so that the viewer could not identify if the players were male or female.
The participants who watched the unblurred video assessed the performances of the men’s football to be significantly higher than that of the women’s football. The participants who watched the blurred video, recorded no performance differences in the men’s and women’s performance.
I call that a foul.
The fountain of youth can be found in…Gstaad?
The rich have it all – yachts, the newest shiniest models of cars, multiple residences and vacation homes. However, there is one affliction that affects the richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor alike: death.
But that won’t stop the super wealthy from trying to dodge what makes us mortal.
As reported in the BlickExternal link, around 120 of the world’s wealthiest people will gather in Gstaad at the Longevity of Life Conference in September.
The leader of the conference, Aubrey de Grey, believes the first person that will live 1,000 years has already been born.
The 60-year-old British native studied computer science at Cambridge University. However, his studies at Cambridge were not his motivation to turn people essentially into robots. It was instead his ex-wife, a genetics professor, who inspired his new calling.
Anyone who would like to take part in the conference (guarantee of eternal life not included) will have to be prepared to pay CHF4,500 ($5,200) for a ticket, as well as bring CHF1 million in disposable assets to be invested in the longevity research industry. I suppose if you do end up living forever, you should be able to make your money back – sooner or later.
There are also two Swiss entrepreneurs who are making a name for themselves in the pursuit of eternal life, with their company Maximon, which is also the primary sponsor of the Longevity of Life Conference.
Did the vampires have it right?
Apparently, according to a study on mice, old mice who were injected with the blood ofhuman teenagers, extended the lifespan of the mice by a quarter. You read that right: human teenagers.
While it is unclear if this study is being replicated on people, the report notes that empirical proof on humans is much more difficult to gather, partly because humans have a much longer lifespan than mice. As such, empirical evidence takes longer to collect. Comforting words indeed.
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