The remains of mosquito larvae were preserved for a thousand years in the sediments of Lake Silvaplana. Researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research on Climate (NCCR Climate) have now discovered that these remains can help them to reconstruct the climate history of this period. "Horizonte" has the details.
As part of the National Research Programme “Benefits and Risks of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Plants” (NRP 59), the mature wheat plants were harvested last week in the experimental field in Reckenholz. Thanks to favourable weather conditions, the genetically modified wheat in the trial field in Pully could already be harvested at the end of July. In the process, it became apparent that the act of vandalism committed at the end of June only reached the border of the field and did not compromise the tested plants.
On 19 August 2010 the University of Bern inaugurated the interdisciplinary Centre for Development and Environment (CDE). Key competences contributing to the new centre are the result of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) focusing on «North-South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change».
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “Climate – Variability, Predictability and Climate Risks” is the scientific partner of the “2 Degrees –Weather, Humans and their Climate” exhibition. It is the largest exhibition on weather and climate ever to be staged in Switzerland. The brainchild of the renowned German Hygiene Museum in Dresden, the NCCR Climate assisted in its adaptation for Switzerland.
In the greenhouse, lines of genetically modified wheat carrying a resistance gene against the fungal disease mildew have a yield which is up to twice as high as that of control plants. In the field however, this ratio is reversed for certain, but not all, wheat lines. A study performed within the National Research Programme «Benefits and Risks of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Plants» (NRP 59) concludes from these results that data from the greenhouse cannot be applied to the situation in the field and that therefore field trials are important.
At the end of June vandals destroyed part of a test field where the safety of genetically modified wheat is being researched as part of the National Research Programme “Benefits and Risks of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Plants” (NRP 59). Shortly afterwards, unknown persons defaced the house and car of one of the NRP researchers. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) regrets and particularly deplores actions directed at individual persons.
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “MICS – Mobile Information and Communication Systems” develops measurement technology for monitoring the environment. Small farmers in Africa may now benefit from this technology. Long-term goal: information via SMS about the best time for planting.
As part of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “IM2 – Interactive Multimodal Information Management”, nViso, a young start-up company, is developing a system for detecting emotions, based on an analysis of facial expressions and eye movement. The researchers aim to offer these innovative solutions in the marketing sector.
Health risks in southern Europe are set to increase more steeply than previously thought. The reason is that heat waves in these parts of Europe will be more frequent, more pronounced and last longer. Cities like Athens, Marseilles and Milan will primarily be affected. These are the conclusions drawn by a National Centre of Competence in Research Climate study, carried out by researchers at ETH Zurich.
In its constant endeavour to supply information targeted to needs, the SNSF now offers a news-service. Researchers and others can build their own personal information menu made up of SNSF scientific and foundation news topics, and then subscribe to it.
SNSF issues public call for pre-proposals for the National Research Programme «New Urbain Quality» (NRP 65). The funding of the programme is CHF 5 million. Pre-proposals must be submitted via the SNSF Web platform mySNF by October 5, 2009.
Between 1993 and 2003 the number of journeys by commercial vehicles within the Swiss conurbations rose by half. The volume of freight, however, has not risen. The number of trips by vans and trucks is having an adverse effect on the quality of life. Half of the nitrogen dioxide emissions by road vehicles are generated by freight traffic. Moreover, mutual obstruction of passenger and freight traffic flows is increasing. A growing number of vans and trucks are involved in accidents (approximately 30% of cases in 2003). As part of the National Research Council's programme on "sustainable development of the built environment"(NFP 54), the freight transport situation in urban areas was analysed and a package of suitable measures prepared. Concrete plans of action have thus been worked out for the Zurich, Lugano and Chur agglomerations.
The PermaSense project launched by the Universities of Zurich and Basel, ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne operates two networks of sensors that transmit wireless data. One of these sensor networks is on the Matterhorn. Over a period of several years, the small sensors will collect a series of data that includes rock movements, freezing and thawing processes and temperatures in the bedrock. The second network is on the Jungfraujoch. The technology used by the sensor networks offers new ways of collecting outstanding-quality data in difficult terrain. For example, the data can be used to investigate the processes underlying rock falls in permafrost zones as a result of climate changes.
The spotted knapweed was imported to Europe from North America a little over 100 years ago. Based on this species, researchers from the University of Lausanne have been able to develop a new approach to the investigation of geographical propagation. During the course of their research, which was funded by the National Centre of Competence in Research "Plant Survival", researchers managed to simulate the current propagation pattern based on historical data from both Europe and North America. With these new models, they were able to predict the future propagation trend of this particular plant as far ahead as 2080, taking into account a considerable degree of global warming.
The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) possesses a genetic system of sexual differentiation that developed only two or three million years ago. By way of comparison: the corresponding system in humans – the X and Y chromosomes – developed just under 300 million years ago. This suggests that nature offers different approaches to solving an apparently simple problem, i.e. that of producing individuals of different sex. In addition, the investigation of tree frog genes by SNSF-funded researchers at the University of Lausanne's Department of Ecology and Evolution shows that the commonly accepted theory of the development of chromosomes for sexual differentiation is incomplete.
Between 1990 and 2005, the amount of energy used to air-condition buildings more than doubled. It is currently equivalent to half the electricity output of the Mühleberg nuclear power station. However, researchers point out that no real need exists for air conditioning. This is the conclusion of a study conducted as part of National Research Programme NRP 54 "Sustainable Development of the Built Environment". The researchers have therefore compiled a list of steps that people can take to maintain a comfortable room temperature without resorting to air conditioning. A further interesting finding of the study is that the term "heat" is used primarily when describing conditions at work and hardly ever when referring to the home environment.
With funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Berne are developing a new on-line platform capable of presenting hydrological and meteorological measurements in real time on an electronic map. The platform gives emergency teams an up-to-the-minute overview of developments in the event of flooding. The new tool lets teams look back over the past few hours and compares recent occurrences with previous cases of flooding. The instrument marks a new departure in the way spatial information is presented. In contrast to conventional maps, the information can now be processed and classified totally automatically.
Researchers from EPF Lausanne are simulating mudslides and avalanches in their laboratory with funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Their aim is to understand the fluid mechanics processes at work down to the smallest detail. To this end they have developed a unique experimental apparatus that uses a laser to track the movement of the particles caught up in the flow. The researchers are confident that greater understanding of the key processes could help to reduce the costly consequences of such discharge phenomena.
The temperature at the heart of a town or city is generally higher than in its surrounding areas: this is called the urban heat island effect. The degree to which this phenomenon occurs is dependent on several variables of urban life, but the difference in temperature can be as high as ten degrees Celsius. As part of the National Research Programme “Sustainable development of the built environment” (NRP 54), researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) are trying to find a better way to deal with this situation. Their model acts as a basis for the creation of built environment development scenarios – the virtual transformation or construction of areas of towns or cities – and the study of the environmental consequences of such work, with the aim of reducing the amount of energy used on maintaining the level of thermal comfort in buildings.
By analysing historical documents such as paintings, photographs, reports and old topographic maps, geographers from the University of Berne, with funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation, have charted the changes in the Mer de Glace glacier between 1570 and 2003. Since these changes are a reliable climatic indicator, awareness of them is an important part of reconstructing climate history. This study is enabling scientists to refine their understanding of the climatic variations that occurred during the Little Ice Age, a period for which no real scientific measurements exist. The researchers are now planning to apply their model to other glaciers in the Alps and Scandinavia.
The Bernese environmental historian Guido Poliwoda has investigated the Elbe floods that occurred in Saxony in the 18th and 19th centuries and shown how the people affected learned to cope with them. His investigation has now been published as a book. The Elbe floods became more frequent during the period under investigation, resulting in a system overhaul, a flattening of hierarchies, the involvement of all tiers of society and ultimately in efficient bottom-up disaster management. Guido Poliwoda is now comparing his results with other countries and periods in the National Centre of Competence in Research "Climate". Switzerland's current approach to managing natural disasters emerges creditably from the comparison.
Wood ants use resin to protect themselves against bacteria and pathogenic fungi. They collect globules of amber resin with their mandibles and take them back to their nest. As a result, more than twice as many of them survive pathogen attacks compared to unprotected ants of the same species. In the course of a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, researchers from the University of Lausanne have succeeded in proving for the first time that collecting a substance of vegetable origin enables wild animals to increase their ability to survive bacterial disease. The discovery demonstrates social insects' phenomenal ability to take "public health measures" within their colony.
Switzerland's Alpine meadows conceal a huge diversity of underground fungi that can be used to help regrass ski slopes or prevent erosion in at-risk areas. This has been proven for the first time by Basel-based biologist Fritz Oehl in the National Research Programme "Landscapes and Habitats of the Alps". The fungi in question live in symbiotic association with plant roots, forming what are now as arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM). Scientists used to assume that AM played no role in the alpine altitudinal belt. Fritz Oehl not only established that 60 of the 200 known AM are to be found in the Alps, he also discovered several new species. His results have considerable practical significance, since these underground fungi stimulate plant growth and can therefore be successfully used to help prevent erosion and regrass ski slopes, for example. Preliminary trials in the St. Moritz and Davos areas have been successful.
Sunscreens protect the skin against excessive UV rays. A lot of these products contain chemical UV filters, which are suspected of acting like hormones and causing damage in humans and animals. However, there is no conclusive evidence. Two Swiss research groups have set themselves the task of developing test methods to more accurately assess the risk posed by these substances to humans and ecosystems.
The results of National Research Programme NRP 48, "Landscapes and Habitats of the Alps”, show that in 150 years forested area has increased by almost 50 percent in Switzerland. This increase is natural and restricted almost entirely to mountainous regions. It is more marked on the south side of the Alps than on the north side or in the Jura. The process mainly affects non-viable agricultural land. According to a survey conducted as part of NRP 48, the Swiss population takes a positive attitude to reforestation. Will this favourable opinion be reinforced by political action? In the researchers’ view, the answer to this question must take account of such factors as species diversity in the forested areas and the areas themselves.