Environment
A new app to identify plants more precisely
Research
WSL
There are plenty of plant identification apps – but only few, that directly help research. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has enhanced the FlorApp of the Info Flora data centre with an image recognition tool, which makes identification easier and at the same time more precise.
Climate-neutral air travel: Is it possible?
Research
PSI
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and ETH Zurich have performed calculations to work out how air traffic could become climate-neutral by 2050. They conclude that simply replacing fossil aviation fuel with sustainable synthetic fuels will not be enough. Air traffic would also have to be reduced. 
Some ash trees resist both fungi and beetles
Research
WSL
The invasive fungal disease ash dieback has already affected 90% of ash trees in Central Europe. In addition, an invasive beetle threatens the trees. But there is now good news: trees that are resistant to the fungus are also better able to withstand the beetle, as a trial led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL shows.
4000 scenarios for a climate turnaround
Research
PSI
Using an extensive computer simulation of the climate, the global economy and the global energy system, researchers at PSI have been analysing different ways of mitigating climate change, together with colleagues from the US, China, Ireland, Finland and Sweden.
EPFL spin-off closes the loop on PET recycling
TechTransfer
EPFL
EPFL spin-off DePoly has developed a method for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at ambient temperature, even when it’s dirty or mixed with other plastics. The firm confirmed the feasibility of its method with a pilot capable of processing 50 metric tons per year. Having recently raised CHF 12.3 million, DePoly is now building a pilot plant with 10 times that capacity.
How an ocean-fertilising bacterium forms aggregates
Research
ETH Zurich
Trichodesmium, a common and ecologically important bacterium, fertilises nutrient-poor regions of the oceans and thereby enables higher life. Crucial to its success is its ability to form aggregates in order to react quickly to changes in its environment. ETH Zurich researchers have shown how the microbes organise themselves in this process.
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