Cooperation

The goal is clear: zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But how can Switzerland manage the energy transition at the lowest costs possible and ensure the security of the energy supply? PSI researchers are providing answers with a computer model that is unique in its scope.

For over 25 years PSI has been conducting an uninterrupted series of measurements on the Jungfraujoch, studying the impact of aerosols on our climate at 3,580 metres above sea level. The measurements are taken in the Sphinx Observatory, the landmark building on the Jungfraujoch, inaugurated in 1937. This is Europe’s highest research station that can be reached throughout the year via the legendary mountain railway, the Jungfraubahn.

Insects that live entirely or partly in freshwater have a much lower proportion of invasive species than insects that live on land. This is shown in a study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Eawag and an international team of researchers.

An international research team led by drone expert Mirko Kovac of Empa and Imperial College London has taken bees as a model to develop a swarm of cooperative, 3D-printing drones. Under human control, these flying robots work as a team to print 3D materials for building or repairing structures while flying, as the scientists report in the cover story of the latest issue of Nature.