July 2015

ETH researchers have developed a yarn from ordinary gelatine that has good qualities similar to those of merino wool fibres. Now they are working on making the yarn even more water-resistant.

Transmitting large amounts of data, such as those needed to keep the internet running, requires high-performance modulators that turn electric signals into light signals. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a modulator that is a hundred times smaller than conventional models.

One of the big questions intelligence researchers grapple with is just how differences in intelligence are reflected in the human brain. Researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded in studying further details relating to suspected functional differences in the brains of intelligent people.

Faster, more global, more complex – innovation and product cycles are constantly changing. A study conducted by the Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation at ETH Zurich found that the best way to keep up with the competition is sharing knowledge within a business cluster.

Stable high-pressure systems can lead to summer heatwaves – such as the one Europe is currently experiencing. The phenomenon is caused by the blocking of low pressure areas. ETH meteorologists are now shedding new light on the formation of blocking patterns.

Monte Verità, or the "Mountain of Truth", was recently the setting for an international gathering of historians, aimed at finding new patterns of interpretation for the period between 1980 and 2010. David Gugerli, a Professor of History of Technology at ETH and conference co-organiser, discusses the bold conference format and key findings from the meeting.

Our writers are off on a well-deserved summer break until 18 August. We wish all of you a pleasant summer, whether you take a staycation or venture further afield ...

Less time, fewer errors and simpler to perform. That is what is promised by this new approach to analysing proteins in the lab. Tina Hovestadt received a Pioneer Fellowship from ETH Zurich for this project.

Black holes can be found at the centres of most galaxies. Most have little mass compared with their host galaxy. ETH researchers, however, have discovered a particularly massive black hole, which clearly grew so quickly that the host galaxy was not able to keep pace. This calls into question previous thinking on the co-evolution of galaxies and their central black holes.

At its meeting of 8/9 July 2015, the ETH Board appointed six professors at ETH Zurich in accordance with the application submitted by ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.