April 2022
The best of ETH Zurich news from journalists around the globe.
The international news content features in digital, English-language platforms. ETH Zurich also appears in numerous broadcast television shows, films, and print publications. Some publications may require a subscription to view content (noted by the symbol here), while others allow free access to a limited number of articles.
Meta is using AI to create low-carbon concrete for its data centres
ETH Zurich's Walter Kaufmann comments, "The AI-derived mixtures are certainly effective, but not really novel...in western Europe, concretes similar to the one referenced as ‘industry standard’ in the paper stopped being used 25 years ago. The external pageemissions of the ‘novel’ concretes described in the paper essentially correspond to Swiss average concrete in terms of emissions today,” he says.
2 giant marsquakes rock the far side of Mars
The new seismic events are the largest marsquakes to ever be recorded. "external pageRecording events within the core shadow zone is a real stepping-stone for our understanding of Mars," study co-author Savas Ceylan, a seismologist at ETH Zürich in Switzerland.
Also reported in...
external pageLIVESCIENCE, 27 April 22, "2 giant marsquakes rock the far side of the Red Planet"
external pageGismodo, 25 April 2022, "InSight Mars Lander Records Largest Marsquakes Yet"
Scientists Used AI to Better Analyze Animal Behavior to Help Improve Animal Welfare
Researchers from the ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have now developed an automated method for analyzing recorded animal behaviour using external pagecomputer vision and machine learning...The system effectively provides scientists with a one-click option for automatically analyzing video footage.
Also in...
Experts use eDNA to measure reef fish diversity
A research team from external pageETH Zurich has applied a new method that is currently advancing the field of ecology – environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. The idea behind this new approach is that organisms leave their genetic material or parts of it in the environment.
Also reported in...
external pageEcoMagazine, 22 April 2022, "Environmental DNA Reveals Secret Reef Inhabitants"
Finding Love on a 14-Hour Layover
Between flights to and from Munich in September 2016, Andrea Mendoza visited a beer hall in the city, where she met and instantly bonded with Victor Aguilera. Ms. Mendoza is currently studying for a external pagemaster’s degree in advanced studies in architecture and digital fabrication at the ETH Zurich.
Why Some Breast Cancer Cells Spread to Bone Tissue
The organs affected by these metastases, however, depend in part on their tissue of origin. In the case of breast cancer, they usually form in the bones. In an attempt to identify external pagewhat determines the organs affected by metastasis, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with researchers from ETH Zurich, has identified a protein involved in this phenomenon.
Goldman backs $51M funding in Japan’s Rapyuta Robotics for its picking assist robot and more
Tokyo-based maker of autonomous machines used in the logistics industry — external pageRapyuta Robotics (an ETH Zurich Spinoff), has announced recently $51 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs.
Also in...
external pageFINSMES, 27 April 2022, "Rapyuta Robotics Raises USD 51M in Series C Funding"
Scientists demonstrate a new mechanism by which amino acids curb appetite
Proteins can suppress appetite, so a protein-rich diet can help people lose weight...Working with mice, researchers at external pageETH Zurich have now demonstrated a new mechanism by which the building blocks of proteins – the amino acids – curb appetite.
Neural network can read tree heights from satellite images
Using an artificial neural network, researchers at ETH Zurich have created the first high-resolution global vegetation height map for 2020 from satellite images. This external pagemap could provide key information for fighting climate change and species extinction, as well as for sustainable regional development planning.
NATO Cyber Game Tests Defenses Amid War in Ukraine
The benefit of the exercises is that it sets a baseline for participants to measure their external pagecyber defense skills against each other, said Stefan Soesanto, a senior cyber defense researcher at ETH Zurich. The games also help experts get to know their counterparts in allied countries, he said. “They’re a huge alliance with partners behind them. If things happen, you can rely on them to assist you,” he said.
Never mind stitches—it is possible to solder wounds closed
external pageMedical researchers have been trying to develop another way to join the edges of a wound, inspired by something routinely done to gas pipes and electronics: soldering. And an innovation developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, in co-operation with the Swiss materials-science institute Empa, suggests this might soon become a practical reality.
Deep Science: AI cuts, flows and goes green
We’ve seen machine learning models taking on big datasets in biotech and finance, but researchers at external pageETH Zurich and LMU Munich are applying similar techniques to the data generated by international development aid projects such as disaster relief and housing.
Planting trees in Scotland will not fix climate change
In ecological terms, the optimal strategy would be to restore to health all the forests and peatlands that have been degraded, and let nature take its course. “The trillion tree target is not about planting that many trees. It is about external pagebuilding a world in which they (trees) naturally regrow,” says Tom Crowther, ETH Zurich.
Schmidt Hammer Lassen unveils design for world's tallest timber building
It will have a mass timber structural core and load-bearing system that was developed in partnership with construction company Implenia and Swiss university external pageETH Zurich.
What’s next for AlphaFold and the AI protein-folding revolution | #computerhacking | #hacking
Researchers compare genetic sequences to determine how organisms and their genes are related across species...by comparing protein structures — which tend to change less rapidly than genetic sequences — researchers might be able to uncover overlooked ancient relationships. “external pageThis opens up an amazing opportunity to study the evolution of proteins and the origins of life,” says Pedro Beltrao, a computational biologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
Better control of development aid through AI
external pageETH Zurich researchers use artificial intelligence to provide more clarity about global development aid with a new method of analysis that sorts money flows into thematic groups. This makes it possible to see how funding is distributed across thematic areas, countries and years, and where action may be required.
Using statistical methods to predict the course of disease
Alexander Marx a research fellow at ETH Zurich's AI Center is using artificial intelligence to make predictions regarding external pagediabetes in children.
Bulgaria launches AI research centre to woo science and tech talent
Martin Vechev a Bulgarian computer scientist...now planning to split his time between a professorship at external pageETH Zurich and chairing the supervisory board of INSAIT.
Also in...
AI Business, "external pageAmazon, Google funds first AI research center in Eastern Europe." Women comprise half of INSAIT’s advisory board...(including) Olga Sorkine-Hornung, Turing Committee chair and ETH Zurich professor.
S'pore researchers working on creating sustainable, nutritious food from microalgae
Fancy having a nutritious meal that is created sustainably from microalgae and printed by a 3D printer? Scientists in Singapore from research institute external pageSingapore-ETH Centre (SEC) are working on a project to produce microalgae-based proteins as an alternative, sustainable food source.
What’s on the horizon for Swiss research in Europe?
Swiss partners were involved in 11 of the 24 collaborative projects of the Flagship, including many start-ups and companies. “Our collaboration ends this month. Siexternal pagence quantum technology is of strategic importance to the EU, we cannot even participate with our own money. We are flat out excluded!” says Andreas Wallraff from ETH Zurich.
Climeworks raises CHF 600 million
ETH spin-off external pageClimeworks is specialised in technology that filters CO₂ directly from the air. The company secured CHF 600 million in investment in its latest equity round, allowing it to invest in new large-scale air capture facilities.
Sea Water Around Campi Flegrei Volcano Turns Red, Worrying Scientists for Volcanic Unrest
A team of experts has now investigated the chemistry of volcanic rocks and glass from previous eruptions (of Campi Flegrei) for hints on what's occurring in the magma chamber below, using that data to develop a computer model to mimic the conditions leading to an eruption. Their findings (lead by Francesca Forni, ETH Zurich) published in the journal Science Advances, might help external pagescientists better understand the waking and sleeping cycles of these cataclysmic volcanoes.
This app turns your phone into a space weather forecasting tool
Researchers at ETH Zurich collaborated with the European Space Agency to build, external page"Camaliot" an app that allows your phone to crowd source weather data that could help predict rainfall and cosmic events like solar flares.
Enhancing deep sleep
As part of the SleepLoop project, external pageresearchers at ETH Zurich have developed a mobile system that can be used at home and aims to promote deep sleep through auditory brain stimulation.
Also in...
New algorithm is forever simulating bubbles
Researchers at Harvard University in the US and external pageETH Zurich in Switzerland...can simulate thousands of bubbles making it possible to model the behaviour of foamy flows from the micro- to the macro scales.
Learning the Right Way to Struggle
Also in...
external pagePsychology Today, 14 April 2022, "To Learn, Students Must First Fail"
Researchers Find Another Clue in the Dyatlov Pass Mystery
The mystery of nine hikers who died in Russia has baffled people for more than 60 years. external pageThe authors (ETH Zurich and EPFL researchers) of a recent paper think they’ve found another clue.
Also in...
Ars Technica, 1 April 2022
external pageConfirmed: Avalanche is likeliest explanation for tragic Dyatlov Pass incident
