Archive – Science

Famine and abundance rub shoulders in Ethiopia

This content was published on Jul 21, 2011 swissinfo.ch reports from western Ethiopia on farmland leased by an Indian entrepreneur, where it is not unusual to see young children labouring in the fields. Kneeling in the middle of a sugar-cane field in blistering 40-degree Celsius heat, a young boy is digging up weeds. An Indian worker stands over him to make sure he…

Leuthard warns against egoism in green issues

This content was published on Jul 14, 2011 In a speech at the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) near Boston the minister pointed to the Swiss opt-out of nuclear energy by 2034 as showing how politics can give impetus to green issues. The effects of climate change are not restricted to national borders and any delay in acting could be fatal, Leuthard…

Melting glaciers store up trouble

This content was published on Jul 13, 2011 Glaciologist Matthias Huss of Fribourg University has discovered that right down to the sea, the Danube, Rhine, Rhone and Po contain a larger proportion of water from glaciers than previously thought. For example, more than a quarter of the water that flows from the Rhone into the Mediterranean in August has its origin in alpine…

Cancer study sounds all-clear but doubts remain

This content was published on Jul 12, 2011 Critics say the amount of data is insufficient and they challenge the independence of some of the scientists involved. The authors of the study, which was co-financed by the energy industry, have rejected the allegations but they acknowledge statistical uncertainty. “The risk of childhood cancer in the vicinity of Swiss nuclear power plants is similar…

Bearded vulture makes long excursion

This content was published on Jul 12, 2011 Experts from Pro Bartgeier (the Foundation for Bearded Vultures) had worried lest the male bird, named Sardona, would not find his way back to the Alps. Sardona, who was bred in the Goldau zoo in central Switzerland, carries a transmitter, enabling his movements to be tracked. The foundation announced on Tuesday that it had released…

Search underway for tunnel accident causes

This content was published on Jul 12, 2011 Switzerland is a country of tunnels, with more than 220 – the equivalent of about 11 to 12 per cent of the 1,800 kilometres of national roads. And there have been many fatal accidents. In March 1999, a fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel caused the deaths of 39 people, while in May of the…

Stem cells can help repair damaged brains

This content was published on Jul 12, 2011 Along with colleagues at Stanford University in the United States, Robert Andres conducted experiments on rats, the results of which add weight to the theory that stem cell therapy is one of the main hopes of modern medicine. The idea is for stem cells to be introduced into damaged tissue, where they then transform into…

Leuthard debates energy issues with US

This content was published on Jul 12, 2011 She said she was hoping for “institutionalised cooperation” concerning energy, pointing out that when it came to energy-saving houses, the US could learn a lot from Switzerland. Other issues discussed included how energy consumption could be stabilised and how Switzerland had managed to agree nationwide regulations for energy-efficient buildings even though construction was largely a…

How a Swiss scientist saved 20 million people

This content was published on Jul 11, 2011 Herren, the subject of a new biography, tells swissinfo.ch how he managed to naturally control the bug using a method that involved shooting the insect’s natural enemy, a type of wasp, from aeroplanes across huge swathes of Africa. The scientist was only 31 when he took a job in the middle of a crisis: the…

Deportation flights criticised after incident

This content was published on Jul 8, 2011 Footage of incidents on Thursday at Zurich airport marred the first day that special deportation flights from Switzerland to Nigeria had resumed in over a year. The flights had been suspended following the death of a Nigerian asylum seeker who was being extradited. Thursday’s German-language television news programme, 10 to 10, showed a video of…

Archive – Science

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Archive – Science

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Famine and abundance rub shoulders in Ethiopia

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Leuthard warns against egoism in green issues

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Melting glaciers store up trouble

More

Cancer study sounds all-clear but doubts remain

More

Bearded vulture makes long excursion

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Search underway for tunnel accident causes

More

Stem cells can help repair damaged brains

More

Leuthard debates energy issues with US

More

How a Swiss scientist saved 20 million people

More

Deportation flights criticised after incident

Popular Stories

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