Actualités sur Science

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Elderly people deal surprisingly well with stress

Bern (ots) - There are very few areas where the over-60s' cognitive abilities deteriorate under acute stress. They even have an advantage over young people when it comes to working memory. Have you ever been in an interview and suddenly been unable to think of a name because you were nervous? Or have you forgotten what you wanted to say while giving a presentation? Laboratory researchers are confronting their study ...

HealthBiocare GmbH

Pioneering research for non-invasive detection of cancer

Vienna / Baar (ots) - Scientists from the Swiss-Austrian research group HealthBiocare GmbH and System Biologie AG, in collaboration with the University of Vienna, have found a new non-invasive approach for the detection of the nine most common types of cancer. Although cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, there are still no clinically approved tests for broader cancer screening of the population. The earlier ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

India: using co-working spaces to recycle e-waste sustainably

Bern (ots) - A team of Swiss and Indian scientists are developing an environmentally responsible, solidarity-based business model that aims to reduce the pollution associated with e-waste recycling. In India, more than 90% of e-waste is handled by the informal sector. While this provides income for many families, it also often has a negative impact on the environment and on workers' health. Introducing and enforcing ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Animal experiments and 3R: Interview with animal ethicist Herwig Grimm

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Animal experiments and 3R: Immune cells live in a complex world

Bern (ots) - Some research relies almost entirely on animal models. An example is the SNSF-funded project on virus surveillance in the mouse brain. "The immune system has a place where it is born, a place where it is educated and a place where it goes to work." Natalia Pikor, research group leader at St. Gallen cantonal hospital, is studying one of the most complicated systems in the bodies of vertebrate animals and ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Animal experiments and 3R: mucous membrane as a model

Bern (ots) - In an SNSF-funded project, researchers are studying how bacteria infect the lungs. They are developing an alternative to animal testing that complements existing methods. When bacteria enter our lungs or live in our guts, they physically interact with our own cells that line the openings of our body like a protective layer. Some bacteria help us digest, others make us sick. Alexandre Persat from EPF Lausanne ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Animal experiments and 3R: Wound healing in mice and cell cultures

Bern (ots) - Research projects involving animal experiments employ a variety of methods. An SNSF-funded project on skin diseases, ulcers and cancer exemplifies this. Sabine Werner, professor of cell biology at ETH Zurich, studies how wounds heal. Knowledge of cell and tissue processes helps to better understand, diagnose and treat certain skin diseases. Here the focus is not primarily cuts and abrasions but rather wounds ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Gut bacteria linked to infant sleep patterns

Bern (ots) - A study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation shows that the link between sleep behaviour and intestinal flora is already present in infancy. The gut flora of infants is connected to their sleep patterns. This effect is evident from the age of three months, as sleep researchers Salome Kurth of the University of Fribourg and Sarah Schoch of the University of Zurich have now shown. For example, ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Wastewater provides new insight into Covid-19 dynamics

Bern (ots) - An interdisciplinary team funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation shows that the R number of coronavirus can be estimated quickly and cost-effectively from wastewater. Since the start of the coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2) pandemic, many public health measures have been decided based on its dynamic of spread, more precisely, on the reproductive number of the virus, known as the R number. This value indicates ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Shadows can damage solar panels

Bern (ots) - Shadows not only reduce the performance of photovoltaic modules integrated into buildings - they may also shorten their lifespan. "Over the next 30 years, Switzerland will need at least 20 times more solar panels to ensure its future energy supply as envisaged in the Energy Strategy 2050", according to Alessandro Virtuani, a physicist at EPFL. The majority of these panels will have to be installed on buildings, as Switzerland, like some other countries, does not ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Innovative research into new vaccines

Bern (ots) - Projects taking part in the National Research Programme "Covid-19" (NRP 78) of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) are pursuing highly promising approaches in a drive to develop new vaccines. Three research groups have adopted interesting approaches to the highly topical issue of vaccines. The team led by Steve Pascolo is investigating ways of improving functionality and stability of mRNA vaccines, ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Heterosexual norms impact same-sex couples

Bern (ots) - Society stigmatises homosexuals. Individuals who internalise this stigma are more critical of their partners when under stress, according to a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Couples handle stressful episodes better when partners support and listen to each other. Homosexual couples are no exception. But in contrast to other couples, homosexuals also face the enduring stigma of ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

The ethical dilemma of forensic therapy

Bern (ots) - Therapy and reporting to the judiciary - psychiatric professionals in prison have a conflict of loyalties. How do they deal with it? The treatment of people for whom a therapeutic measure has been ordered by the court creates a conflict of loyalties for medical professionals. A study(*) supported by the SNSF reveals how they deal with this in practice. Approximately one thousand people in Switzerland are ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Women's session in parliament: SNSF supports motion

Bern (ots) - At the women's session, taking place this week in Bern, research funding will be a topic of debate. A motion proposes to link third-party research funding to gender equality standards. Women are still significantly underrepresented in research: the share of women professors is currently 24 per cent; in research projects funded by the SNSF, women hold a 39 per cent share, spread across different career stages. ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

SNSF opposes initiative to ban animal and human experimentation

Bern, 14.10.2021 (ots) - The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) strives consistently and continuously to improve the quality of research. A ban on animal and human experiments would massively restrict the opportunity to gain knowledge and adversely affect Switzerland as a research hub. On 13 February 2022, the Swiss electorate will vote on the initiative to ban animal and human experiments. Acceptance of the ...

DERMALOG Identification Systems GmbH

Fingerprint PAD Competition: First place for DERMALOG

Hamburg, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) - Plastic fingers are known to be able to outsmart many fingerprint scanners. Therefore, special hardware and software have since been developed to prevent cases of such counterfeit. The LivDet competition compares the efficiency of these detection methods. The software of the German company DERMALOG is again number 1 in protecting identification systems against fake fingerprints. Plastic ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Detecting microplastics in the environment

Bern (ots) - Geochemist Denise Mitrano has found a way to track how micro- and nanoplastic particles spread through the environment. For this work, she is receiving this year's Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Man-made plastic pollutes the environment. When broken down into micro- and nanoparticles, it poses an increasing problem not only for the oceans and their inhabitants, but also ...

CAV Solution

CAV Solution sold World's first NFT Token Share

Tallinn, Estonia (ots/PRNewswire) - Tehnopol Startup Incubators sold the world's first NFT stock, backed by a percentage of the business CAV Solution Ltd and Curitas Ventures AB signed a first ever Contract Note where object of transfer is NFT Token No. 00001 representing a nondisclosed amount of shares of in the start-up CAV Solution Ltd. The investment amount and shares of the company being sold are kept confidential, ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Cancerous tumours: how likely are they to metastasise?

Bern (ots) - A very aggressive type of cancer has provided a team of researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation with an answer to the question of which tumour cells are at risk of spreading. Cancer treatment is sometimes complicated by the heterogeneity of the cells that form the tumour mass. The problem is how to identify the few cells that are capable of triggering metastases. Thanks to work carried ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Clinical research: patients and the public have their say

Bern (ots) - The Swiss National Science Foundation has been funding clinical studies on under-researched topics in medicine since 2016. In a first, it successfully involved representatives of patients and the public in evaluating applications. The aim of the SNSF's Investigator Initiated Clinical Trials (IICT) programme is to answer medical questions that are important to society but not a priority for industry. This ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

The complex organisation of an ant colony

Bern (ots) - A study on predatory ants, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, explains how small differences between individuals can change the collective organisation of the colony. The colonies of social insects are complex systems that are entirely self-organised. Scientists who looked at the demographic, genetic and morphological structure of ant colonies were able to show how this self-organisation ...

Wyss Academy for Nature

New forms of engagement at the Wyss Academy

Bern, Switzerland (ots) - The exhibition and meeting space "Habitat" of the Wyss Academy for Nature in Bern will newly present the work "Morphologies", which explores the moment of wonder towards nature that is common to art and science. At the same time, the Wyss Academy is addressing a pressing issue in the field of sustainable development: Engaging with people from research, politics, business, and agriculture on four ...

News Direct

SCIENTISTS WORLDWIDE PLEDGE THEIR TRUST IN SCIENCE IN CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LIGHT

Trieste (ots) - --News Direct-- The UNESCO International Day of Light on May 16th celebrated the worldwide campaign promoting the importance of science and the scientific process for society and sustainable development. The Trust Science pledge saw supporters of science worldwide join together to affirm their appreciation for science. Notable signatories include Nobel ...

swissuniversities

swissuniversities and Wiley sign transformative Open Access agreement

Bern (ots) - swissuniversities has concluded a new Read&Publish agreement with John Wiley & Sons. It will provide students and researchers from over 40 Swiss higher education and research institutions access to the Wiley Online Library with over 1'450 journals. At the same time, this agreement enables authors affiliated to these institutions to make their scientific ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Intriguing scientific insights

Bern (ots) - The winners of the 2021 SNSF Scientific Image Competition offer a fresh look at cutting-edge research, from COVID-19 to the study of volcanoes, from churches to alpine geography. The public have also chosen their favourites among the images submitted over the last five years. The works singled out by the jury of the 2021 SNSF Scientific Image Competition show both the variety of top-flight research being conducted in Switzerland and its aesthetic aspects, from ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

937 million Swiss francs for 3300 new research projects

Bern (ots) - In 2020, researchers submitted 8200 grant applications to the SNSF. 3300 of them were selected for funding in a competitive process. At short notice, the SNSF funded 73 projects on COVID-19. Thousands of SNSF-funded teams explore nature, technology and society. This generates knowledge that is a key driver of progress. In 2020, the SNSF invested 937 million francs in 3300 new projects, selected from 8200 ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Dormice may have hibernated as early as 34 million years ago

Bern (ots) - In analysing rodent fossils, scientists funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have come up with a novel hypothesis: hibernation was a survival strategy 34 million years ago. Until very recently, the ability to hibernate was thought to have appeared during the Quaternary ice age 2.6 million years ago. Now, a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) suggests that the process may ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Novel antibiotic deceives bacteria through mimicry

Bern (ots) - Most antibiotics need to penetrate their target bacteria. But Darobactin, a newly discovered compound, is much too large to do so. Nonetheless, it kills many antibiotic-resistant pathogens - by exploiting a tiny weak spot on their surface. Basel researchers have now revealed the amazing mechanism at play and thereby opened the door to developing completely new medicines. An increasing number of bacterial ...

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Veal calf fattening: it can work with less antibiotics

Bern (ots) - By adopting a few simple measures, farmers can drastically reduce the use of antibiotics and improve the well-being of their animals without economic disadvantages. This was confirmed in a field trial- the first of its kind in Switzerland - carried out by researchers of the University of Bern based on the specially developed "outdoor veal calf" method. Large amounts of antibiotics are used in the veal ...

Grünenthal Group

Grünenthal is Recognized for its Strong Management of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Risks

Aachen, Germany (ots) - - Leading global ESG ratings agency Sustainalytics notes Grünenthal is in the top five percent among its peers in the pharmaceutical subindustry - Grünenthal is categorized as “medium risk”, placing it ahead of its key subindustry peers and in the same league as multinational companies ...