Archive – Science

Nanotechnology helps packaging smarten up

This content was published on Mar 25, 2013 The Swiss packaging industry, which represents about 250 firms and 19,000 workers, accounts for about 1.1 per cent of national annual gross domestic product (GDP), or CHF586 billion – a much higher figure than in other countries. Of this, CHF3.6 billion comes from plastics, while CHF1 billion is from cardboard sales. Swiss firms include the…

How children draw the world

This content was published on Mar 24, 2013 The archive is home to around 50,000 drawings collected from schools and competitions worldwide. They document everyday life, political and social events, as well as how art classes changed over time. Childrens’ drawings and paintings have up until now only been of interest to developmental psychologists. They have, however, been little studied by art historians.…

Developing nations are no second-hand market

This content was published on Mar 22, 2013 Stoll knows Africa well. During the 1990s, he moved to Cameroon from Vevey for three years as part of a twin-city partnership, working under local conditions for the same salary as his colleagues there. After returning to Switzerland, he earned a masters’ degree in public health management and now works between Geneva and Basel, headquarters…

Researchers tackle obstacles to medical aid

This content was published on Mar 22, 2013 Medical devices sent to developing countries are often unsuitable or just don’t work. To help overcome this, the EssentialTech programme, an initiative of Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), is promoting technologies that contribute to reducing poverty. “It’s not about patching together cheap versions of devices that already exist. We have to reinvent everything, starting with…

Treating the root of the problem

This content was published on Mar 19, 2013 Using primarily herbal medicines, Ayurveda combines preventive health care, healing and a healthy life philosophy. Treatments can include long-term detoxification programmes as well as quicker pick-me-ups, like oil massages designed to rejuvenate. Established in 1967, Gujarat Ayurved University in Jamnagar, India, was the first institute devoted exclusively to Ayurvedic studies and research. Students from all…

Doing business in the developing world’s pharmacy

This content was published on Mar 19, 2013 Traffic noise floods the busy waiting room at a public hospital in southern Mumbai, where it’s first-come, first-served.

‘Medicine in India is definitely affordable’

This content was published on Mar 19, 2013 The patient flow at Suradeep Hospital in Mamallapuram is dictated partly by the bus schedule – in on the hour, out on the half hour – with pressure on the staff not to keep the bus waiting for too long. I hesitate in the busy waiting room until a white-haired man suggests I ask the…

The business of cancer research

This content was published on Mar 14, 2013 Market analysts at Connecticut-based IMS Health forecasts the market for cancer products will grow to $75 billion (CHF71 billion) by 2015, an increase of about 40 per cent from the $54 billion it generated in 2009. The ultimate goal for all actors in this profitable market is to find a cure for the disease, which…

Drug development’s road gets longer

This content was published on Mar 14, 2013 Health authorities have become more cautious and restrictive and require far more substantial documentation, says Stefan Frings, responsible for oncology at Roche’s partnering unit, which buys drug candidates for further development. Decades ago, a therapy would, for example, be approved for any type of solid tumour, based on relatively limited data. Nowadays, medicines are only…

At the scene of the crime

This content was published on Mar 13, 2013 From the first recorded autopsy, performed on the body of stabbing victim Julius Caesar in 44 BC, to fingerprinting, developed in the 1890s, to DNA analysis, developed in the 1980s, numerous tools have evolved to help determine the circumstances surrounding a crime. Was a death due to an accident, suicide or murder? Who was responsible…

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Archive – Science

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Nanotechnology helps packaging smarten up

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How children draw the world

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Developing nations are no second-hand market

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Researchers tackle obstacles to medical aid

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Treating the root of the problem

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Doing business in the developing world’s pharmacy

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‘Medicine in India is definitely affordable’

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The business of cancer research

More

Drug development’s road gets longer

More

At the scene of the crime

Popular Stories

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