At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, fatality rates were based on those testing positive for the virus using mucus-based swab testing. Now, we have the results of an increasing number of community-wide antibody blood tests, and they paint a different picture. The main SARS-CoV-2 test involves taking a mucus sample and analysing it to […]
Coronavirus: scientists see spread in Swiss waste water
Scientists at EPFL and Eawag have worked out how to detect Covid-19, even at low concentrations, in Switzerland’s waste water. Such a system could be used to warn of a resurgence of cases earlier than clinical diagnostic tests, possibly one week earlier. Initial wastewater samples from Lausanne, Zurich and Lugano have been analysed. Samples collected […]
Researchers in Switzerland create a Covid-19 detector
A new device developed at Empa, ETH Zurich and Zurich University Hospital can detect Covid-19. In future the device could be used to measure the concentration of the virus in the environment – for example in places where there are crowds or in hospital ventilation systems. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the team, headed by Jing […]
Three years for coronavirus vaccine, according to expert
It typically takes 10 to 15 years to develop a vaccine, however, recent progress in the development of vaccines could cut the time to three years, according to Thomas Cueni, who was recently interviewed by RTS. Cueni is the Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (IFPMA), the global association of research-based pharmaceutical […]
Might sugar be able kill viruses?
Not many positive things are written about sugar these days. A key driver of obesity and type II diabetes, few are likely to associate it with cures. However, researchers at UNIGE, in Geneva, EPFL, in Lausanne, and the University of Manchester recently managed to destroy a wide range of viruses using modified sugar molecules, according […]
Swiss environmental agency sets no date for 5G launch
Earlier this week, Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) announced it had contacted the cantons at the end of January 2020, informing them it had not set a date for switching on 5G networks. However, mobile networks plan to continue installing 5G equipment after rolling out more than 2,000 antenna last year – a […]
No need to switch phones to flight mode on Swiss
Since 1 February 2020, switching devices to flight mode is no longer required on Swiss, according to the newspaper Blick. However, flights through US airspace will still require flight mode because of US regulations. While there are no documented cases of transmitting and receiving personal electronic devices (T-PEDs) compromising flight safety, regulators have applied the […]
The Swiss company that spied on the world
Yesterday, the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, announced it was investigating Crypto AG, a company with ties to the CIA and West German intelligence (BND). The Federal Council obtained information on Crypto in November 2019, according to Swiss broadcaster RTS. Parliamentarian Balthasar Glättli has called for a more in-depth investigation and the creation of a parliamentary […]
The Swiss-made plane that went global and starred in Hollywood films
In 1939, Pilatus, a small aircraft maintenance company for the Swiss Air Force was founded in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. By 1944 it had produced its first aircraft: the Pilatus SB-2 Pelican. However, it wasn’t until 1959 that Pilatus really took off with the launch of the Pilatus Porter PC-6. The PC-6 was […]
Antibiotic resistance – Swiss researchers make a breakthrough
Some life-threatening bacteria are becoming resistant to existing antibiotics. Swiss researchers at the University of Zurich recently discovered a new class of antibiotics that is able to attack a particularly treatment-resistant class of bacteria known as Gram-negative bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria have an extra outer membrane, which makes them hard to attack. This protective outer layer […]
