Archive – Science

Laser on Jungfraujoch gives CO2 clues

This content was published on Nov 20, 2008 At 3,471 metres on the Jungfraujoch, a saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau summits, scientists have installed a Swiss-made laser device that can help determine the source of carbon dioxide (CO2), a main greenhouse gas. Until now climatologists interested in tracking CO2 levels in high-alpine regions have had to rely on individual samples painstakingly gathered…

Fixing atom smasher is no small matter

This content was published on Nov 17, 2008 The Large Hadron Collider, a SFr6 billion ($5.46 billion) machine designed to recreate the earliest moments of the universe, suffered a cooling-system malfunction nine days after scientists started it in September. James Gillies, spokesman of the European Nuclear Research Organisation (Cern) , pushed the restart date back until early summer and said repairs could cost…

Nuclear plant deactivated during tests

This content was published on Nov 15, 2008 BKW energy company authorities carrying out checks at the Mühleberg plant near Bern decided to switch off the plant on Saturday as a precaution in between two operational tests. The plant was reactivated after several hours. Authorities said the plant was safe, with no increases in radioactivity measured after the deactivation. Switzerland has five nuclear…

Scientists score in fight against fatal disease

This content was published on Nov 14, 2008 One out of 6,000 newborns is affected by the disease, which attacks nerve cells in the spinal cord responsible for voluntary movement. Children suffering from the disease have two missing or malfunctioning genes that are needed for the production of a critical protein for healthy muscles. Cellular biologist Daniel Schümperli and his team have found…

Birds, like us, know the song before they sing

This content was published on Nov 13, 2008 The findings, published on Thursday in the journal Nature, suggest that songbird brains can somehow anticipate the notes they should be singing before they are actually sung. That has implications for how humans acquire language, says Richard Hahnloser, a professor of neuroinformatics and lead author of the study. “We could make a reasonably good analogy…

25 short films about top-level research on swissinfo.ch

This content was published on Nov 11, 2008 SCIENCEsuisse is intended to give readers an insight into what scientists are studying at the beginning of the 21st century. The 25 selected profiles present those scientists whose work has also gained renown beyond Switzerland’s borders. From particle physicists to those in search of a cure for cancer The short films on swissinfo.ch allow the…

Animal experiments increase in 2007

This content was published on Oct 30, 2008 The figure represented a ten per cent increase in basic research, although medical research decreased by eight per cent. No testing was done for cosmetics, the Veterinary Office said. Half of all tests were done by industry while one-third were conducted in universities and hospitals. Some 80 per cent of the animals were rodents, such…

Biblical mines unearthed but no King Solomon

This content was published on Oct 29, 2008 Stefan Münger of Bern University’s Biblical Institute, who examined finds from the site, tells swissinfo about the importance of the excavations even if there is still no evidence of the existence of the Old Testament ruler. The team used high-precision radiocarbon dating and the expertise of scientists like Münger to push back the date of…

US campaign rhetoric reveals strategies

This content was published on Oct 28, 2008 Historian Martin Klimke, who is based at the German Historical Institute in Washington and analysed the results, tells swissinfo that McCain is very concise and clear while Obama is consistent and draws links between issues. Working with linguists Noah Bubenhofer and Joachim Scharloth, Klimke used a supercomputer to crunch nearly two years’ worth of words…

Quake research unearths promising results

This content was published on Oct 28, 2008 This information could help with risk assessment and quake prediction, according to Jochen Wössner from the Swiss Seismological Service at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Despite technical progress made in recent years, measuring earthquakes is still not perfect. Whether seismometers record an earthquake depends on the one hand on the density and quality…

Archive – Science

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Archive – Science

More

Laser on Jungfraujoch gives CO2 clues

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Fixing atom smasher is no small matter

More

Nuclear plant deactivated during tests

More

Scientists score in fight against fatal disease

More

Birds, like us, know the song before they sing

More

25 short films about top-level research on swissinfo.ch

More

Animal experiments increase in 2007

More

Biblical mines unearthed but no King Solomon

More

US campaign rhetoric reveals strategies

More

Quake research unearths promising results

Popular Stories

Most Discussed