On 12 January 2012, Karl Gademann will receive the National Latsis Prize 2011 at the Rathaus in Berne. A professor at the chemistry department of the University of Basel, he wins the award for his work on the isolation and synthesis of natural materials. The National Latsis Prize is worth 100,000 Swiss francs. It is awarded each year by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) on behalf of the Latsis Foundation to researchers up to the age of 40. The National Latsis Prize is one of the most prestigious scientific awards in Switzerland.
A team of reporters from the TV science programme "Einstein" is accompanying researchers of the National Research Programme "Sustainable Water Management" (NRP 61) as they study the influence of climate change on the fish fauna. The TV channel SF 1 will broadcast the report for the first time on Thursday, 22 December 2011 at 9 pm.
How can groundwater resources be sustainably managed in karstic regions such as the Jura or the Prealps, while the climate changes, the exploitation of the soil through agriculture and urbanization increases and the use of the underground in itself becomes more diversified (drinking water, geothermal applications, various infrastructures)?
The latest edition of the Swiss research magazine Horizonte is out. It presents a wide selection of projects supported by the SNSF. The focal point of this edition is "use-inspired basic research". Horizonte is published in German and French.
Do better with less. That is the challenge the researchers of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have set for themselves, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Federal Office of Energy. Their specialty: manufacturing solar cells that are one thousand times thinner than conventional cells. In order to boost the output of the cells, they have developed a new nanopatterning technique.
Water supply pipes, sewers and wastewater treatment plants are in need of renovation in many places. However, current water policies in Switzerland are inadequate for the durable and strategic planning of such infrastructure. How must tools and planning processes be adapted to the changes in nature and society?
A team from the science TV programme "Einstein" accompanied researchers of the National Research Programme "Sustainable Water Management" (NRP 61) during a water tracing experiment on the Plaine Morte glacier above Crans-Montana (VS). The programme will go on air on Thursday, 1st September on SF1.
The latest edition of the Swiss research magazine Horizonte is out. It presents a wide selection of projects supported by the SNSF. The focal point of this edition is "We are water". Horizonte is published in German and French.
In the scope of the National Research Programme "Smart Materials" (NRP 62), researchers from the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg are taking cues from sea cucumbers to develop shape memory polymers. An initial application could comprise the development of an artificial bait for fishing. The researchers from Fribourg are also planning further, more high-tech applications in the medical field.
Agriculture will be strongly affected by climate change. As temperature increases and summer precipitation decreases, the quantity and quality of harvests is likely to decrease. Thus, farmers must adapt their plant and livestock production, for example in terms of crop rotation, irrigation or livestock choice.
Glaciers respond sensitively to the fluctuations of the climate. What consequences will glacier changes have on the water resources in the Alpine region? And which adaptation strategies will have to be applied to water management?
Droughts and heat waves are expected to become more frequent in Switzerland due to climate change. Droughts have major impacts on water resources, public health, ecosystems and consequently the economy. However, relevant information as a basis for adequate coping strategies is still lacking.
Electromagnetic fields and radiation produced by radio antennae or mobile phones can influence biological processes, for instance electrical brain activity during sleep, as researchers from the National Research Programme "Non-Ionising Radiation - Health and Environment" (NRP 57) have shown. However, they have not been able to establish any links between everyday exposure to radiation and health problems.
In the Alps, melting glaciers rapidly lead to the creation of new lakes. This entails new opportunities and risks. We need to know where and when new lakes are formed, what their properties are, whom they belong to and who is responsible for them.
In future, water is likely to become scarcer. How can it be optimally used in dry but intensively utilized regions of the Alps?
In arid regions, water channels are mostly used for irrigation purposes. Agriculture and tourism benefit from these channels, and biodiversity is expected to increase. Can reactivated water channels function as a model for future sustainable water use, when water will become scarcer in arid alpine valleys?
Avalanches and debris flows are dangers that mountainous regions such as Switzerland face to a particularly high extent. Numerical models would be beneficial to the security of these regions as they would be able to identify hazardous zones with the highest degree of precision. However, those wishing to develop such models must first unravel the dynamic processes that occur inside these natural phenomena. This is precisely what researchers from the EPFL Lausanne are attempting to do with the help of lasers. Understanding such complex processes is not just of interest to experts on natural disasters, but also in far less obvious areas of application.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "MICS - Mobile Information and Communication Systems" have developed a wireless sensor system to monitor the environment. They are currently presenting this system at the world's largest trade fair in Hannover.
Nanomaterials are causing a revolution in fields as far apart as medicine, energy systems and consumer products. Despite their enormous potential, the production, use and disposal of these materials can entail risks for humans and the environment. The National Research Programme "Opportunities and risks of nanomaterials" (NRP 64) aims to identify both the risks and the opportunities of nanomaterials for human health, the environment and natural resources.
Switzerland’s future climate is likely to be warmer with longer dry spells during the summer months. Sessile oak trees and – somewhat surprisingly – ash trees are pretty frugal and can cope with water shortages better than others. Copper beeches and wild cherry trees are slightly more vulnerable to dryness, while sycamore maples and broad-leaved limes find patches of dry weather the most challenging.
The latest edition of the Swiss research magazine Horizonte is out. It presents a wide selection of projects supported by the SNSF. The focal point of this edition is "Art and Research". Horizonte is published in German and French.
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Robotics – Intelligent robots for improving the quality of life" aims to develop robot technologies for the benefit of human beings. The programme has recently got underway, with the ETH Lausanne as its headquarters.
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.
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.
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.
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.