Archive – Science

Initiative aims to give boost to engineering

This content was published on Jan 28, 2008 The Nano-Tera project could also provide an opportunity for engineering research and education to match the results of more traditional scientific endeavours. Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve studying and working with matter on an infinitesimal scale. One nanometre is one-millionth of a millimetre and a single human hair is around 80,000 nanometres in width. While there…

New technique lifts x-ray fog

This content was published on Jan 26, 2008 Instead of the traditionally blurred pictures taken by radiologists or even security specialists, observers will be able to see the finer details of the person or object. Researchers from the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), led by Franz Pfeiffer, have now demonstrated the practicality of a high-resolution technique…

Greenest of them all

This content was published on Jan 24, 2008 The 2008 Environmental Performance Index measures 25 indicators in areas including emissions, water quality and environmental policies. It was compiled by researchers at Columbia and Yale universities. The report linked good environmental performance to wealth. It said sound public policy and in the case of developing countries, good governance, were also factors that accounted for…

Tackling pain in premature babies

This content was published on Jan 23, 2008 An international pain management congress she has organised takes place in Bern on Thursday, with the aim of raising awareness among the medical profession of this long unrecognised problem. “Until the mid-1980s, science thought that premature babies could not feel pain,” Cignacco told swissinfo. “It was assumed that because the nerves were still not fully…

Climate change “great threat to humanity”

This content was published on Jan 21, 2008 In response, the Geneva-based agency is launching an appeal worth SFr326 million ($292 million) for 2008 and 2009. Approximately 75 per cent of the budget will be dedicated to disaster preparedness and health care initiatives that are community-based. The Federation states global weather patterns are contributing to an increase in disasters, affecting water supplies, impacting…

Researchers target chronic pain

This content was published on Jan 17, 2008 Their research shows that two receptors – specialised cells that detect changes in the environment and turn them into electrical impulses – in the spinal cords of mice act as a pain filter when they come into contact with a Valium-like substance. Zurich pharmacology Professor Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer, who led the study, says that it…

German speakers more active on climate change

This content was published on Jan 16, 2008 They are also more prepared to accept restrictive measures and to change their behaviour for the good of the climate. The vast majority of respondents – 98 per cent of German speakers and 91 per cent of French speakers – said they were aware that man-made climate change was underway. Some 88 per cent of…

Singles are wealthy, independent and happy

This content was published on Jan 16, 2008 More than half of single women surveyed indicated they were satisfied with their status and one-third were not actively seeking a partner. Only half as many men were single out of choice. Of those looking for a partner, both men and women valued qualities including honesty, faithfulness, optimism and sex appeal. A majority of respondents…

Education chief with the drive to succeed

This content was published on Jan 13, 2008 Dell’Ambrogio is one of just a few people from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino to hold a top position in the federal administration. The 54-year-old has a distinguished career behind him, having been a judge, chief of cantonal police, a university official, a member of the cantonal parliament and mayor. He is also the father…

Astrophysicists see the light

This content was published on Jan 10, 2008 Although doubts have been raised about their measurement method, the development promises to lead to further discoveries as researchers rush to find an Earth-like planet in deep space. In a recently published paper, Svetlana Berdyugina of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and three colleagues announced they had detected light reflected by the atmosphere…

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