ETH News
All stories that have been tagged with Research
How satellite images help to protect forests
- Homehero
- News
Earth seen from space: ETH spin-off askEarth facilitates access to satellite images for environmental and climate monitoring. It supports businesses in combatting deforestation.
We should not underestimate the increasingly warm summer temperatures
- News
- Zukunftsblog
Despite a wet and grey June, summers in Switzerland are getting hotter than expected. The increased summer temperatures harbour risks that we are not well prepared for, says Dominik Schumacher.
A hydrogel implant to treat endometriosis
News
Researchers from ETH Zurich and Empa have developed a hydrogel implant that can help prevent endometriosis, a condition that affects a great many women. This innovation also acts as a contraceptive.
How climate change is altering the Earth’s rotation
News
When the Earth’s ice masses melt, the way the planet rotates also changes. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now been able to show how climate change is altering the Earth’s axis of rotation and the length of the day. The speed of rotation, which was hitherto mainly influenced by the moon, will now also depend much more on the climate.
Running without air resistance
News
A newly developed airshield supports track and field athletes such as Mujinga Kambundji with overspeed training.
Mining rare earth metals from electronic waste
News
ETH researchers are developing a process inspired by nature that efficiently recovers europium from old fluorescent lamps. The approach could lead to the long-awaited recycling of rare earth metals.
Training for the transport of the future
- News
- Homehero
This year’s European Hyperloop Week is being held in Zurich. Student engineering teams will present their prototypes to a jury and compete against each other in different categories. ETH Zurich is represented with the Swissloop project.
Innovative battery design: more energy and less environmental impact
News
A new electrolyte design for lithium metal batteries could significantly boost the range of electric vehicles. Researchers at ETH Zurich have radically reduced the amount of environmentally harmful fluorine required to stabilise these batteries.
Light green hydrogen will do
Whether sustainably produced hydrogen needs to be 100 percent green is currently under debate. Using the production of ammonia and artificial fertiliser as examples, researchers have calculated that "nearly sustainable" hydrogen would be better in the end.
New class of Mars quakes reveals daily meteorite strikes
News
An international team of researchers combine orbital imagery with seismological data from NASA’s Mars InSight lander to derive a new impact rate for meteorite strikes on Mars. Seismology also offers a new tool for determining the density of Mars’ craters and the age of different regions of a planet.
Researchers at ETH Zurich develop the fastest possible flow algorithm
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- News
Rasmus Kyng has written the near-perfect algorithm. It computes the maximum transport flow at minimum cost for any kind of network – be it rail, road or electricity – at a speed that is, mathematically speaking, impossible to beat.
AI reality lags the hype in Swiss tech industries
News
Everyone talks about Artificial Intelligence but its current adoption rates are low in the Swiss tech industry, especially in manufacturing-related applications. This is one conclusion of a survey conducted by ETH Zurich in collaboration with Swissmem and Next Industries. Professor Torbj?rn Netland, responsible for the report, explains why Swiss tech companies are still faring well in an international comparison and how they can release the potential.
Why people resort to lynching
News
Why do civilians take the law into their own hands? Using Mexico as an example, ETH researcher Enzo Nussio shows how it’s a combination of a weak state and strong local communities.
"Anyone who wants to do research in Singapore should get in touch now!"
News
Manu Kapur has been Director of the Singapore ETH Centre (SEC) since the beginning of the year. In this interview, he talks about which research programmes will be continued in Singapore, which new programmes will be created, and how researchers from across the ETH Domain can get involved in the SEC.
Gold membrane coaxes secrets out of surfaces
News
Using a special wafer-thin gold membrane, ETH researchers have made it significantly easier to study surfaces. The membrane makes it possible to measure properties of surfaces that are inaccessible to conventional methods.
This researcher reads rivers
- News
- Homehero
Jessica Droujko’s start-up, Riverkin, measures the water quality of freshwater ecosystems and helps quantify and respond to risks such as floods and pollution. Thanks to an ETH Pioneer Fellowship, her work is now picking up speed.
At the intersection of robotics and machine learning
- Homehero
- News
Marco Hutter, a pioneer in mobile robotics, has been awarded this year’s R?ssler Prize, the most highly endowed research award at ETH Zurich.
An alternative way to manipulate quantum states
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown that quantum states of single electron spins can be controlled by currents of electrons whose spins are evenly aligned. In the future, this method could be used in electronic circuit elements.
Gaining a better understanding of brittle bone disease – without animal experiments
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a cell-based bone model to help investigate the cause of this genetic condition.
Electrifying industry with flexible heat pumps
- News
- Homehero
Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences have developed a novel solution for heat pumps. Using this new approach, companies can generate carbon-free process heat at temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius while also drastically reducing the number of different heat pumps required.
The future of medicine begins in the Gloria Cube
News
The Gloria Cube is ETH Zurich’s newest building in the Zurich City university district. Teaching, research and translation are all carried out in the service of health and medicine here. At the end of last week, ETH Zurich celebrated the laboratory and research building’s inauguration.
How can we tax electric cars without slowing down the electromobility transition?
- Zukunftsblog
- News
The federal government has plans to tax electric vehicles to secure funding for road infrastructure. However, a new levy could delay the switch to electromobility. Alessio Levis explains how this dilemma could be resolved.
Researchers identify key differences in inner workings of immune cells
News
Using machine-learning methods, researchers at ETH Zurich have shown that more than half of all killer T cells exhibit nuclear invaginations, or folds in the cell’s nuclear envelope. Thanks to this particular cellular architecture, such cells are able to mount a faster and stronger response to pathogens.
The mystery of cathodic corrosion protection clarified
News
Cathodic corrosion protection is a widely used technique for protecting steel-based infrastructure from corrosion. ETH researchers have now clarified the detailed mechanisms involved, thereby resolving a controversial issue that had preoccupied the engineering community for decades.
ETH Zurich again in seventh place
News
ETH Zurich maintains its excellent ranking from the previous year in the QS rankings just published. Alongside top scores for its academic reputation and international outlook, the university’s efforts in the area of sustainability have also helped it to retain seventh place. The faculty-student ratio remains the indicator in which the university scores lowest.
When stones start rolling
- Homehero
- News
The landslide in Brienz (GR) in 2023 kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for weeks. Researchers from ETH Zurich, WSL and SLF used a model to provide a highly accurate blind prediction of where the sliding mass would come to rest. ETH Professor Johan Gaume explains how the model works and where its limitations lie.
"AI helps us to grasp more and more complex facts"
News
Since 2003, when Joachim Buhmann became an ETH professor, he has helped shape the explosive development of machine learning. It is not technical progress that worries him, but how society deals with it. Shortly before his retirement, he looks back on his academic career.
ETH Zurich sets course for Net Zero
News
ETH Zurich announces its expedition towards climate neutrality today with pop-up events by students and the first Net Zero Day. The "ETH Net Zero" programme supports the reduction of emissions by 2030 and offers people plenty of ways to get involved.
Innovative materials and remarkable people
News
Paolo Ermanni researched novel composite materials at ETH for over a quarter of a century. His enthusiasm for materials was rivalled only by his passion for teaching. He will also go down in ETH history as the first Vice Rector for Continuing Education. To mark his retirement, we take a look back at his storied career.
Chocolate that harnesses the full potential of the cocoa fruit
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have teamed up with the food industry to produce a whole-fruit variety of chocolate. This helps increase the value creation of cocoa farming – and is healthier.
Thinking climate action, biodiversity and energy supply together
- Zukunftsblog
- News
Renewable energies are not the main driver of biodiversity loss. It is rather the other way round: renewables can limit climate change in order to preserve biodiversity. Cyril Brunner contextualises the trade-offs from a scientific perspective.
Medical Engineering block course wins prize for innovative teaching
News
Medical students at ETH Zurich build a gripper hand for elbow exoskeletons in a crash course lasting just one week. This course has now been honoured with the 2024 Kite Award, the ETH prize for particularly innovative teaching.
Using solar energy to generate heat at high temperatures
News
Instead of burning coal or oil to produce cement or steel, in the future solar energy could be used for this purpose. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a thermal trap that can absorb concentrated sunlight and deliver heat at over thousand degrees Celsius.
Researchers outsmarted EasyRide function on Swiss travel app
News
Experiments by ETH Zurich computer security researchers showed that smartphones can be manipulated to allow the owner to ride Swiss trains for free. The researchers also highlighted ways of curbing such misuse.
Mosaic grassland landscapes are the most beneficial
Like forests, grassland provides numerous ecological, economic and social benefits. Researchers have investigated ways to maintain and improve these benefits in the Swiss canton of Solothurn.
Electron vortices in graphene detected
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have, for the first time, made visible how electrons form vortices in a material at room temperature. Their experiment used a quantum sensing microscope with an extremely high resolution.
Solving physics puzzles with coloured dots
News
By analysing images made of coloured dots created by quantum simulators, ETH researchers have studied a special kind of magnetism. In the future this method could also be used to solve other physics puzzles, for instance in superconductivity.
Digi, Nano, Bio, Neuro – or why we should care more about converging technologies
- Zukunftsblog
- News
Dirk Helbing expects future digital technologies to penetrate the human body even more in the future. However, he believes that society is not prepared for the risks involved. He puts forward a new legal framework to protect our most intimate data from misuse.
Blood diagnostics modelled on leeches
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a safe and inexpensive device for reliable blood measurements. It works using a suction cup and could also be employed to diagnose the tropical disease malaria – even by non-medical personnel.
How the plant world shapes the climate cycle
News
In order to understand the Earth's resilience, researchers at ETH Zurich are modelling climate changes from times long past. And they show: Plants are not simply victims of circumstances, but have helped to shape climate conditions on Earth.
ETH Zurich spin-offs develop high performance batteries
- News
- Homepage
The electrification of many areas of life is leading to an increased demand for high-performance batteries. Two ETH spin-offs are making waves in this field: while BTRY develops high-performance solid-state batteries, 8inks is working on a new standard for production.
AI designs new drugs based on protein structures
News
A new computer process developed by chemists at ETH Zurich makes it possible to generate active pharmaceutical ingredients quickly and easily based on a protein’s three-dimensional surface. The new process could revolutionise drug research.
Bacteria for climate-neutral chemicals of the future
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have engineered bacteria in the laboratory to efficiently use methanol. The metabolism of these bacteria can now be tapped into to produce valuable products currently made by the chemical industry from fossil fuels.
Surprising reversal in quantum systems
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have studied topological effects in an artificial solid, making surprising observations. The new insights into topological pumping could be used for quantum technologies in the future.
Antisemitism in the history of Raiffeisen?
News
On behalf of Raiffeisen Switzerland Cooperative, ETH Zurich researchers examined the beginnings of the Raiffeisen movement in Switzerland. Their focus was on antisemitism as well as Raiffeisen during National Socialism.
How data provided by fitness trackers and smartphones can help people with MS
News
Monitoring and treating a case of multiple sclerosis requires reliable and long-term data on how the disease is progressing in the person in question. Fitness trackers and smartphones can supply this data, as a research team led by ETH Zurich has now shown.
Twisted pollen tubes induce infertility
News
Plants with multiple sets of chromosomes have advantages over their relatives with a double set. But why they often start out infertile was only partially understood. Biologists at ETH Zurich have now discovered a new reason for the initial difficulties.
Tropical forests can't recover naturally without fruit eating birds
News
Natural forest regeneration is hailed as a cost-effective way to restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. However, the fragmentation of tropical forests has restricted the movement of large birds limiting their capacity to disperse seeds and restore healthy forests.
Using a hopping robot for asteroid exploration
News
As part of the SpaceHopper project, ETH Zurich students are developing a robot that can navigate very low gravity environments using a jumping-like mode of locomotion.
What can cities do to promote acceptance of densification?
News
Swiss cities are more likely to accept densification when densification projects provide affordable housing and green spaces compared to densification that is implemented through reduced regulations for housing construction. By prioritizing a socio-ecological densification, extensive planning procedures and delays might be minimized.
Computer science made accessible to over 10,000 children
News
Juraj Hromkovic has been Professor of Information Technology at ETH Zurich for the past 20 years. During this time, he has been a leading advocate of teaching computer science in schools. He’s now giving his farewell lecture.
Protecting art and passwords with biochemistry
News
A new molecular test method helps to prove the authenticity of works of art. The new method could also help to make passwords secure against quantum computers.
Knocking cloud security off its game
News
Public cloud services employ special security technologies. Computer scientists at ETH Zurich have now discovered a gap in the latest security mechanisms used by AMD and Intel chips. This affects major cloud providers.
Strengthening Swiss hydropower with science
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich led by Robert Boes are developing specific solutions to optimise electricity production from Swiss hydropower plants. This will ensure that hydropower remains the backbone of Switzerland’s electricity supply in the future.
How micro- and nanoplastics are infiltrating the Arctic ice
News
Environmental scientist Alice Pradel cultivates ice cores in the lab to investigate the transport and accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics. Her aim in doing so is to better understand material flows in the Arctic ice.
Climate-friendly renovations using straw and hemp
- News
- Homehero
Renovating buildings to improve their energy efficiency is a crucial step towards Switzerland achieving its climate targets. ETH Zurich researchers can now reveal the most effective renovation strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: replace fossil-fuel heating systems and harness the potential of bio-based building materials like straw and hemp.
Detecting storms thanks to GPS
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded in detecting heavy precipitation events directly with GPS data. The results of their study could significantly improve meteorological monitoring and forecasting.
Pesticide-free as a new pathway for agriculture
- News
- Zukunftsblog
We can transition to pesticide-free agriculture without converting to organic farming. Robert Finger outlines the advantages and challenges involved.
ANYmal can do parkour and walk across rubble
News
The quadrupedal robot ANYmal went back to school and has learned a lot. ETH Zurich researchers used machine learning to teach it new skills: the robot can now climb over obstacles and successfully negotiate pitfalls.
A new ion trap for larger quantum computers
News
Researchers at ETH have managed to trap ions using static electric and magnetic fields and to perform quantum operations on them. In the future such traps could be used to realize quantum computers with far more quantum bits than have been possible up to now.
Cutting-edge research from Basel
- Globe magazine
- Homehero
From new tests and therapies to the fundamental principles of biology: five compelling examples of the benefits of new bioengineering technologies.
Recycling plastic is not a quick fix
- News
- Zukunftsblog
Recycling is an accepted formula for sustainable resource use, but in the case of plastic it can have serious side effects, says Helene Wiesinger – and uses the example of plastic flooring in Switzerland to illustrate the dilemma.
The man for freak events
News
Christoph Sch?r is one of the Swiss climate scientists who have shaped high-resolution climate modelling. He is now retiring after more than 35 years at ETH Zurich. In this portrait, he explains why he himself never tires of researching climate change.
ETH students accelerate private sector innovation
News
Students at ETH Zurich are working together with engineers from the technology firm Bühler to accelerate innovation and minimise the attendant risks. It's a fruitful collaboration that other companies are also poised to benefit from.
Cost of direct air carbon capture to remain higher than hoped
News
The cost of removing large quantities of CO2 from the air will fall in the medium term, but not as much as previously hoped. This is the conclusion reached by ETH researchers on the basis of new calculations. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions should therefore continue at pace, says the research team.
Turning waste into gold
News
ETH Zurich researchers have recovered the precious metal from electronic waste. Their highly sustainable new method is based on a protein fibril sponge, which the scientists derive from whey, a food industry byproduct.
Do we have cosmic dust to thank for life on Earth?
News
It might be that what set prebiotic chemistry in motion and kept it going in the early days of the Earth was dust from outer space accumulating in holes melted into ice sheets. Researchers at ETH Zurich and the University of Cambridge have used a computer model to test this scenario.
Earth as a test object
News
Physicists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich wanted to know whether the planned LIFE space mission could really detect traces of life on other planets. Yes, it can. The researchers reached this conclusion with the help of observations of our own planet.
Bio-inspired neuroprosthetics: sending signals the brain can understand
News
Prostheses that connect to the nervous system have been available for several years. Now, researchers at ETH Zurich have found evidence that neuroprosthetics work better when they use signals that are inspired by nature.
A sustainable fuel and chemical from the robotic lab
News
Artificial intelligence and automated laboratory infrastructure are massively accelerating the development of new chemical catalysts. With these tools, researchers at ETH Zurich are developing catalysts for efficiently and cost-effectively synthesising the energy source methanol from CO2.
What can bulls tell us about men?
News
Researchers have found genes in the reproductive organs of bulls that influence fertility. The findings can be transferred to humans, as these genes are also present in men.
Pain relief without dependence
Globe magazine
ETH researchers have teamed up with Kantonsspital Baden to find ways of preventing patients from becoming dependent on opioid painkillers.
ETH Zurich logistics tool saves ICRC millions
News
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provides medical supplies to people in need. A planning tool developed by researchers at ETH Zurich will make this complex task more efficient in future and save the ICRC millions.
Mario Kart in a wheelchair
News
The new “Mobility and Inclusion” exhibition at ETH Zurich lets people find out first-hand the obstacles faced by people with impairments along with the technical aids available. From 2025, it will be on display as a permanent exhibition at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
A new solution for energy transfer to heart pumps
News
Roughly one in two wearers of ventricular assist devices are diagnosed with an infection. The reason for this is the thick cable for the power supply. ETH Zurich researchers have now developed a solution to mitigate this problem.
Innovative coating prevents limescale formation
News
Wherever hot water flows, limescale is never far away. In households, this is a nuisance; in thermal power stations, it’s an expensive problem. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have found an answer.
Why olivine and diamonds are best friends
News
Hardly any gemstone is more difficult to find than diamonds. Geologists from ETH Zurich and the University of Melbourne have now established a link between their occurrence and the mineral olivine. This could make the search for diamonds easier in the future.
Visualising multiple sclerosis with a new MRI procedure
News
The loss of myelin sheaths in the brain is a hallmark of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed an MRI method that maps the condition of this nerve insulation layer more accurately than before.
Scientists successfully simulate protein complex that initiates fertilisation
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich recently developed highly realistic simulations of the proteins on sperm and egg cells coupling together before they fuse. These findings enabled the research team to solve several mysteries of fertilisation at once, which could help to accelerate development of more targeted infertility treatments.
Midday sun at the touch of a button
News
At ETH Zurich, there is a room where the sun shines at the touch of a button; one hour it’s noon in the Sahara, the next it’s January in Berlin. Researchers use it to test newly developed building systems, components and materials.
How to make bright quantum dots even brighter
News
Researchers at Empa and ETH Zurich have developed methods for making perovskite quantum dots faster and more efficient emitters, thereby significantly improving their brightness. This is relevant for applications in displays as well as in quantum technologies.
Artificial muscles – lighter, safer, more robust
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently developed artificial muscles for robot motion. Their solution offers several advantages over previous technologies: it can be used wherever robots need to be soft rather than rigid or where they need more sensitivity when interacting with their environment.
Green Light for LISA
News
The European Space Agency’s most expensive and complex mission, the LISA space antenna, has reached a major milestone: it has passed the stage of intensive testing by experts in the Mission Adoption Review process - a significant step for the LISA consortium.
Groundwater levels are sinking ever faster around the world
News
A global study shows that the world’s groundwater resources are dwindling: levels are falling sharply worldwide, and the decline has accelerated in the 21st century. Nevertheless, there is still reason for hope.
New agent blocks stress response
News
If the body’s natural stress response gets knocked off balance, it can result in physical and mental health disorders. Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an agent capable of selectively inhibiting this response.
Clarifying the cause of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
News
Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare condition in which a person’s immune system attacks the peripheral nerves. People affected suffer from muscle weakness and paralysis. A research team led by ETH Zurich has now clarified the mechanism of this autoimmune disease.
A virus that kills sleepers
News
ETH Zurich researchers have found a virus that kills dormant bacteria. This rare discovery could help to combat germs that can’t be treated with antibiotics alone.
A navigation system to combat bottlenecks in medication supply
News
A new model designed by ETH Zurich researchers measures how flexible medication distribution systems are in real time. It shows that supply shortages can be eased if pharmaceutical wholesalers coordinate their inventories and reroute scarce products as flexibly as possible along existing supply chains.
Brumadinho dam collapse: The danger emerged after the decommissioning
News
In 2019, the tailings dam at a Brazilian iron ore mine failed. The mudslide caused a catastrophe for people and the environment. A team of researchers at ETH Zurich has now uncovered the physical mechanism that may have triggered the accident.
Capturing greenhouse gases with the help of light
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich are developing a new method to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. It involves molecules that become acidic when exposed to light. Their new process requires much less energy than conventional technologies.
Watt d’Or for efficient and sustainable power supply with photovoltaics
- News
- Homehero
ETH Zurich researchers from the Automatic Control Laboratory and the electricity supplier AEW Energie AG have won the 2024 Watt d’Or award in the Energy Technologies category. Their algorithm, which was implemented at AEW Energie, makes it possible to optimise electricity grid operations.
Three strategies to boost green electricity in Switzerland
News
Climate neutrality and nuclear phase-out: Switzerland's ambitious green electricity targets are realistic if the electricity supply is profoundly and rapidly transformed, as a study by the SWEET EDGE consortium shows. The researchers developed three strategies for expanding renewable energies.
“The days of à la carte cooperation are over”
News
Oliver Thr?nert was head of the think tank of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich for almost twelve years. On the occasion of his retirement, we spoke to him about the future challenges of Swiss security and defence policy.
The rocky road to the beginning
News
Craig Walton is the first NOMIS Fellow at the Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life at ETH Zurich. With an unconventional idea, he wants to find out the conditions under which life originated on Earth.
From high-speed electric cars to ETH in space
News
With its highly qualified graduates, cutting-edge research and knowledge transfer, ETH Zurich exists to serve Swiss society. The university demonstrated this once again in 2023. ETH News looks back at an eventful year.
A picking robot for the greenhouse
News
Working in a greenhouse is both strenuous and time-consuming. The picking robot from ETH spin-off Floating Robotics takes on particularly repetitive tasks, thereby alleviating the strain on human pickers. It is currently undergoing testing at Beerstecher AG in Hinwil.
The magnificence of objectivity and a couple of solid proofs
News
Raphael Steiner received his doctorate in mathematics at the age of 21. Now the Swiss National Science Foundation is funding his research at ETH Zurich in the field of graph theory. Among other things, this involves proving a conjecture that is over 80 years old.
Accurate snow measurement thanks to AI and satellites
News
Snow measurement has never been so fast and accurate: ETH Zurich researchers have developed an artificial intelligence capable of determining snow depth across Switzerland using satellite images.
Artificial intelligence for safer bike helmets and better shoe soles
News
Researchers have trained an artificial intelligence to design the structure of so-called metamaterials with desired mechanical properties for a wide range of applications.
A big step in joint research
Globe magazine
Surprisingly little is actually known about how the knee works. ETH professor Bill Taylor plans to change this with a unique technology and a new 22-metre-long experimental facility. ?