Cement production is responsible for 5% of carbon dioxide emissions. If we are to invent a "green" cement, we need to understand in more detail the legendary qualities of traditional Portland cement. A research group partly financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is tackling this task.
Agriculture is increasingly vanishing from the Alps. Land that was cultivated for centuries is now being abandoned and scrubs are encroaching on it. This affects not only the landscape, but also the water balance and will in future also have an impact on power generation. These are the conclusions reached by an interdisciplinary research group supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
A strong personality at the Swiss National Science Foundation steps down: Dieter Imboden, longstanding President of the Research Council and champion of scientific research in Switzerland and beyond, will be succeeded by Martin Vetterli from EPF Lausanne at the end of the year.
Combination therapies for AIDS are becoming increasingly effective, but they cannot protect against other sexually transmitted illnesses. It is unsafe for patients taking antiretroviral drugs to stop using condoms. This is one of the findings of research conducted in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, which is supported by the SNSF.
Controlling and modifying at will the transparency, electrical properties, and stiffness of a gel - such are the promises of a new discovery by researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). This marks an important step for materials used in healthcare, high-tech, and the cosmetics industry.
The use of nanomaterials in agriculture could, on the one hand, reduce cost and effort, increase efficiency and lead to more environmentally sound applications. On the other hand, it might also have a negative effect on microorganisms in the soil. This is concluded by the authors of a review article written within the scope of the National Research Programme "Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials" (NRP 64).
The medical researcher Jacques Fellay is studying the human genome in search of genetic variations that influence how the body reacts to a virus and to the drugs fighting it. He is to be awarded the National Latsis Prize 2012 for his research.
Every year around 62,000 people die in Switzerland but little is known about the circumstances and conditions of dying. The Swiss National Science Foundation has launched the National Research Programme "End of Life" (NRP 67) to elaborate knowledge for politics and science which will make it possible to conceive more humane scenarios for the last phase of life for both young and old.
Lakes will soon replace glaciers as a characteristic element of the Alpine landscape. A study within the National Research Programme "Sustainable Water Management" (NRP 61) analysed the potential of these lakes (present and future) in terms of tourism, hydro-electric power and natural dangers.
The National Research Programme "Benefits and Risks of the Deliberate Release of Genetically Modified Plants" (NRP 59) identified no risks to health or the environment due to green genetic engineering. As it stands today, it offers little benefit to Swiss agriculture. However, this may change in the near future if plants with combined properties such as herbicide tolerance and disease resistance are cultivated.
On 1 August 2012, the Swiss National Science Foundation can look back on 60 years of commitment to research. The organisation was founded in 1952 following concerns that Swiss research might sink into mediocrity after the Second World War. Today, the SNSF supports over 8000 outstanding researchers and is Switzerland’s foremost institution in the promotion of scientific research.
The risk of suffering a hip fracture increases continuously from the age of 65 because our bones become weaker and more fragile the older we get. A study sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has shown that vitamin D helps to prevent hip fractures, albeit only in high doses (800 units or more per day).
There is a growing discrepancy with regard to religious matters in Switzerland: in politics and the media, religion plays a prominent role, but its influence is waning in state institutions and it is becoming increasingly less important for most indi-viduals. At the same time, there is a growing religious diversity. These are the key conclusions of the National Research Programme "Religions, the State and Society" (NRP 58). It recommends that the authorities actively promote equality among the various religions.
The challenges of climate change and increasingly scarce resources have catapulted wood, a renewable resource storing carbon dioxide, into the focus of science, industry and society. The National Research Programme "Resource Wood" (NRP 66) will explore how wood could be more widely used and develop the principles of a sustainable resource management.
In 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) invested CHF 713 million in basic science, 1.8% less than in the record year 2010 (CHF 726 million). As in previous years, the SNSF was forced to reject many promis-ing projects.
The engineering scientist Martin Vetterli, full professor for communication systems and dean of the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at the EPFL in Lausanne, will be the new president of the National Research Council of the SNSF as of 2013. He succeeds Dieter Imboden, who will step down from this key position at the end of 2012 after eight years in office.
Researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) have demonstrated a microscopic system in which light can be converted into a mechanical oscillation and back. This interaction is so strong that it becomes possible to control the motion of the oscillator at the level where quantum mechanics governs its behaviour.
Gabriele Gendotti, a lawyer from the canton of Ticino, is the new president of the Foundation Council of the SNSF. The former national councillor and member of the cantonal government replaces Hans Ulrich Stöckling at the helm of Switzerland's most prominent research funding organisation.
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.