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Watches tick to a different beat

This content was published on Sep 28, 2002 The commemoration paid tribute to the pioneering work carried out in Switzerland between 1962-7 on the development of the electronic quartz wristwatch. The event was organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the largest worldwide organisation of engineers. “Today electronic quartz watches are produced in the zillions,” Hugo Wyss, IEEE organiser, told…

Students protest plan to harmonise education

This content was published on Sep 27, 2002 They say the reforms, inspired by the United States model, are being introduced for economic reasons. Student unions say they plan to resist the proposals, which are enshrined in the Bologna Directive and which won the approval of 32 countries, including Switzerland, in 1999. The signatories say the Directive will create a “European space for…

Swiss space technology given new launch pad

This content was published on Sep 25, 2002 Switzerland’s only astronaut, Claude Nicollier, will promote the initiative at home and abroad. Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and the University of Neuchâtel’s Institute of Microtechnology (IMT) are the two partners of the project. The chair’s activities will focus on microsystems and nanotechnology. This collaboration will also be an opportunity to heighten Switzerland’s profile…

Tainted medicine causes concern

This content was published on Sep 23, 2002 The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences says it wants to prevent conflicts of interest in biomedical research. In its guidelines the Academy says industry should not be allowed to pay for lavish social events. It also urges organisers of medical congresses to reveal their sponsors. The move comes amid growing international concern that the tightening…

Switzerland – death tourism capital?

This content was published on Sep 20, 2002 The group was recently thrust into the media spotlight following a British television report. Since then, the Zurich authorities have voiced their anxiety that Switzerland might become a centre for people wishing to take their own lives. Like its counterparts, the Zurich-based Dignitas takes advantage of Switzerland’s liberal laws on assisted suicide, which stipulate that…

The Grandson of Greta Garbo

This content was published on Sep 19, 2002 They prefer instead to head straight for the basement, where a vintage car museum is located. This slightly incongruous collection of automobiles, motorcycles and cycles belonged to Georges Filipinetti, the Geneva millionaire who owned the castle between 1956 and 1981. Many of the cars date from the late 19th century, but two vehicles in the…

Government clamps down on genetic testing

This content was published on Sep 19, 2002 It has put forward a series of proposals to limit the use of test kits and protect the rights of the individual. The measures would prevent businesses from screening employees and stop insurance companies testing policyholders. Tougher regulations would also be introduced governing prenatal testing, and counselling would be offered to individuals before the testing…

Doctors produce heart valve from living cells

This content was published on Sep 18, 2002 Unlike synthetic heart valves, the new valve will grow with the child, avoiding years of risky operations. A team at the Tissue Engineering Laboratory of Zurich University Hospital’s Clinic for Heart and Blood Vessel Surgery succeeded in implanting the heart valve in a sheep. Trials on humans are not expected for a couple of years.…

Scientists trigger out-of-body experience

This content was published on Sep 18, 2002 When they used electrodes to stimulate the brain of a female epilepsy patient during treatment, she began describing feeling as though she had left her body and was floating above it. “I see myself lying in bed, from above,” the 43-year-old patient told Olaf Blanke and his colleagues at the University Hospitals of Geneva and…

Time waits for solar system research

This content was published on Sep 15, 2002 The samples of solar wind should improve our understanding of conditions in the distant past before Earth and other planets formed. “We will analyse particular samples from this mission with unique techniques developed in our laboratory,” said cosmo-chemist, Rainer Wieler, from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He was talking to swissinfo at an…

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Archive – Science

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Watches tick to a different beat

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Students protest plan to harmonise education

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Swiss space technology given new launch pad

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Tainted medicine causes concern

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Switzerland – death tourism capital?

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The Grandson of Greta Garbo

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Government clamps down on genetic testing

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Doctors produce heart valve from living cells

More

Scientists trigger out-of-body experience

More

Time waits for solar system research

Popular Stories

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