This week, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the University Hospital in Lausanne (CHUV) tested a new system which allows the brain and spinal column to communicate. Dutchman Gert-Jan Oskam has been paralysed since a bicycle accident twelve years ago. Thanks to the implants, one in the skullcap and […]
Switzerland remains among top on R&D investment
Data published this week show that Switzerland invested CHF 24.6 billion into research and development (R&D) in 2021, a sum 4% higher than in 2019 before the pandemic struck. With an R&D investment equivalent to 3.4% of GDP, Switzerland was fourth internationally behind only the United States (3.5%), South Korea (4.9%) and Israel (5.6%). R&D […]
Opioid use almost doubles in Switzerland
Between 2008 and 2018, prescriptions for opioid painkillers almost doubled in Switzerland, reported RTS this week. Opioid prescriptions for minor injuries rose by 88.3% and those for serious injuries by 91.4% over the decade, according to a study run by Baden hospital. The study shows how the drugs are often prescribed for mild pain. According […]
Switzerland could burn more wood and biomass to meet sustainability goals
A report published this week by WSL, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research, calculates Switzerland could double the amount of energy it gets from burning biomass to 97 peta joules (PJ) a year, with 50 PJ coming from wood combustion. In 2019, Switzerland generated 41 PJ of energy burning wood. This […]
The quirky, neglected Swiss astronomer who designed a new way to look at “wicked” problems
By Peter Hulm Remembering a Glarus native who bubbled with new ideas his whole life. Deputy editor of Global Geneve Magazine Peter Hulm reports. Ninety years ago, on 16 February 1933, Fritz Zwicky posited the existence of dark matter. It then took three decades for cosmologists to accept his ideas (three years after his death), […]
Swiss Rail defends surveillance camera plan
Following concerns and criticism at its plans to install cameras in stations, this week Swiss Rail defended its plan, reported RTS. The train operator said that the cameras, which will record passenger movements in some of its nationwide network of stations, will not record personal data or use facial recognition technology. Last week, the consumer […]
99 percent of Swiss sirens pass this year’s tests
Every year, Switzerland tests its apocalyptic-sounding sirens on the first Wednesday of February. This year it was done on 1 February 2021 at 13:30. The same day Switzerland’s Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) announced that 99% of fixed sirens were functioning. Cantons and municipalities are required to fix or replace the […]
Switzerland breaks record for longest train
On 29 October 2022, Switzerland ran the longest passenger train in the world from Preda to Alvaneu in the mountainous canton of Graubunden in eastern Switzerland, reported RTS. The train, made up of 100 carriages and measuring close to 2 km long (1,910 metres), made the 25 km journey in around 45 minutes. The train, […]
Switzerland to use electric cars to power grid
This week, an experiment to use electric cars to stabilise the electricity grid started in Switzerland. The VX2 Swiss project, which will run for a year, will inject the power from the batteries of 50 electric vehicles into the grid while they are not being used. Run from Bern, the project brings together seven companies […]
Rare forest giraffe born at Basel Zoo
On 10 July 2022, an okapi, or forest giraffe, was born at Basel Zoo. The new arrival is only the fifth calf to be born at the zoo over more than 20 years. The newly born calf named “Toka” is the son of mother Ebony (10) and father Imba (15). Described as strong and curious, […]
