A recent government report sets out a long list of fungi, plants and animals that are extinct or at risk from human activity. 3% of the 10,350 native species studied have already disappeared, 5% are on the verge of extinction, 11% are in danger, 17% are vulnerable, and 10% are potentially threatened. These percentages add up to 46%. The […]
Archives for 2017
Median Swiss salaries by occupation, region, gender and immigration status
If you have ever wondered how much employees in Switzerland get paid you can check with the online tool Salarium, created by the Swiss government. The information is compiled from a database of numbers from a salary survey done in 2014. After entering five required bits of information: region, business sector, occupation, professional position and working hours, the […]
What one Swiss university learned by following student smartphone wifi signals
Researchers followed students on the EPFL campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, for ten days, by tracking their mobile wifi signals. Thanks to help from IT services at the university, researcher Antonin Danalet was able collect information on the movements of 2,000 individuals via their wifi signals over a period of ten days. By linking wifi access point […]
World’s longest foot suspension bridge in Switzerland
The bridge, accessible from the town of Randa near Zermatt, was opened on 29 July 2017. The 494 metre footbridge forms part of the Europaweg walking trail, one of Switzerland’s most famous. The two-day hike links Grächen and Zermatt. In 2010, the previous bridge was closed because of ground instability. Since then hikers have had to […]
Swiss franc slides 4 percent in one week
On 24 July 2017, the Swiss franc was 1.101 to the euro. One week later on 31 July 2017 it was 1.145, according to Bloomberg. Over the month it dropped from 1.095 to 1.145, a drop Reuters described as the biggest monthly drop in six years. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has been working hard to […]
Swiss scientists find link between stress and social status
A study by scientists at EPFL in Lausanne Switzerland shows social status is a major risk factor for developing chronic stress. In addition, the team discovered a certain kind of identifiable brain activity associated with high risk, something which might make it possible to identify those at risk. Stress is one factor often associated with mental disorders, however […]
Swiss trust in news media in decline, says report
A recent report by the Reuters Institute shows a fall in trust in news media in Switzerland. They survey shows that only 46% trust news overall. This is down 4% compared to the year before. The report suggests this is an effect of the debate around ‘fake news’ resulting from the presidential election in the […]
Bern buskers – Switzerland’s biggest busker festival
By Bill Harby The streets of Bern’s Old Town will be crazy alive in two weeks with 150 musicians, clowns, puppeteers, actors, dancers and other performers from 25 countries. Plus lots of tasty international food. The 14th annual Buskers Bern Street Music Festival begins Thursday night and continues Friday and Saturday (18h – 24h) at over […]
FILM: Two films to avoid
28 July 2017. Sorry, but this is not a great week for new films. Just letting you know, so you can save time and money. VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS *1/2 It hurts me to give such a low rating to a film by Luc Besson, as I have greatly admired his […]
Swiss researchers show city dwellers travel more but not to where they thought
Data analysis shows that while those living in the city centres spend less time in their cars commuting, they travel more for leisure. One popular explanation for this is that these urban dwellers are seeking nature on their time off to compensate for their largely concrete existence, something known as the barbecue effect. The barbecue effect assumes those […]
