Last week, Antonio Hodgers, the head of Geneva’s executive, announced a ban on the erection of further 5G mobile antennas in the canton, according to an interview on RTS. Motivated by uncertainty on the potential health effects of the new technology, the temporary freeze is the most the cantonal government can do to stop the […]
Swisscom switches on its 5G mobile network
This week, Swisscom became the first Swiss mobile phone company to switch on its 5G network, according to a press release. Swisscom spokesperson, Esther Hüsler, said that at midnight on Wednesday Swisscom flipped the switch to become the first Swiss operator to put its 5G network into service. It’s 5G network went live across 102 […]
Swiss canton blocks 5G mobile rollout
The rollout of fifth generation (5G) mobile technology is causing a stir across Switzerland. Groups, such as the Association Romande Alerte and the Gigaherz Club, are protesting at the rollout of the new technology, claiming that it poses potential health risks. In addition, they argue that it isn’t needed because current networks are sufficient. Elected officials […]
How a young computer scientist at CERN changed the world 30 years ago
Thirty years ago, in March 1989, a young computer expert working at CERN came up with a proposal for an internet-based hypertext system to link and access information across different computers. In the interview below, Tim Berners-Lee describes how his early requests to experiment with his idea were ignored. CERN was set up for physics […]
Campaign launched for a pesticide-free Switzerland
On Monday, a referendum in Switzerland aiming to ban the use of all synthetic pesticides was launched. The popular vote, which collected the required 100,000 signatures in 2016, is scheduled for 2020, according to RTS. The pesticides that would be banned include glyphosate and neonicotinoids, a group of chemicals known to kill bees. Vote organisers […]
CERN in contact with Elon Musk about new super-sized collider
Elon Musk has been in communication with the director of CERN about the construction of a tunnel for the proposed super collider under discussion at the Geneva-based organisation. Elon Musk’s Boring Company has been busy boring a hole under Los Angeles, making him a logical person to contact if you have plans to dig a […]
CERN unveils plan for new super-sized collider
Over the next two years the possibility of a new particle collider will be discussed, according to a recent press release from CERN. The new particle accelerator would dwarf the existing one. 100km in circumference, it would form an underground circle containing an area more than three times the size of the canton of Geneva, […]
Swiss driving licences might soon store driver data
Discussions around high tech driving licences containing chips have started in Bern, according to the newspaper Tribune de Genève. Recently, national councillor Franz Grüter (UDC/SVP) put forward a motion to have current Swiss driving licences replaced by high tech ones, a motion supported by around 40 other councillors, mainly from his own party. The new […]
CERN makes a big breakthrough
On 28 August 2018, six years after the discovery of the Higgs boson, physicists at CERN unveiled their latest breakthrough. The Standard Model of particle physics predicts that about 60% of the time a Higgs boson will decay to a pair of bottom quarks. CERN has just announced that this decay has at last been […]
Switzerland’s first blockchain marriage
Dispensing with administrative officials, a couple in the Swiss canton of Vaud, recently tied the knot using block chain technology, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. The official record of their agreement to marry is a blockchain-based smart contract. Once an agreement is in the block chain it is essentially impossible to alter. Such technology […]
