October 2014

Mit der Energiestrategie 2050 will der Bund das Schweizer Energiesystem für eine klimaverträgliche Zukunft rüsten. Das Vorhaben stellt – ähnlich wie die Energiewende in Deutschland – die betroffenen Akteure vor zahlreiche Herausforderungen und Risiken. Es ergeben sich aber auch etliche Chancen, die es zu ergreifen gilt.

It is often stressed that developing countries need large financial support in order to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and to reduce climate-change related risks. But will people in rich countries be willing to provide the necessary amounts of money in times when budgets are tight? And are there characteristics that influence public support?

Good results at school – what do they take? Pressure to perform and special tutoring? Collaborative learning in a group? Elsbeth Stern, an ETH researcher on learning, is discussing the first of these questions today in a Treffpunkt platform debate, while the second is being studied by her team.

Viruses cannot multiply without cellular machinery. Although extensive research into how pathogens invade cells has been conducted for a number of viruses, we do not fully understand how the shell of a virus is cracked open during the onset of infection thus releasing the viral genome. An ETH Zurich led research team discovered how this mechanism works for the influenza virus – with surprising results.

Wie kann eine Hochschule ihr vielseitiges Campusleben nachhaltiger gestalten? Und was kann sie dabei von anderen Unis lernen? Das sind Fragen, die nicht nur die ETH Zürich beschäftigen. Zusammen mit neun führenden technischen Universitäten haben wir Antworten gesucht – und gefunden: Gestern haben wir den «Green Guide for Universities» publiziert.

Scientists took a closer look at a much-discussed agricultural method, conservation agriculture, and examined its productivity. In a large-scale overview study, they paint a different picture of this less tillage intense farming method: high yields can only be achieved with the method in dry regions.

In its meeting today, the Federal Council approved the agreement on Switzerland’s participation in the Horizon 2020 research programme. The agreement covers Switzerland’s partial association to the programme between 15 September 2014 and 31 December 2016.

A team led by ETH Professor Yaakov Benenson has developed several new components for biological circuits. These components are key building blocks for constructing precisely functioning and programmable bio-computers.

Phosphor ist als Nährstoff unabdingbar. Die Schweiz muss jedoch den grössten Teil ihres Bedarfs importieren. Vor allem die Landwirtschaft benötigt Phosphor als Dünger. Könnten wir das Element aus unseren Abfällen wiedergewinnen, liessen sich die Importabhängigkeit senken und der Phosphorkreislauf zumindest teilweise schliessen.

With Open Access Week 2014 beginning today, we take a look at the ETH-Bibliothek’s work on e-publishing and digital data preservation.