Hybrid overhead lines—more power, not more power lines

Social opposition to new high-voltage lines is delaying modernisation of the power grid. Two projects of the National Research Programmes "Energy Turnaround" and "Managing Energy Consumption" have determined the optimum design ...

Maintaining valuable soils

Each year almost one thousand hectares of cultivated land continue to be lost, thereby wiping out numerous services delivered by the soil, such as filtering water and storing carbon, which are central for our society's wellbeing. ...

600 seismographs listen in on the Alps

600 sensors placed on and around the Alps constitute the largest academic seismographic network in the world. The AlpArray project will enable better understanding of the birth of the Alps as well as homogeneous seismic hazard ...

Baby boomers use too much energy in their homes

Many people live at home up to a ripe old age without needing much outside help. In a study conducted for the National Research Programme "Managing Energy Consumption," researchers have examined how much energy could be saved ...

Plankton swim against the current

Zooplankton are often considered to be a passive source of food for fish and other aquatic animals. But at least one of their representatives, the millimetre-sized copepod (Eurytemora affinis), moves purposefully in turbulent ...

Between filter bubbles, uneven visibility and transnationality

The internet would be nothing without hyperlinks. They are what makes the net a network. They define the paths that give users access to content. And they also help to determine which results search engines show over others. ...

Liquid shock absorbers

Remarkable liquid materials called colloids stiffen under impact. Researchers funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have studied the effect of powerful impacts such as those produced by firearms or micrometeorites.

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