Cooperation

Laboratories play an important role in effective water quality monitoring. The Eawag department of Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (Sandec) is collaborating on the REACHLabs project, which is analysing the effectiveness of fit-for-purpose (FFP) laboratories in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries. FFP labs are laboratories designed to meet specific local operational and management needs of rural water supplies.

New methods are making it possible to gain a more precise understanding of the role of organic molecules in the functioning of ecosystems. Researchers from Eawag and University of Zurich are therefore calling for a new “ecology of molecules”.

To extend the lifespan of existing railway bridges and conserve resources, ETH researchers are working with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to develop new prediction models using machine learning algorithms. An AI assistant also helps civil engineers with the design of new bridges.

Body weight and body mass index alone are not enough to predict whether someone will develop a metabolic disease. A new atlas of cells in fat tissue could help to explain why some overweight people stay healthy, while others do not.

Medical research needs unresolved issues from clinical practice, says ETH Vice President Christian Wolfrum. He explains in an interview how cooperation between ETH research and hospitals can be improved and why ETH intends to pool its activities in medical research.