Research

Human biology is the research focus of a number of EPFL labs, where scientists conduct clinical trials with volunteers to design therapeutic interventions and to learn more about how the body functions. Here, we take a closer look at the work of Prof. Friedhelm Hummel, who is developing therapies for stroke survivors.

A team of EPFL scientists engineer nanoscale guitar strings that vibrate tens of billions of times when plucked at cryogenic temperatures, with a material originally developed for electronic transistors.

Mennatallah El-Assady develops explainable AI programs that explain their own workings – and let users provide input. This can help analysts take a deep dive into political debate.  

In order to better understand climate change in the Arctic and design effective mitigation measures, scientists at EPFL and PSI have studied the aerosols in a region spanning from Russia to Canada.

A newly installed data center in the NEST research building is not only used for data processing, but also helps to heat the entire building. The server system is part of the international EU research project ECO-Qube, which is investigating the integration of data centers into building systems and their energy-efficient operation.

A new global study by researchers from EPFL, the University of Fribourg, and Microsoft Research has found there was an overall surge in high calorie foods such as pastries, bread and pies during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with potential implications for public health.

Thomas Bernauer contributed to the latest IPCC report on adaptation to climate change. He sees nature and good governance as our most important resources for coping with the effects of climate change.

The shape of galaxies and how they evolve depend on a web of cosmological filaments that run across the Universe. According to a recent study headed by EPFL’s Laboratory of Astrophysics, this cosmic web plays a much bigger role than previously thought.

Sounds provide important information about how well a machine is running. ETH researchers have now developed a new machine learning method that automatically detects whether a machine is "healthy" or requires maintenance.

Nearly a hundred year old tissue samples from Lake Constance have enabled Eawag researchers to compare genetic material of an extinct whitefish species with that of extant co-occurring species. Their investigation showed that fragments of the genome of the extinct species have survived in today’s species. This could potentially facilitate the recolonization of the currently not occupied deep-water habitat.

According to an EPFL study, if we take immediate measures to reduce CO₂ emissions, we could limit the rise in the temperature of Swiss rivers to 1°C between now and 2090 without drastically affecting their discharge. Inaction, on the other hand, would threaten ecosystems and jeopardize the country’s agriculture sector and electricity production.

The current energy debate could do with more facts and less gut feeling – argue Thomas J. Schmidt, renewables expert and Head of the PSI Research Division Energy and Environment, and Andreas Pautz, nuclear energy specialist and Head of the PSI Research Division Nuclear Energy and Safety. In this joint interview, they set out the challenges that science needs to address in connection with the Swiss government’s Energy Strategy 2050 and why nuclear energy and renewables experts must work closely together.

ETH researchers have shown that the Swiss population is willing to pay more to reduce food waste. It is in favour of government regulations that set strict reduction targets and ensure transparent monitoring of implementation.

Demographer and migration specialist Mathias Lerch has shown that Zurich owes as much of its industrial era development to international immigration as it does to the rural exodus. The EPFL researcher will apply his method to the study of rapidly growing sub-Saharan cities.

Often overlooked until now: symbioses could be a driving force for the emergence of biodiversity. A case where bacteria live in aphids shows that this can even have practical implications for biological pest control.