Storys aus bern

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Listening or lip-reading? It's down to brainwaves

Bern (ots) - Researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation have discovered that neural oscillations determine whether the brain chooses eyes or ears to interpret speech. To decipher what a person is telling us, we rely on what we hear as well as on what we see by observing lip movements and facial expressions. Until now, we did not know how the brain chooses between auditory and visual stimuli. But a ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Protecting animals across the globe

Bern (ots) - This year, the Swiss National Science Foundation's Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize has been awarded to researcher Charlotte Blattner, whose dissertation on animal rights shows how animals can be protected across national borders. Every year billions of male chicks are shredded worldwide. The chicks can neither be fattened for slaughter nor used any other way in the animal industry and therefore are considered ...

KPT

Zur Rose and KPT together launch digital medicines assistant Medi+

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

The Limitation Initiative is harmful to education, research and innovation

Bern (ots) - The Swiss universities and organisations that support the promotion of research and innovation are opposed to the popular initiative "For moderate immigration". The initiative jeopardises some of the basic parameters that favour Switzerland's role as a centre for science and enterprise. Adopting the initiative would halt the free movement of persons and ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

28 new coronavirus research projects funded under NRP "COVID-19"

Bern (ots) - New research has been launched to better control COVID-19. 18.6 million francs have been invested in projects that will investigate innovative solutions and develop public health recommendations. Mandated by the Federal Council, the SNSF launched the National Research Programme "COVID-19" (NRP 78) on 30 April 2020 to advance our understanding of the ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Influx from the SP helps the Greens to win elections

Bern (ots) - Due to widespread concerns about the climate, the environmental parties made significant gains in the 2019 federal elections, especially among young voters. The SP was able to mobilise its party base well, but lost almost a quarter of its former electorate to the Greens. In contrast, the SVP encountered difficulties persuading its supporters to turn out to vote. It does, however, have the most stable voter ...

swissuniversities

swissuniversities and Springer Nature sign a new Open Access agreement

Bern (ots) - swissuniversities has adopted a new transformative Open Access agreement with Springer Nature. This agreement provides Swiss researchers with access to SpringerLink with over 2'000 Hybrid journals and enables authors affiliated with the Swiss academic and research institutions to publish their accepted research papers Open Access, making this primary ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Meeting challenges through basic research

Bern (ots) - Many scientists are currently undertaking work on the Sars-CoV-2 virus. But hundreds of projects supported by the SNSF are already contributing to finding answers to the current health crisis. In Switzerland and around the world, the novel coronavirus has become a priority for scientific research. Projects supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) are no exception. A special call and a ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Towards a Swiss Food Strategy for 2050

Bern (ots) - NRP 69 recommends that the government develop a Swiss Food Strategy for 2050. This strategy should enable the entire population to eat healthy food sourced from a sustainable production and distribution system. Is it possible to follow a healthy diet that includes more vegetables, fruit and nuts while still reducing the environmental impact that consumption has both in Switzerland and abroad? Funded by the ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Is Switzerland ready for change?

Bern (ots) - Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation and the current pandemic crisis make it obvious. The need for a more sustainable world has never been as urgent as it is today. But how do we transition to a sustainable economy? The National Research Programme "Sustainable Economy: resource-friendly, future-oriented, innovative" (NRP 73) is creating knowledge that can support Switzerland in addressing this question. It has now published its first report, on the ...

swissuniversities

swissuniversities and Elsevier adopt a pilot agreement combining reading and publishing

Bern (ots) - swissuniversities has adopted a new transformative pilot agreement with Elsevier for research access and Open Access publishing in Switzerland. The agreement is the result of the negotiations organised by the Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries (CSAL) and Elsevier, a global information analytics business specialising in science and health. Yves ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

The SNSF funds 36 new coronavirus research projects

Bern (ots) - Under the special call on coronaviruses, the societal and biomedical aspects of epidemics will be investigated with a total budget of 10 million francs. The projects will start as of 1 June 2020. As the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold, the SNSF took swift action by launching a special call on coronaviruses on 6 March 2020. The call was enthusiastically received in the research community. - ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Monitoring glaciers with optical fibres

Bern (ots) - Seismic monitoring of glaciers is essential to improving our understanding of their development and to predicting risks. SNSF Professor Fabian Walter has come up with a new monitoring tool in the form of optical fibres. The fibres are capable of monitoring entire glaciers. Glaciers are constantly moving and they therefore need monitoring. Satellite images give clues to their development. By listening to ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Sadistic sexual murders involving child victims: insights for police

Bern (ots) - Researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation analysed how sadistic sexual murderers assaulting child victims commit their crimes and discovered a number of specific patterns. A better understanding of these crimes may help police in their investigations. Sexual homicides involving children are often highly publicised. These events are traumatic for the public, especially while the offender ...

SIFEM AG

Positive operating result for SIFEM in 2019 - and uncertain outlook for 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis

Bern (ots) - In 2019, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM) committed a total of USD 104.5 million across nine different projects and concluded the year with a positive operating result of CHF 5.1 million. However, the outlook for SIFEM's portfolio in 2020 has taken a sudden negative turn in the ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

SNSF funds 1000 projects on digitalisation

Bern (ots) - Only science can provide us with the insights needed to tackle technical, ecological and societal challenges. 5750 SNSF-funded projects were under way at year-end 2019 - 1000 of them on digitalisation. Philippe Block, Professor of architecture and structure at ETH Zurich, exudes an air of confidence. "The building industry is responsible for more than a third of all carbon emissions. Until now, it has made ...

Swiss Medtech

Swiss Medtech survey: Medical technology industry does its homework / The ball is in the politicians' court: maintaining direct access to the EU single market

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Imaging science

Bern (ots) - Spectacular photographs, provocative videos and intimate stories shed new light on contemporary research. The jury for this year's SNSF Scientific Image Competition has awarded four first prizes and seven distinctions. The fourth SNSF Scientific Image Competition has been a great success. "These stunning images offer a view of science that is very different from the usual clichés of white coats, antiseptic laboratories and faceless researchers", says Nadine ...

Swiss Medtech

EU Commission wants to postpone MDR implementation by one year / Swiss Medtech considers the postponement essential to ensure patient care

Bern (ots) - In view of the coronavirus pandemic, Swiss Medtech considers the EU Commission proposal to postpone the Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) date of application by one year to be imperative. The Association hopes that the Council and Parliament will also promptly agree with the recommendation. Ensuring the ...

European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA)

EANA expresses concern and dismay over closure of Australian Associated Press (AAP)

Bern, Switzerland (ots) - The upcoming closure of AAP is a sad moment for Australia, for the Australian media community, for the Australian public and for the international news agency community. The European Alliance of News Agencies expresses ist concern and sadness about the recent announcement by AAP. In a general media landscape already under pressure from a flood ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Decision time predicts the risk of depression relapse

Bern (ots) - In a study supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, researchers have shown that it is possible to predict the risk of relapsing into depression after stopping antidepressant medication. People who relapse take longer to decide how much effort to invest for a reward. Depressive disorder is a major public health problem with an unpredictable course. It often recurs, with episodes of depression ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Eye-tracking data improves prosthetic hands

Bern (ots) - Prosthetic hands restore only some of the function lost through amputation. But combining electrical signals from forearm muscles with other sources of information, such as eye tracking, promises better prostheses. A study funded by the SNSF gives specialists access to valuable new data. The hand is a precious limb. Its 34 muscles and 20 joints enable movements of great precision and complexity which are ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Jürg Stahl is the new President of the SNSF Foundation Council

Bern (ots) - The SNSF Foundation Council has elected Jürg Stahl as its new President. The former president of the National Council replaces Felicitas Pauss, who had led the Foundation Council as interim president since April 2018. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) promotes scientific research in Switzerland based on a federal mandate. As its supervisory body, the Foundation Council ensures that the SNSF is on ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Transforming the energy system is possible - if we set our minds to it

Bern (ots) - More than 300 researchers have generated innovations and knowledge within the framework of the National Research Programmes "Energy Turnaround" (NRP 70) and "Managing Energy Consumption" (NRP 71) for implementing Switzerland's Energy Strategy 2050. The programmes have now ended, and the Swiss National Science Foundation has published a joint summary titled ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Switzerland's influence on European energy policy continues to decline

Bern (ots) - What would be the consequences of failed negotiations over an electricity agreement between Switzerland and the EU? Researchers from EPFL and the University of St. Gallen have investigated this question within the scope of the "National Research Programme Energy", shining a light on how it will affect the Swiss electricity sector, overall economic ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Big Data makes intensive care better

Bern (ots) - Patient safety in intensive care units could be significantly improved if false alarms could be greatly reduced and critical complications such as epileptic seizures could be predicted. This is where the "ICU Cockpit" project of the National Research Programme "Big Data" (NRP 75) comes in: The large amounts of data from intensive care medicine will be used to develop procedures for early warning systems and ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

The 2020 SNSF Scientific Image Competition is underway

Bern (ots) - Capturing the beauty of science: the Swiss National Science Foundation is once again holding its photo and short video competition in 2020. Nadine Wietlisbach, director of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, will chair the jury. The images will be exhibited for the first time at the Biel/Bienne Photography Festival in May and will be freely available to the public and the media. The 2020 edition of the SNSF Scientific ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Latsis Prize 2019: Dominik Hangartner's research brings cool-headed analysis to the heated debate on migration

Bern (ots) - Political scientist Dominik Hangartner (ETH Zurich) analyses the effects of migration policies and proposes improvements. In recognition of his work, the Swiss National Science Foundation has awarded him the National Latsis Prize 2019. "We bring cool-headed analysis to a heated debate. Using data and ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Building renovation needs to be speeded up

Bern (ots) - Only one out of a hundred houses per year are renovated to make them more energy efficient - less than half the number needed to achieve the goals of the Energy Strategy 2050 for buildings. The National Research Programme "Energy" shows that the necessary technologies are available, but there is a lack of appropriate planning, building and energy laws, as well as of expertise. Approximately half of the energy ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

"Green peas" provide clues to the early days of the universe

Bern (ots) - It is probable that primordial galaxies triggered the period in the history of the universe known as"cosmic reionisation". The Geneva-based astronomer Anne Verhamme has succeeded in demonstrating this by studying green pea galaxies. In recognition of this work, the SNSF will award her this year's Marie Heim-Vögtlin prize on 16 September 2019. Following the Big Bang some 14 billion years ago, the universe ...