Research

PSI scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths. The new lens will make it much easier to study nanostructures using X-rays, according to a paper just published by the researchers in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

EPFL researchers have discovered that gadolinium-doped cerium oxide, a compound they created in the lab, could be a promising alternative to certain piezoelectric materials: it has the same proprieties yet may be 100 times more effective. It’s also lead-free, unlike the best piezoelectric materials, which means that it could be employed in bio-compatible medical applications. Further research will be conducted on this highly promising compound and similar materials.

Kurt Heutschi, a senior scientist in Empa's Acoustics / Noise Control lab, explains what noise does and why we perceive sound so differently.

In her research as a number theorist, Sarah Zerbes focuses on one of the oldest – but also most topical – branches of mathematics. Her work is closely tied to one of the great open mathematical problems, the solution for which carries a prize of one million dollars.  

Deep learning models are becoming increasingly common in bioimage analysis. Yet a lack of standardization and the use of these algorithms by non-experts are potential sources of bias. Scientists from EPFL and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) offer practical tips and guidance in a paper recently published in the journal IEEE.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine calls the security architecture in Europe into question. In an interview with Globe, ETH Professor Andreas Wenger explains the medium- and long-term consequences for international and Swiss security policy.

Radiation therapy is one of the cornerstones of cancer therapy. However, some types of tumor respond little or hardly at all to radiation. If it were possible to make tumor cells more sensitive, treatment would be more effective and gentler. Empa and ETH Zurich researchers have now succeeded in using metal oxide nanoparticles as "radiosensitizers" – and in producing them on an industrial scale.

Scientists at EPFL have found a biological connection explaining why there is an increased predisposition to develop obesity and being less sociable in individuals that have experienced stress during early puberty.

The Swiss Polar Institute has launched a four-year study led by EPFL in which researchers from several other Swiss institutions are investigating the impact of climate change on Greenland’s fjord ecosystems. Research groups from ETH Zurich are also involved.  

We all know the story. It gets rolled out every March when women and men around the world celebrate International Women’s Day. Human biases are well documented, from the implicit to the explicit and they have always existed but as algorithms and big data increasingly run our lives these biases become embedded in everything.

In evolution, the development of light-sensitive proteins was a momentous step: it’s only thanks to them that we can see. The large research facilities at PSI are helping scientists unravel the last major secrets concerning these extraordinary cellular components. The researchers have another goal as well: selectively switching processes in cells on and off with the help of light receptors.

Researchers decipher how the microbial inhabitants of sewage treatment plants help eliminate intestinal parasites.

Two-thirds of the world's population still lives on less than ten International Dollars a day. Although global inequalities remain gigantic, Adina Rom is convinced that living conditions can be sustainably improved for all.

Just as electrons flow through an electrical conductor, magnetic excitations can travel through certain materials. Such excitations, known in physics as "magnons" in analogy to the electron, could transport information much more easily than electrical conductors. An international research team has now made an important discovery on the road to such components, which could be highly energy-efficient and considerably smaller.

The rapid development of fauna 540 million years ago has permanently changed the Earth - deep into its lower mantle. A team led by ETH researcher Andrea Giuliani found traces of this development in rocks from this zone.