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.
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.
Practically all drugs for the HI-virus which causes AIDS were developed in Europe and North America. They are also effective in containing other variants of the virus found in Africa and Asia, as a study sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has now shown.
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.
The crossroads of chemistry and biology inspires the research of organic chemist Karl Gademann. By isolating and synthesising natural materials he discovers surprising relationships which open up new research fields. He receives the National Latsis Prize 2011 in recognition of his achievements in the total synthesis of natural products of biological interest. Worth 100,000 Swiss francs, the National Latsis Prize is awarded once a year by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) on behalf of the Latsis Foundation of Geneva.
After carbon dioxide, methane is the second most important greenhouse gas. It is not the result of industry and traffic but largely of agriculture. If calculated in carbon dioxide equivalents, it amounts to 7% of Swiss greenhouse gas emissions. This calculation of the national greenhouse gas inventory is based on a rough estimate. The team of Werner Eugster at the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the ETH Zurich would like to verify this estimate. The researchers attach equipment to captive balloons and motorised gliders to measure the concentration of methane near the ground. Their work will provide the basis for a sound judgement on whether Switzerland is fulfilling its obligation to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases as defined in the Kyoto protocol and to bring it below the level of 1990.
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.
Developmental biologists at the University of Basel are devoting a lot of time and effort to understanding the processes that steer the formation of limbs in the embryo. Whether fins, wings or legs - the genetic network controlling their growth has remained unchanged in the course of evolution. A team led by Rolf Zeller was able to show that mouse embryos form a symmetrical front paw with additional fingers instead of a thumb if the cells lose their orientation due to genetic defects. The fins found in fish fossils are also symmetrical. At a later stage in evolution, living organisms became capable of forming more complex and sophisticated limbs. This development enabled vertebrates to leave the water and conquer the land and the skies.
Countless stem cell therapies are currently being offered on the Internet and elsewhere. They are said to cure or alleviate diabetes, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's etc. Together with the Federal Office of Public Health, the National Research Programme "Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine" (NRP 63) has compiled a leaflet which describes the risks of untested stem cell therapies and gives advice on how to spot dubious offers.
In the context of federal measures to stabilise the economy, researchers of the EPFL have developed a robot which helps surgeons to perform operations on ears, noses and throats not only with more precision, but also much quicker. They are presenting a prototype of the robot at the world’s largest trade fair, which is currently taking place 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.
Researchers of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "CO-ME - Computer Aided and Image Guided Medical Interventions" working with a start-up company created in the context of federal measures to stabilize the economy, have developed a software which helps surgeons to plan and perform craniomaxillo facial (CMF) surgery with more precision. They are presenting the platform at the world’s largest trade fair taking place at the moment in Hannover.
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.
Medicine in miniature: The instruments developed by a team of researchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) might even be used to operate on a fly. While research is still in its initial stages, the long-term aim is to entrust minute, autonomous robots with medical tasks within the (human) body – a popular theme from science fiction would thus become routine hospital work one day. The little helpers could carry substances directly to the tissue where they are needed or even conduct extremely precise and efficient surgical operations.
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "LIVES – Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives" began its research activities at the end of last year. The NCCR examines how postindustrial economies and societies contribute to the development of social exclusion and precariousness.
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 National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "Chemical Biology – Visualisation and Control of Biological Processes Using Chemistry" has got underway. It uses chemistry tools to obtain a better understanding of life at the molecular level and is engaged in establishing a platform for chemical screening aimed at developing a new generation of molecules with biological effects.
Mandalas are symbolic illustrations in Hinduism and Buddhism that have been created for religious purposes for many thousands of years. The circular patterns – "mandala" is a Sanskrit word meaning circle – are mainly known from colouring books in our part of the world. Now they have found their place in molecular biology.
To illustrate the results of their statistical DNA analyses, a team led by Jeremy Luban at the University of Geneva created chromosome mandalas. They show which sites are targeted by retroviruses when integrating their DNA into the DNA of humans to become part of our genome.
Researchers of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study have identified a simple method to establish when a patient contracted the virus causing . The time of infection can be of importance for the treatment of the illness and it contributes to the understanding of the course of the epidemic.
If you regularly take pain killers – even those available over the counter – you often expose yourself to higher risks of heart attack and apoplexy. This is the result of a meta-analysis of 31 clinical studies which was done as part of the National Research Programme «Musculoskeletal Health – Chronic Pain» (NRP 53).
At the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "TransCure – From Transport Physiology to Identification of Therapeutic Targets", work has got underway. The main objectives of the programme are to expand knowledge on how transport proteins and ion channels function and to develop new drugs.
The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "SYNAPSY – Synaptic Bases of Mental Diseases" started work this autumn. It brings together psychiatrists and neuroscientists with the aim of developing diagnostic tools and innovative therapeutic approaches to treating psychiatric illnesses.
The National Centre of Competence (NCCR) "sesam – Swiss etiological study of adjustment and mental health" brought its research work to an end this year. In a time-span of merely five years, the NCCR made valuable contributions to science and the training of junior scientists. The NCCR played a key role in enhancing research infrastructures, which are to be maintained by the University of Basel in future.
The increasing use of technology in medicine presents new challenges for doctors. “But the relationship with the patient remains at the core of our work,” says Hans-Florian Zeilhofer, researcher of the NCCR “CO-ME - Computer Aided and Image Guided Medical Interventions”.
Using methods from the field of cultural studies, the Zurich-based science historian Marianne Sommer examines how the natural sciences go about explaining the history of man. There is growing public interest in such explanations, which delve deep into the body to tell us who we are and where we come from.
Over the next few weeks research will get underway in the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) on “Kidney.CH – Kidney Control of Homeostasis”. This marks the launch of the world’s first research network to broadly examine physiological processes in the kidneys with regard to their role in preserving the balance (homeostasis) of body substances and functions.
A new type of sensor with unprecedented sensitivity has led scientists supported by the SNSF to new insights into the behaviour of bacteria: the concentration of a messenger determines whether bacteria move freely as individual cells or live in communities that form biofilms resistant to antibiotics. The ability to measure the levels of this messenger in individual living bacterial cells should boost the search for new antibiotics.
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.
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 brain is a gigantic computer. It is composed of billions of nerve cells which network to form sophisticated circuits. Researchers from the NCCR Genetics at the Friedrich Miescher Institute have now developed a technique that can display these circuits. Find out more in the “Horizons” research magazine.
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.
For the first time, Swiss HIV Cohort Study researchers have reconstructed on a molecular basis how the AIDS agent HIV has spread in Switzerland over the past 30 years. Data shows that the distribution of sterile needles to drug addicts, introduced in 1986, also protected many non-drug addicts against the disease. This is of relevance especially for those countries, in which needle distribution programs have still not been introduced.
Stem cells show great promise in fighting chronic illnesses. What is still unclear is just how these cells work. The NRP 63 programme recently launched in Switzerland seeks to find a solid basis for medical applications in the future.
Virtobot is the name of the forensic high-tech helpmate used at the University of Bern’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to perform virtual autopsies. Developed as part of the National Centre of Competence in Research, Co-Me the industrial robot provides forensic doctors with a high precision, three-dimensional image of cadavers. Digitally preserving these allows the causes of death can be established even years later.
A new method developed by researchers within the framework of the National Research Programme “Musculoskeletal Health – Chronic Pain” (NRP 53) provides a three-dimensional view of spine movements. The researchers hope this will facilitate the development of new artificial disc replacements.
The Swiss Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations gave the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) a clean report on its handling of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “sesam”, which was discontinued at the end of September 2009. It concluded that there were no grounds for the allegation that the SNSF violated statutory regulations within the framework of the NCCR, as a group of interests from Basel asserted in its complaint filed with the Supervisory Board for Foundations.
The penetration of calcium ions, which cause muscle cells to contract, is visible under a TIRF microscope. This innovative microscope, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), sheds unique light on what sets healthy muscles apart from diseased ones.
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.
In its Lesson Learned report just published, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has drawn its conclusions from the discontinuation of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) SESAM in January. Based on the experience gained, it provides conclusions and findings that can be applied to comparable large-scale projects in the future. In particular, the SNSF intends to demand more extensive preliminary feasibility studies.