The Local Switzerland

Why Swiss scientists are asking people to bury underwear?

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 14:48:58 +0200

Digging a hole in the soil and hiding knickers under ground along with tea bags — yes, tea bags — may seem like a bizarre ritual. But in Switzerland, it is all done in the name of science.

Swiss scientists struggle to find people who are scared of snakes

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 21:43:11 +0200

The University of Basel is struggling to find participants for a study into how to reduce fear of snakes but not for the reason you might expect.

Tsunami in Switzerland? New study examines this ‘underestimated danger’

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 11:00:09 +0200

It may be a landlocked country, but Switzerland has some of the biggest lakes in Western Europe, and tsunamis have occurred in Swiss waters the past.

Study: Swiss ski resorts are losing their snow

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 11:18:46 +0200

Switzerland has nearly 40 fewer snow days a season than it did in the 1970s, even in high altitude resorts, according to a new study.

Typical Swiss chalets ‘not actually Swiss’

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 13:45:25 +0200

The traditional Swiss style of chalet so beloved by tourists visiting the alpine country is actually the creation of foreign architects, a researcher at federal technology institute ETH Zurich has found.

Urban living 'affects obesity': Lausanne study

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:38:08 +0100

Swiss researchers have concluded that the urban environment likely plays a key role in obesity levels of individuals based on a study of residents in the city of Lausanne.

Four Swiss researchers share $1.5-million grant

Thu, 26 Nov 2015 22:06:35 +0100

Four Swiss medical researchers and one from Spain received grants totalling $1.5-million for clinical cancer research on Thursday in Zurich.

Swiss stem cell biologist named MacArthur Fellow

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 20:53:03 +0200

Swiss stem cell biologist Lorenz Studer was on Tuesday named a MacArthur Fellow — a prestigious academic honour from the American MacArthur Foundation, accompanied by a $625,000 grant.

First zero-gravity plane launches from Swiss soil

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 20:59:33 +0200

Scientists from two Swiss universities on Tuesday launched zero-gravity experiments in a specially equipped Airbus A310 plane that took off from Dübendorf air base in the canton of Zurich.

Scientists find craters beneath Lake Neuchâtel

Tue, 19 May 2015 12:38:15 +0200

Scientists have discovered four large craters at the bottom of Lake Neuchâtel that rate among the largest of their kind in the world.

EPFL ranked world's top 'young university'

Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:19:57 +0200

Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) was ranked the top university under the age of 50 by the Times Higher Education on Wednesday.

Study finds 'banker's oath' could spur honesty

Thu, 20 Nov 2014 22:07:00 +0100

Banks could change a business culture that “favours dishonest behaviour" by requiring their employees to take a professional oath of honesty and training programs in ethics, researchers from the University of Zurich say.

Swiss electric car sets world acceleration record

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 21:25:00 +0100

An electric racing car developed by students at ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on Monday set a world record for acceleration, the universities announced.

Roche reveals towering plans for Basel site

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 13:17:00 +0200

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche is to invest three billion francs ($3.14 billion) in its Basel headquarters over the course of the next ten years in a massive redevelopment project which includes the construction of the tallest building in Switzerland.

Geneva uni geneticist in research fraud probe

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:17:00 +0200

A prominent medical journal said on Thursday it had retracted a research paper linking child abuse and bipolar disorder after a probe found that one of the authors had fabricated data.

Swiss government plugs Horizon funding gap

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 17:00:00 +0200

The federal government has approved interim measures to fund Swiss researchers participating in the EU’s Horizon 2020 who have been denied funding from Brussels.

Swiss scientists tout unploughed field pluses

Tue, 24 Jun 2014 01:28:00 +0200

If Europe adopted a style of farming that abstains from ploughing after a harvest, local temperatures could drop as much as two degrees, Swiss and French researchers said on Monday.

EU freezes research and student exchange funds

Mon, 17 Feb 2014 00:19:00 +0100

In a tit-for-tat retaliation, the European Union has frozen research grants for Swiss universities worth hundreds of millions of euros and suspended the involvement of Switzerland in the Erasmus student exchange programme.

EPFL helps pioneer 'feeling' bionic hand

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 22:55:00 +0100

An amputee with a bionic hand has for the first time been able to feel the texture and shape of objects in his grasp, researchers in Lausanne said on Wednesday.

Rocking hammocks aid sleep - Swiss study

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:03:00 +0200

A team of Swiss and French scientists published a study on Monday that suggests the rocking motion of a hammock improves sleep quality and helps people get to sleep faster.