Archive – Science

Expo.02 leftovers go under the hammer

This content was published on Nov 17, 2002 Around 30,000 objects – from teepee tents to a rusting monolith – are going under the auctioneer’s hammer. The auction comes just under a month after Expo.02 closed its doors to the public for the last time on October 20 following a five-month run. Expo organisers have commissioned the liquidation company, Used Market, together with…

Multilingual Switzerland – an affordable luxury?

This content was published on Nov 17, 2002 The Swiss Academy of Social Sciences has stressed the importance of preserving Switzerland’s linguistic diversity. Economist François Grin told delegates at the Academy’s one-day conference in Biel, that moves to introduce English tuition in schools at an earlier age posed no real threat as long as Switzerland continued to invest in its national languages. Last…

Divisions run deep among the Swiss

This content was published on Nov 16, 2002 Almost half of respondents thought regional differences could even lead to the break-up of Switzerland. The study by the GfS research institute found that while 73 per cent of Swiss Germans liked their French-speaking neighbours, just 51 per cent of Swiss French returned the compliment. And 29 per cent of French speakers said they would…

Scientists reveal how fingers form

This content was published on Nov 15, 2002 In a five-year study, they have unravelled the mechanisms by which digits grow. The work should offer new understanding into birth defects. It is estimated that one in every 1,000 babies has malformed digits. Geneva university’s zoology department made headlines in the 1990s when it announced that if a gene responsible for digit growth was…

Girls take steps towards jobs for the boys

This content was published on Nov 14, 2002 The aim of the event is to open up new professional horizons to girls aged between 10 and 15, by giving them the chance to follow their fathers at work. Fathers are encouraged to take their daughters to work because the scheme aims to introduce girls to the more traditionally male-dominated professions. If father is…

Swiss study links social class to early death

This content was published on Nov 13, 2002 The Catholic charity, Caritas, said the findings were clear evidence that blue-collar workers should be allowed to retire earlier. Although the findings come as no great surprise – the link between poverty and earlier death has been well documented – Jürg Krummenacher, Caritas director, says it is the first time that data from 16 cantons…

CSEM able to mass-produce micro-optics

This content was published on Nov 11, 2002 It developed the capability and know-how in a European Union-funded set of projects. The CSEM announced it has honed its production capacity and skills for making micro-optics from Ormocer, the name for a family of organic-inorganic plastics invented and trademarked by the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicates in Germany. Ormocer is targeted to be used in…

Tower restoration revives shattered Gondo

This content was published on Nov 10, 2002 A charitable foundation plans to reconstruct Gondo’s Stockalper Tower and in doing so boost the economic fortunes of the village. In October 2000, Gondo was sliced in two by a 40-metre-wide swathe of mud and rocks loosened by three days of torrential rain. The heart of the village, which lies on the Swiss-Italian border, was…

Swiss ant researcher wins top science prize

This content was published on Nov 8, 2002 Wehner received a SFr100,000 ($68,000) prize at a ceremony in Bern on Friday for his work on the behaviour of the Cataglyphis ant of the Sahara desert. The prize is awarded annually for a “discovery or study” that has made an outstanding contribution to Swiss science. It was founded by a wealthy French lawyer, Marcel…

New beamline promises faster drug development

This content was published on Nov 7, 2002 The PSI is building a second machine for scientists investigating the structure of proteins. The device, known as a beamline, delivers high-intensity x-rays so that they can penetrate tiny protein crystals and reveal their composition. Switzerland’s pharmaceutical giants, Novartis and Roche, have joined forces with the Max Planck Society in Germany to finance the new…

Archive – Science

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Archive – Science

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Expo.02 leftovers go under the hammer

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Multilingual Switzerland – an affordable luxury?

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Divisions run deep among the Swiss

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Scientists reveal how fingers form

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Girls take steps towards jobs for the boys

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Swiss study links social class to early death

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CSEM able to mass-produce micro-optics

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Tower restoration revives shattered Gondo

More

Swiss ant researcher wins top science prize

More

New beamline promises faster drug development

Popular Stories

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