Archive – Science

Geneva says it with flowers

This content was published on Jun 19, 2000 This year’s Geneva International Competition for New Roses was won by Robert Laperrière, from France. His winning variety was a velvet red hybrid tea which will be named after Geneva’s cantonal education minister, Martine Brunschwig-Graf. The competition, which began in 1947, is staged in the magnificent setting of the Parc la Grange, which overlooks Lake…

Couchepin moots incentives to integrate disabled into workplace

This content was published on Jun 17, 2000 Couchepin told the annual conference of Pro Infirmis, in Neuchâtel, that companies should be free to decide their own recruitment policies. Pro Infirmis is an umbrella group representing disabled people. Couchepin said the goodwill of employers should be encouraged through incentives designed to offset the additional costs of hiring handicapped workers. The minister’s comments were…

Overseas experts recommend more autonomy for Swiss statistics office

This content was published on Jun 16, 2000 The study was carried out by two Canadian experts: the head of Canada’s Statistics Office, Ivan Fellegi, and a former colleague, Jacob Ryten. They were asked to conduct a thorough peer review of the Statistics Office’s operations, amid concerns that it was “in danger of becoming blinkered”, in the words of its director, Carlo Malaguerra.…

Government plans festival to improve public understanding of science

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 The festival, entitled “Limits and Opportunities of Science”, won’t get underway until May next year, but the organisers are allowing plenty of lead time to publicise the project. It’s the brainchild of the “Fondation Science et Cité”, which was approached by the government to come up with ways of bringing science into the arena of…

Alpine nations applaud Swiss success at reintroducing lynx

This content was published on Jun 15, 2000 The delegates of Scalp (Status and Conservation of the Alpine Lynx Population) applauded Switzerland’s success in reintroducing the once-extinct predator. Representatives from seven alpine nations agreed that the growing lynx population in the Bernese Alps meant the predator was likely to spread to neighbouring countries. The decline of the lynx in western Europe occurred in…

No truce in sight in Biotech battle

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 As probably the world’s most-outspoken opponent of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Rifkin was invited to Berne by the Swiss environment agency to participate in a discussion about the risks of gene technology. Clearly not everyone was happy at his presence. A Nobel-prize winning scientist in the audience got so carried away by Rifkin’s arguments, he…

Arts council in ever greater demand

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 More applications for help were received than the previous year – 3,676, an increase of 146. Fifty-four per cent of them were approved totally or in part, 40 per cent for projects in Switzerland with the remainder going abroad. Music was the single biggest beneficiary, getting subsidies amounting to SFr3 million, nearly SFr250,000 more than…

Billionaire seeks Internet family

This content was published on Jun 14, 2000 Amongst the high-tech applications awaiting the chosen family are a fridge that orders its own food, and a toilet which checks human waste for potential diseases. The family will also have to prepare for celebrity status, with their everyday life broadcast on the Internet five days a week. The family must consist of a couple…

Geneva dogs to get electronic fleas

This content was published on Jun 13, 2000 Until December 31, veterinary surgeries in the canton are offering a special discount rate of SFr55 to insert the fleas, which are not much bigger than a pin-head. It could be money well spent, as after January 1, owners whose dogs are found without the chip will face a stiff fine. The authorities are convinced…

Unaxis clinches deal with Taiwan

This content was published on Jun 9, 2000 “The Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan has chosen Unaxis to create a long-term partnership for the development of the data storage, display products and semi-conductor industries in Taiwan,” said a company statement. The statement added that Unaxis will cooperate with the Industrial Development Bureau, companies and research organisations to…

Archive – Science

Popular Stories

Most Discussed