Archive – Science

Novartis drug given all clear for breast cancer treatment

This content was published on Jan 11, 2001 The tablet can now be used as a first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Femara has already been approved as a follow-up treatment for women who have not responded to anti-estrogen therapy. Approval of the new use followed a fast-track review by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The approval was…

Scientists fight brain drain

This content was published on Jan 11, 2001 The Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne have designed a new career package which offers the possibility of a professorship at 30. Scientists can now develop their academic careers in a stable research environment by becoming assistant professors with tenure track. The aim is to foster talent and strengthen the Swiss research scene.…

Colourful moments with the man who invented LSD

This content was published on Jan 11, 2001 The view from Albert Hofmann’s study – of the rolling hills of Alsace – has hardly changed in 100 years. His house, built in modern style in concrete and glass, is tucked away in the last corner of the last village in the Birsig valley near Basel. Hofmann, although sprightly for his advanced age, is…

Switzerland given “greener” image by Time magazine

This content was published on Jan 10, 2001 After years of being hammered by the international media over Nazi gold and dormant bank accounts, Switzerland’s image appears to be on the road to rehabilitation. But not everyone will welcome Time’s view that cannabis production is joining chocolate, banking and luxury watches as one of Switzerland’s more famous industries. It says “Heidi wouldn’t recognise…

Louis-Jeantet Prize winners chosen

This content was published on Jan 10, 2001 The Louis-Jeantet Foundation, based in Geneva, has named Alain Fischer, an immunologist, Iain Mattaj, a molecular biologist, and Alfred Wittinghofer, a biochemist, as this year’s winners. Fischer is professor of paediatric immunology at the Necker Hospital in Paris; Dr Iain Mattaj is scientific coordinator at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, and Alfred Wittinghofer…

A chilly stroll in Zurich Zoo

This content was published on Jan 10, 2001 The half hour walk from the bird’s enclosure to the “elephant house” and back is an important distraction from daily zoo life, and an additional attraction for visitors. There are currently 14 king penguins in Zurich, and all but two have come from other European zoos. Zurich’s breeding programme has had moderate success. More than…

Tecan sharpens focus on proteomics

This content was published on Jan 9, 2001 Proteomics is the study of how information contained in genes is translated into proteins and how they then interact to foster health or trigger disease. “Proteomics could be the single biggest opportunity for our company in the coming years,” said CEO Emile Sutcliffe. “The total available market for Tecan in proteomics is estimated at SFr725…

Geneva remains Switzerland’s unemployment blackspot

This content was published on Jan 9, 2001 The new figures show that the Swiss unemployment rate for 2000 stood at 1.9 per cent. In Geneva the figure was 4.4 per cent. Economic experts agree that there is no single reason for the canton’s stubbornly high jobless rate, rather there are a host of factors. Chief among these is the fact that Geneva…

Roche forges new diagnostic alliance

This content was published on Jan 8, 2001 Under the three-year deal, Millennium will receive a licensing fee, royalties and funding for research. Roche gets certain research and development rights and will market products resulting from the alliance. “The combination of Roche’s world-class strength in diagnostics with Millennium’s strong position in genomics and proteomics will bring revolutionary diagnostic products to the market,” said…

Star-gazers prepare for lunar eclipse

This content was published on Jan 7, 2001 Weather permitting, the rare spectacle will see the full moon turn ochre and copper-coloured for just over an hour, before returning to its full brilliance. The phenomenon has not created the same sort of excitement as the total eclipse of the sun visible in parts of Europe in August 1999, partly because it is a…

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