Archive – Science

Visitors confront Earth’s future at Expo

This content was published on Aug 4, 2002 Upstairs, aerial photographs illustrate the beauty of our planet. The contrast is designed to make the visitor consider the future. The exhibition is housed in an imposing wooden sphere, which stands 27 metres high and symbolises the earth. The exhibition and the building explore the issue of sustainable development. It is one of four government…

Funding row fuels fear over space station

This content was published on Aug 2, 2002 At a meeting in Washington earlier this week, Switzerland joined 13 other ISS partner countries in urging the US to respect its financial commitment to the building project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2006. The American space agency NASA announced at the end of last year its intention to scale back its involvement…

Hiking Gstaad in all weathers

This content was published on Aug 1, 2002 The resort in the Bernese Oberland has just unveiled its redesigned “WeatherTrail” – Switzerland’s first ever, aimed at making people more observant about the weather and less reliant on weather forecasts. My visit coincided with a day that combined bright sunshine, light showers, strong winds and a heavy downpour – in other words, a perfect…

Swiss science celebrates half a century

This content was published on Jul 31, 2002 Its priorities remain the funding of independent basic research and the fostering of young scientific talent. However, the world of science has changed dramatically since the foundation was set up on August 1, 1952. And Switzerland is fighting to maintain its strong research base in the face of financial constraints. Success story “If you look…

Roche seeks edge in Alzheimer’s treatment

This content was published on Jul 30, 2002 Roche on Tuesday announced it had purchased the licence from privately held US-based Memory Pharmaceuticals. The Swiss group said it aimed to jointly develop drugs not only for Alzheimer’s, but also for other disorders, such as depression. The first potential Alzheimer’s drug licensed from Memory is due to go into clinical trials in the near…

Funding agency demands more cash for science

This content was published on Jul 29, 2002 The National Science Foundation said it needed an extra SFr1.25 billion for the four-year period, 2004-2007, if basic research in Switzerland was to remain among the best in the world. The appeal to government and parliament comes as the foundation prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary on August 1. In the past ten years, demands…

Swiss ocean explorer turns 80

This content was published on Jul 28, 2002 Part of a dynasty famed for numerous record-breaking feats, Piccard shows no sign of slowing down as he celebrates his 80th birthday. And he continues to work at his Centre for the Protection of the Sea and Lakes in Lausanne. “There are still many things I wish to do before I pass on to the…

Swiss make dinosaur discovery

This content was published on Jul 27, 2002 Part of the dinosaur find has been excavated and brought to safety. But the scientists – among them Swiss geologist Michel Monbaron – say more time and intensive research are needed before they can announce such a result with certainty.They say they will present their findings in Paris in the autumn. The team has been…

Celebrated Swiss ecologist turns 75

This content was published on Jul 27, 2002 After four decades spent fighting on behalf of animals and nature, Weber is now at the forefront of a new campaign to save baby seals on Canada’s eastern coast – a campaign which the Fondation Franz Weber is likely to pursue with its customary vigour. Weber’s age does not trouble him. “I am a young…

Worth one’s salt – the Bex mines

This content was published on Jul 25, 2002 The 60-kilometre-long labyrinth in Bex lies under the hamlets of Villars, Chesières and Arveyes. A trip into the bowels of the earth gives one a view of the hardships associated, long before the invention of modern drills, with the production of salt and its association with power and wealth, when the region was ruled by…

Archive – Science

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Archive – Science

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Visitors confront Earth’s future at Expo

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Funding row fuels fear over space station

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Hiking Gstaad in all weathers

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Swiss science celebrates half a century

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Roche seeks edge in Alzheimer’s treatment

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Funding agency demands more cash for science

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Swiss ocean explorer turns 80

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Swiss make dinosaur discovery

More

Celebrated Swiss ecologist turns 75

More

Worth one’s salt – the Bex mines

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