Archive – Science

Snow monitoring methods reduce flood risk

This content was published on Feb 8, 2013 “We can now compare the current situation with other situations in previous years, and tell the flood forecasters if there is significantly more snow than average in the mountains that is due to melt over the next couple of days,” says researcher Tobias Jonas. Jonas is a hydrologist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest,…

Elite universities at the click of a mouse

This content was published on Feb 7, 2013 Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) is the only institution in continental Europe to be involved for now (Edinburgh is also participating). Last year around 53,000 students registered for the EPFL course on the Scala programming language and 10,000 completed it. By the end of the year, the EPFL wants to be able to offer…

Weapons everywhere and more than you would think

This content was published on Feb 5, 2013 Just how many rifles, army-issue guns, automatics and revolvers can be found in Swiss cupboards, drawers, basements and attics or hanging on walls around the country? Nobody knows exactly. For the Swiss Left, however, it’s too many. Late in 2007, human rights and victims associations, the Group for a Switzerland without an Army, unions, the…

Lessening fears boost nuclear energy lobby

This content was published on Jan 29, 2013 A binding legal decision is to be made in 2015. Before then, as memories of Fukushima fade, the pro nuclear energy lobby may have a window of opportunity to make their case. “The more difficulties and problems that surface, and the more uncertainty that arises, the greater also the need will be to rely on…

Brain project gets green light for EU funding

This content was published on Jan 28, 2013 The HBP, which aims to map the brain, was on Monday declared the winner of the EU’s technologies contest along with the Swedish-led Graphene Flagship project. The two consortia were selected from four finalists for what the EU says is the largest-ever research award. “Europe’s position as a knowledge superpower depends on thinking the unthinkable…

Third gender fights for recognition

This content was published on Jan 23, 2013 “Imagine what it’s like when the midwife can’t tell you if your baby is a boy or a girl. What should you call it? How do you announce the birth to your friends or to the registrar’s office? ‘He was born with a male XY chromosome, but also a uterus, a sort of penis or a…

Turning around the Swiss organ shortage

This content was published on Jan 21, 2013 The study, initiated by the Federal Health Office and overseen by the National Committee for Organ Donation (CNDO), was designed to evaluate factors that contribute to the low donation rate. And a partnership with Facebook has demonstrated that it is possible to motivate people to order donor cards. In 2011 the Federal Health Office launched…

“Mommy, it’s Zurich! They have a heart for you!”

This content was published on Jan 21, 2013 Heart transplantation was in its infancy when Anne was a child in the 1960s, and diagnostic procedures that are standard today – such as echocardiography and sonograms – didn’t exist. In 1995, four years after the Swiss-American moved to Bern, she developed a problem with the rate and rhythm of her heart, and her extremities…

New e-licencing platform highlights patent debate

This content was published on Jan 21, 2013 Syngenta on Friday launched TraitAbility, an e-licensing platform offering access to the company’s patented vegetable characteristics and enabling technologies via the internet. While the multinational company says that it will be a boon for innovation, critics call it a strategy to protect misappropriated intellectual property (IP). From a longer shelf life and protection from temperature…

Global mercury convention adopted

This content was published on Jan 19, 2013 The convention addresses the mining, processing and storing of the heavy metal, which is highly toxic to living organisms. Mercury is dispersed worldwide after being released into the air or washed into rivers and oceans. Humans are poisoned by inhaling the vapours or eating contaminated fish. “After complex and often all-night sessions here in Geneva,…

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Snow monitoring methods reduce flood risk

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Elite universities at the click of a mouse

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Weapons everywhere and more than you would think

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Lessening fears boost nuclear energy lobby

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Brain project gets green light for EU funding

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Third gender fights for recognition

More

Turning around the Swiss organ shortage

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“Mommy, it’s Zurich! They have a heart for you!”

More

New e-licencing platform highlights patent debate

More

Global mercury convention adopted

Popular Stories

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