Biology

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL have found numerous places in Switzerland with large numbers of wild bee species or species worthy of protection. The problem: They are often located outside of protected areas.

Proteins are biological molecules that perform almost all biochemical tasks in all forms of life. In doing so, the tiny structures perform ultra-fast movements. In order to investigate these dynamic processes more precisely than before, researchers have developed a new algorithm that can be used to evaluate measurements at X-ray free-electron lasers such as the SwissFEL more efficiently. They have now presented it in the journal Structural Dynamics.

Bad news for Swiss agriculture: several species of insect pests will benefit from a warmer climate. This is one of the findings of geographer Léonard Schneider, a doctoral student at the joint chair of applied climatology at the University of Neuchâtel and the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL.  His doctorate aims to model the impact of global warming in Switzerland on pests. He publicly defended his thesis on 12 May.

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL have discovered microbes that degrade plastic at cool temperatures. This opens up new perspectives for recycling certain types of plastic. Most known microbes require at least 30°C for their decomposition work.

Researchers from Basel and Zurich are creating a high-resolution atlas that depicts the development of the human retina. One technique they use is a new method that allows them to visualise more than 50 proteins simultaneously.

The cells of our body interact with their immediate environment. Researchers have now studied this interaction in detail. In time, they hope to use these findings for improved diagnosis and treatment of wound-healing disorders and cancer.