February 2014

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Tubingen describe a process that suppresses the formation of methane in soils that are rich in humic substances. For this process to work, the soils need to switch between having no oxygen and having oxygen.

After weeks of confrontation, Ukraine is in search of a political future. The conflict between the new government in Kiev and forces sympathetic to Russia is escalating, particularly in Crimea. Nevertheless, Russia expert Jonas Grätz, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies, does not foresee a return to the Cold War era.

Mit hydrothermaler Geothermie Energie zu gewinnen scheint für die Stadt St. Gallen ein Traum zu bleiben: Die Erkenntnisse aus dem Produktionstest der Tiefenbohrung sind ernüchternd. Welche Schlüsse lassen sich aus dem Projekt ziehen?

They are half a millimetre in size, have a star-shaped hydrogel shell and open when they are irradiated with laser light in the near-infrared range. The new micro-robots, developed in the laboratory of Professor Brad Nelson at ETH, will potentially aid the precision delivery of drugs.

An ETH delegation visited Stanford University in November. Its aim was to find out what new approaches the US university is taking to teaching. The report is now available.

The Hönggerberg campus is to have a restaurant with table service. The Pavillon is being built at the northern end of Wolfgang Pauli Strasse – right on the hillside with views out over the area around Zurich-Affoltern.

In the QS World University Ranking by Subject published lately, ETH Zurich ranks third in the world in the environmental sciences. The following subjects at ETH are also in the top 10: electrical engineering, chemistry, computer science and information systems, earth and marine sciences, mathematics and biological sciences.

After a stroke, sufferers are often faced with the problem of severe movement impairment. Researchers of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich have now discovered that the brainstem could play a major role in the recovery of motor functions.

Künftig fliesst viel Geld in den Schutz der tropischen Wälder. Doch wie man aus «viel Geld» möglichst unberührte Wälder macht, ist noch unklar. Um besser zu verstehen, wie man effizient für Waldschutz bezahlen kann, haben wir verschiedene Modalitäten ausprobiert: Mit einem Computerspiel in Brasilien.

To date, little data on how man and musical instrument work together has been available. Researchers at ETH are now investigating this interplay using sensors. The measurement data collected could help make practice more effective and interesting, and help to avoid typical problems suffered by musicians such as pain due to poor posture.