Archive – Science

Leuenberger looks at climate change realities

This content was published on Nov 14, 2006 Leuenberger also met his Kenyan counterpart Emilio Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday to sign a joint investment protection agreement and was entertained by school children during a visit to a Nairobi slum district. The Swiss president is representing Switzerland at the United Nations post-Kyoto talks on climate change in Nairobi and is due to give a…

Cern reaches for new frontiers

This content was published on Nov 14, 2006 But what is life like inside the European Organization for Nuclear Research on the Swiss-French border? Two young scientists share their experiences with swissinfo. To those unitiated in the world of particles, quarks and antimatter, the uninspiring complex of buildings outside Geneva can seem daunting. It is here that some of the greatest minds in…

Finding a heavenly key to climate change

This content was published on Nov 13, 2006 A new cutting-edge experiment aims to discover how exactly cosmic rays and the Sun may influence the formation of low-level clouds, and possibly climate change. More than two centuries ago, the British Astronomer Royal William Herschel noted a correlation between sunspots – an indicator of solar activity – and the price of wheat in England.…

Transforming hot air into renewable energy

This content was published on Nov 13, 2006 But whatever the outcome of the two weeks of talks, the attendees are contributing to the warming of the atmosphere by simply flying to the Kenyan capital from the four corners of the earth. According to the Swiss foundation, myclimate, each of the Swiss delegates – including this year’s president, Moritz Leuenberger – is pumping…

Geneva rebrands itself to see off rivals

This content was published on Nov 10, 2006 On Thursday a group of experts submitted a nine-point plan aimed at better exploiting the city’s existing assets and embracing new networks to keep pace with a rapidly changing world. One of the key issues for those behind the GenevaNetwork initiative is how to harness the “soft power” wielded by thousands of diverse actors around…

Post-Kyoto climate talks focus on third world

This content was published on Nov 6, 2006 The two-week summit, which gets underway on Monday, is looking at objectives for reducing greenhouse gases beyond 2012 and measures to help countries adapt to climate change. Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialised countries agreed in 1997 to reduce harmful emissions by an average of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. The conference comes…

Novartis at home in Cambridge

This content was published on Nov 6, 2006 But while the company’s scientists turn to the United States as they seek new drugs, Novartis has not completely abandoned research in Switzerland. In Cambridge, Novartis has three sites, but the firm’s showcase is an old sweet factory building it has turned into a designer research complex. It is located right next door to the…

Ageing population taxes minds in Geneva

This content was published on Nov 5, 2006 Academics, government officials and economists will address issues such as the consequences for the labour market, the welfare system, society and the economy. Like global warming, demographic changes that will see a big increase in the number over-65s in the coming decades tend to be viewed as a “ticking time bomb” menacing society. Frequent concerns…

Sudden winter

This content was published on Nov 3, 2006

Search for institute president set to begin

This content was published on Nov 3, 2006 The search comes after the resignation on Wednesday of president Ernst Hafen, who threw in the towel because of strong opposition to reforms he wished to introduce. Hafen, who had been in the job less than a year, stood down because members of the board and most of the faculty didn’t agree with his plans.…

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