Cluster: Science

Swiss NGO defends biopiracy claim

This content was published on May 9, 2008 German pharmaceutical company Dr Willmar Schwabe, which holds the patents and makes the highly successful umckaloabo® product based on the plants, has denied any wrongdoing. The dispute, before the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany, involves two species of pelargonium – a type of geranium native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Extracts have…

Climate solutions

Myanmar devastation

This content was published on May 8, 2008 Myanmar was left reeling after being hit in 2008 by Nargis, which killed around 140,000 people and left many towns almost totally destroyed. International relief efforts were hampered by the military regime’s reluctance to let in outsiders.

Green favoured on Earth Day

This content was published on Apr 22, 2008 A Gallup International survey found 97 per cent of Swiss questioned said the environment needed to be protected and that they had implemented at least one green-minded practice. Recycling is the most common environmental activity, practised by 91 per cent of Swiss. Only Ireland, Britain, Spain and Canada recycle more. The least popular green practice…

Time for noise polluters to pay for damage

This content was published on Apr 16, 2008 In an effort to draw attention to the widespread but largely hidden problem of noise pollution, a host of organisations have joined forces to mark International Noise Awareness Day on Wednesday. The complex effects of noise pollution are not immediately obvious. Indirect costs, such as the loss in property value and health-related costs far outweigh…

Climate solutions

Fears grow over men’s fertility

This content was published on Apr 9, 2008 The study has so far tested 800 volunteers in western and eastern Switzerland when they were called up for military service. It investigated the number, mobility and speed of their sperm. In more than half the men at least one of the parameters was found to be lower than the international norm. The researchers have…

Climate solutions

Stink bug found in Europe for first time

This content was published on Apr 9, 2008 The bug, which is harmless to humans but considered an agricultural pest in its native East Asia, was one of five insect species found in Switzerland for the first time in 2007. It was reported in five different places in the Zurich area, where one infestation destroyed an ornamental shrub, according to the Federal Institute…

Climate solutions

Solar Impulse receives EU support

This content was published on Apr 9, 2008 Jacques Barrot, the Commission’s vice-president, on Wednesday announced official support for the project, which he said was about promoting “modern and clean technology”. Piccard, the initiator and president of the project, says the Solar Impulse is the symbol of the new technologies that society ought to be capable of rallying behind in order to conserve…

Climate solutions

Alps get high-tech environmental monitoring

This content was published on Apr 8, 2008 Swiss Experiment uses cutting edge wireless sensor network technology to collect up-to-the-minute data from the mountainside to gain a clearer idea of what is going on there. Among those involved is Karl Aberer, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. He deals with the information technology side of the project, which…

Climate solutions

Government “ready for pandemic”

This content was published on Apr 7, 2008 A WHO evaluation carried out last October shows that the Swiss authorities’ plans to counter an outbreak are well advanced. The organisation praised in particular the flexibility of the government’s command structure in the event of a pandemic. It said the authorities should now consider regular training exercises rather than trying to build on plans…

Climate solutions

Swiss say action on climate change is “crucial”

This content was published on Apr 5, 2008 A government delegation took the message this week to global talks in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on the future of climate change beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires. About 1,000 government, business, research and environmental representatives attended the United Nations conference. A climate change expert in Bern, who is backing the Swiss campaign, said…

Cluster: Science

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Cluster: Science

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Swiss NGO defends biopiracy claim

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Myanmar devastation

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Green favoured on Earth Day

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Time for noise polluters to pay for damage

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Fears grow over men’s fertility

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Stink bug found in Europe for first time

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Solar Impulse receives EU support

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Alps get high-tech environmental monitoring

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Government “ready for pandemic”

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Swiss say action on climate change is “crucial”

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