Society
Making knowledge practical and more transparent
TechTransfer
Eawag
How can the use of scientific knowledge be promoted in policy and practice to make plant protection more sustainable? An interdisciplinary study, in which five Swiss research institutions participated, identifies important hurdles and proposes a package of measures to overcome them.
Unraveling the secrets of microplastics released by tires
Research
EPFL Eawag
In Switzerland, tire and road wear particles are one of the biggest sources of microplastics released into the environment, yet the chemical compounds contained in those particles – and their effects – remain largely a mystery. To remedy that knowledge gap, scientists at EPFL and two other Swiss research institutes are conducting a study of the toxicity of tire-particle compounds and how readily they’re absorbed by living organisms. The first phase of the study has just been completed.
Stylish sensors to wear
TechTransfer
Empa
With sensors that measure health parameters and can be worn on the body, we do let technology get very close to us. A collaboration between Empa and designer Laura Deschl, sponsored by the Textile and Design Alliance (TaDA) of Eastern Switzerland, shows that medical monitoring of respiratory activity, for example, can also be very stylish – as a shirt.
The Swiss water turnaround: wait and see or take a proactive approach?
Politics
Eawag
New technologies in the water sector can contribute to the flexible and sustainable development of urban water management and the sustainable utilisation of water as a resource. In a recent article in the journal Aqua & Gas, a team of researchers from the aquatic research institute Eawag shows what opportunities and risks are associated with this.
The Nuclear Reality is Unsettling
Politics
ETH Zurich
Stephen Herzog is researching how nuclear weapons could be better controlled and eventually eliminated. For him, Putin's threats are a reason to fundamentally question the nuclear “balance of terror."
The roman history of the chestnut culture
Research
WSL
The sweet chestnut and the walnut are an economically important tree species in Europe. It is thanks to the ancient Romans that we find their fruits and wood so widespread today. Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the University of Bern have retraced the history of their distribution based on pollen and archaeological evidence.
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