In the Media - November 2023

Using 3D printing to produce lightweight insulating building elements

external page Architecture researchers at ETH Zurich demonstrate the production of 3D printed, lightweight insulation building components from cement-free mineral foams. Derived from recycled industrial waste, this new type of material is not only aesthetically appealing, it could cut heating and cooling costs for buildings and encourage more efficient use of construction materials.

How Zurich has to change its roads to have more e-bikes than cars

external page Nine professorships at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne have been investigating: What would the streets look like if a city took half its traffic space and gave it to cycling and e-biking? Would city dwellers use their bikes more often? Might the concept of an "E-Bike City" even be a way to help reduce transport-related CO2 emissions?

Why nature’s future underpins the future of business

external page "And while carbon can be traded globally, nature cannot," says Thomas Crowther, a professor of ecology at ETH Zurich who studies the connections between biodiversity and climate change. “You can’t destroy a tropical forest in Brazil and plant some trees in Scotland,” he says. “With climate change, you suck a ton of carbon out anywhere on the planet and it has a global benefit.”

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external page SKY News

We Can’t Address the Climate Crisis Without Nature

external page ETH Zurich professor, Thomas Crowther writes an op-ed on restoration for TIME magazine: "As we approach the mid-point of this critical decade, ecosystem restoration has been suffering from an identity crisis that threatens the entire movement. The problem at the heart of this controversy is that there are conflicting ideas about what restoration actually is...nature is not the problem. Trees are not the problem. In fact, we need them more than ever before. The problem is our misuse of them as a quick fix to offset carbon emissions."

Establishing a digital emblem to protect humanitarian organizations in cyberspace

external page ...The ICRC contacted the Center for Cyber Trust, a research collaboration between ETH Zurich and the University of Bonn in the field of cybersecurity, with this idea of establishing a digital emblem...“A digital emblem has a unique combination of security requirements, namely authenticity, accountability and a property that we call covert inspection,” (Felix) Linker says.

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external page TechXplore

Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity

external page A team from Malaysia, Switzerland and the U.K. published their findings in Forest Ecology and Management. “The results were really surprising,” Nadine Keller, study lead author and a doctoral candidate at ETH Zürich at the time of the research, told Mongabay. “We expected to find lower biodiversity because fewer tree species were planted than would occur naturally, [but] we found the opposite.”

Reprogramming tissue mechanically to promote wound healing

external page Researchers at PSI and ETH Zurich have taken connective tissue cells that have been mechanically reprogrammed to resemble stem cells and transplanted them into damaged skin. In their laboratory experiment, they were able to show that this can promote wound healing.

Also reported in...

external page News Medical Life Sciences

COP28: India too has no ‘option’ than to invest in nature

external page Sounding a note of warning that tropical forest deforestation accounts for eight per cent of all CO2 emissions, more than the entire the EU, Welsh scientist studying ecology and global biodiversity Prof. Thomas Crowther at ETH Zurich said: “We cannot reach the Paris Agreement without halting and reversing nature loss, alongside rapid emissions cuts.

Molecular cooperation at the threshold of life

external page One of the biggest questions in science is how organisms develop from inanimate matter. It is no surprise that there are no definitive answers. After all, these processes took place 3 - 4 billion years ago. During this vast period of time, evolution has obliterated the traces that lead us to the origins of life. Roland Riek, Professor of Physical Chemistry and Associate Director of ETH Zurich’s new interdisciplinary Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life and his team have a new hypothesis just published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.  

Researchers at ETH Zurich created a jailbreak attack that bypasses AI guardrails

external page A set of scientists from ETH Zurich, in Switzerland, have actually established an approach by which, in theory, any expert system (AI) design that counts on human feedback, consisting of the most popular big language designs (LLMs), might possibly be jailbroken. Jailbreaking is a colloquial term for bypassing a gadget or system’s desired security defenses...When used particularly to the world of generative AI and big language designs, jailbreaking suggests bypassing so-called “guardrails”– hard-coded, unnoticeable directions that avoid designs from creating hazardous, undesirable, or unhelpful outputs– in order to access the design’s uninhibited reactions.  

Philippe Block on Sustainable Construction: “Building Technique Is More Important Than Materials”

external page Centuries-old masonry principles may hold the key to greener construction in the 21st century...Philippe Block, a structural design researcher at ETH Zurich who is best known for his commitment to “strength through geometry,” or the idea that the mass of buildings — and with it their embodied carbon footprints — could be greatly reduced if architects were more thoughtful about load distribution...With the right shapes, he argues, we could create high-rise buildings with far less concrete and, in many cases, almost no steel reinforcements whatsoever.

Octapharma to present new clinical and scientific data at ASH 2023 from ongoing research initiatives aimed at advancing care for people living with bleeding disorders

external page In collaboration with the ETH Zurich and Balgrist Campus Zurich, Switzerland, the effect of FVIII on bone remodelling has been evaluated in vivo, with the results indicating that FVIII and/or von Willebrand can further inhibit the formation of osteoclasts, cells that play a key role in bone remodelling. Platelets and endothelial cells play key roles in haemostasis. Research performed in collaborations with the ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy, revealed significant differences in the binding of different recombinant FVIII products to platelets and endothelial cells.

Also appeared in numerous U.S. regional television channels from New York to Honolulu

New technique can accelerate language models by 300x

external page Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new technique that can significantly boost the speed of neural networks. They’ve demonstrated that altering the inference process can drastically cut down the computational requirements of these networks.  

Predicting earthquakes and tsunamis with fiber-optic networks

external page Geophysicists at ETH Zurich have shown that every single wave of a magnitude 3.9 earthquake registers in the noise suppression system of fiber-optic networks. This method, now published in Scientific Reports, can be used to set up close-meshed earthquake and tsunami early warning systems at low cost.

3D-printed ceria, a game-changer to increase solar fuel efficiency

external page In solar reactors for making solar fuels at high temperatures, ceria’s behavior when heated makes it state-of-the-art for unlocking the thermochemistry involved...So a precisely controlled design that heats more evenly could revolutionize efficiency; cutting cost and speeding commercialization of solar fuels like jet fuel for aviation. We interviewed Sebastian Sas Brunser, the co-author with solar fuels pioneer Aldo Steinfeld at ETH Zurich about their paper...published in ACS Engineering Au.

Construction robot builds massive stone walls on its own

external page A robotic construction vehicle (from researchers at ETH Zurich) can use 3D digital mapping and AI to learn the best placement for each stone in a wall, without instruction from a human.

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external page Science Magazine

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external page Tech Times

external page Tech and Science Post

external page New Atlas

external page Construction Technology

external page Construction Europe

external page The Telegraph

external page City Life (South Africa)

external page Bioengineer

external page The Next Web

external page The Australian

external page Global Construction Review

Previously unknown protein plays a key role in a congenital malformation of the heart

external page ...A team led by Ursula Quitterer, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at ETH Zurich, determined which molecular switches are involved and how they need to be thrown to halt the malformations that damage the heart. One day, these insights could benefit people suffering from tetralogy of Fallot...

3D Printing Robotic Hands

external page Soft Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich, the paper, titled “Vision-Controlled Jetting for Composite Systems and Robots,” demonstrates how VCJ opens a new frontier in manufacturing by expanding capabilities to synthetically recreate the intricate structure and functionality of natural organisms.

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external page ArsTechnica

external page Plastics engineering

external page Technology.org

external page Tech Explorist

external page Optic & Photonics News

external page Materials Today

external page Tom's Hardware

external page World Economic Forum

external page Futurity

As well as 300+ publications in the previous week

How Technology Can Make Personalized Health Care More Accessible

external page The future will tell to what extent human expertise will be replaced, but in the meantime, many companies are making strides in the 3D printing and planning medical space...For example, a team of researchers from ETH Zurich working with Strait Access Technologies has completed initial testing on its 3D-printed silicone heart valves.

HeiQ unveils HeiQ Skin Care – a probiotics-infused textile technology

external page ETH Spinoff, HeiQ introduces a 100% biobased and long-lasting cosmetic finishing technology for textiles to the market. The newest addition to the HeiQ portfolio harnesses the power of active probiotics and selected prebiotics to enhance the skin microbiome, turning the human’s largest organ...

Also reported in U.S. television broadcasts from New York to Los Angeles, and 400+ media impressions globally.  

Scientists find unusual form of magnetism in human-engineered material

external page In a groundbreaking exploration of materials science, researchers from ETH Zurich have unveiled a revolutionary form of ferromagnetism within an artificially produced material...Spearheaded by Ataç Imamoğlu at the Institute for Quantum Electronics and Eugene Demler at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, the team's discoveries, recently detailed in Nature, shed light on a previously unknown mechanism driving magnetism.

Also reported in...

external page SciTechDaily

external page New Atlas

external page City Life (South Africa)

external page Archyde

Uncontrolled Growth Is an Advantage and Weakness for Cancer Cells

external page ...Several studies published in the journal Molecular Cell show that uncontrolled growth is not only an advantage for cancer cells but also a weakness. One of these studies was led by Professor Gabriel Neurohr from the Institute of Biochemistry at ETH Zurich... He and his group are investigating what happens when cells exceed their normal size and enter a state that the researchers refer to as senescence. In this state, the cells are preternaturally large and lose their ability to divide. Nevertheless, they are still active and can influence their environment, such as by releasing messenger substances.

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external page Bioengineer

external page News Medical Life Sciences

external page PHYS.org

external page Science Magazine

external page Tech & Science Post

Sevensense Robotics to Represent Switzerland in the ELA Awards 2023

external page After winning the Swiss Logistics Awards, Sevensense Robotics was selected by the European Logistics Association jury as one of the top six projects to compete in the final phase of the prestigious ELA Awards 2023. Sevensense’s project has the objective of accelerating the pace at which warehouses and logistics operations are automated by enabling vehicle manufacturers to bring Visual-SLAM-powered smart mobile robots to the market.

10 Swiss Startups To Watch in 2024

external page “Faive, emerging from ETH Zurich, is pushing the boundaries of robotics with its development of humanoid robotic hands.”

How to develop bio-inspired catalysts

external page Victor Mougel is an absolute fan of nature...He also believes that no chemist can hold a candle to nature..."Nature is able to carry out extremely challenging reactions in the most efficient manner, it's an amazing source of inspiration," the assistant professor enthuses. His group at ETH Zurich draws inspiration from natural systems at all scales: replicating macroscopic shapes of living organisms but also mimicking natural systems at the micro and molecular level, specifically focusing on enzymes. These highly efficient natural catalysts drive a multitude of reactions in nature.  

Robotic hand 3D printed with innovative process

external page Researchers from ETH Zurich have 3D printed a robotic hand with synthetic bones, ligaments and tendons using an innovative laser scanning technique.

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external page Associated Press

external page Nature (article)

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external page Engadget

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external page Interesting Engineering

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...and nearly 300 other publications this week.

Natural coasts protect against tropical cyclones, but this protection is declining: Study

external page People living on the in low-lying coastal areas will be at even greater risk from cyclones in the future. Natural ecosystems offer protection, but this protection has decreased in recent years and is expected to continue to decline. This is a finding of a model study by an international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich.  

Scientists recently discovered a new type of magnetism – shattering conventional wisdom.

external page In the field of science, even the simplest phenomena often hide complex mysteries waiting to be solved. The simple magnet stuck to your refrigerator door may seem like an everyday object, but beneath its surface there is a complex interplay of physical forces. Understanding how magnets are made magnetic has long been a subject of fascination for physicists, and recent research from ETH Zurich has uncovered a new chapter in this magnetic saga.

Also reported in...

external page Science Magazine

How Legged Robots (Like NASA’s Mars Dog) Could Revolutionize Space Exploration

external page Philip Arm, a Ph.D. candidate at ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab, saw an opportunity for these robots beyond terrestrial needs…“In the last few years, [legged robots] have become so mature that they actually can be used in many different scenarios,” Arm tells Popular Mechanics. “We thought ‘hey, it’s working so well on Earth in really difficult environments, why not also try it in space?’” Arm is the first author on a paper published over the summer in Science Robotics that takes a look at how quadruped legged robots could work together as a team to outperform more traditional rovers during extraterrestrial exploration of the moon or Mars.

Ultra-Green Concrete: A New Approach to Sustainable Construction

external page Researchers at ETH are actively engaged in developing a low-carbon cement that boasts a substantially reduced embodied CO2 content compared to traditional cement. The Ultra Green Concrete project has the overarching goal of making low-carbon, high-performance concrete widely available.

Also reported in...

external page Futurity

Top Customer-Rated Exasol Espresso Gets Boost of AI

external page ETH Spinoff Veezoo: Exasol Espresso, the world’s fastest, most versatile query engine that plugs right into existing data stacks, today integrated with self-service analytics provider Veezoo. The integration enables customers to simply ask questions in natural language to query their database, and immediately get trusted answers from billions of rows of data. Veezoo’s AI feature offers smart suggestions for follow-up questions to guide data exploration, transforming data analysis into an engaging, interactive experience. 

SpaceX Transporter 9 rideshare features new OTV from Tom Mueller’s Impulse Space

external page “Outpost has its Mission 2 “Debug As You Go” spacecraft (3U) that will test Outpost’s core bus technology, as well as hosting payloads for NASA Langley (a small cool gas generator in support of NASA’s inflatable heat shield technology) and ETH Zurich (a GPS system).”
 

Reviving Collaboration: Seeking a Place for Artistry in Mass-Produced Building Elements

external page A project called Concrete Choreography, conducted by the Digital Building Technologies and Physical Chemistry of Building Materials teams at ETH Zurich, showcases a unique application of technology. This project aimed to explore the use of digital technology in reimagining the design of a contemporary column order and utilized concrete 3D printing to morph this architectural element.  

Which European countries are filing the most patent applications?

external page With a 5.9% increase year on year, Switzerland saw the most growth. A report this year by Dealroom found that investment for Swiss deeptechs — a vertical that often involves patenting tech — surged by 85% in 2022. The country also boasts the university that, according to Dealroom data, spins out the most companies from academic research: ETH Zurich.

Developing a low-carbon cement with a significantly lower embodied CO2 content than traditional cement

external page ETH Zurich researchers are developing a low-carbon cement with a significantly lower embodied CO2 content than traditional cement. The Ultra Green Concrete project aims to make low-carbon, high-performance concrete widely accessible.  

Albert Einstein's Unknown Living Descendants (and the Curious Professions They Pursue)

external page According to the letters he wrote between 1897 and 1919, he was truly in love with his first wife: the mathematician Mileva Mari, whom he met at the Zurich Polytechnic Institute in 1986.

InterAx Biotech Announces Being the Recipient of a Highly Competitive European Grant to Fund Drug Development and Reports Financing Highlights

external page (ETH Zurich spinoff) InterAx Biotech AG, a pharmaceutical product development company pioneering computational pharmacology for drug discovery, announces being awarded a highly competitive and prestigious grant to apply its drug discovery and development platform to the breakthrough technology programs sponsored by the EU commission.

International Collaboration Works to Connect Two Error-Corrected Qubits

external page “IARPA’s decision to fund not one but two projects in which ETH Zurich is involved confirms our university’s leading position in this vital research area,” Wolfrum said in the release. “It’s now crucial that Switzerland be an associated country in Horizon Europe as soon as possible so that our researchers can also participate in the EU’s flagship quantum programme.”

Also reported in...

external page Quantum Computing Report

Parkinson’s patient can walk again thanks to spinal cord implant

external page A man suffering from Parkinson’s can walk again...in 2021, he took part in a clinical trial led by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and the University Hospital of Lausanne to test whether a neuroprosthetic implant they had developed could restore his ability to walk.

Swiss Medtech Investment Surpasses Last Year While Biotech Run Rates Are Up

external page The Wyss Zurich ETH Zurich Accelerator has also been particularly active having already funded 25 companies from its initial endowment of CHF 120 million. Prime examples are (ETH Spinoff) Nanoflex Robotics which is developing an endovascular navigation system, allowing wires and catheters to be steered through vasculature using electromagnetic fields, and (ETH Spinoff) Hylomorph, a clinical-stage medical device company developing innovative materials...

Also reported in...

external page Manufacturing Chemist

Leap forward in low-cost battery tech: Pyr-IHF

external page Researchers at ETH Zürich have made a significant stride in energy storage technology with the development of a cost-effective synthesis of Pyrochlore-type iron hydroxy fluorides (Pyr-IHF). This material is being hailed as a potential game-changer for low-cost lithium-ion batteries...

Is DNA Data Storage Ready for Data Centers?

external page Alongside DNA synthesis advances, optimizing encoding could bring down costs. Unlike DNA synthesis for biomedical purposes, “we don't need high fidelity in DNA data storage because we have error correction coding to cope with errors introduced during synthesis,” says Robert Grass, a researcher at ETH Zurich.

Humans vs. robots: Study compares 27 humanoid robots with humans to see who is superior

external page Robert Riener, professor of Sensory-motor Systems at ETH Zurich and founder of the Cybathlon, published a new study in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI abouthow well do humanoid robots perform.

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external page Tech and Science Post

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An ammonia trail to exoplanets

external page Isotopes and isotopologues – molecules that differ only in the composition of their isotopes – also play an increasingly important role in astronomy...Astrophysicists Polychronis Patapis and Adrian Glauser, who are members of the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich as well as of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, were involved in the study...

Childhood Cancer Deaths in Brazil: Is Meat to Blame?

external page Recent research published in the scientific journal Environmental Research Letters shows that when it comes to sourcing soy from the Amazon region, zero-deforestation pledges (ZDP)—made in support of Brazil’s Soy Moratorium, which banned sourcing soybeans produced on deforested land after 2006—have been mostly ineffective...Conducted by researchers from (several universities) including ETH Zurich, the research found that ZDP pledges were made by at least 94 companies through 2021, and the majority of these were not effectively implemented.

A timber vertical garden made with artificial intelligence

external page Researchers at the Gramazio Kohler Research, part of ETH Zürich, developed a vertical garden made of timber pods and designed with artificial intelligence...Called Semiramis, the architectural installation is constructed at the entrance of Tech Cluster Zug, Switzerland, as a show of collaboration between machines and humans.

2023 World Laureates Association Prize winners awarded in Shanghai

external page Timothy J. Richmond from ETH Zurich, Switzerland (among three) named the winners of the 2023 WLA Prize in Life Science or Medicine “for elucidating the structure of the nucleosome at the atomic level.  

The JWST Has Spotted Giant Black Holes All Over the Early Universe

external page ...In June, an analysis of two other surveys led by Jorryt Matthee of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) identified 20 more “little red dots” with broad hydrogen lines: black holes churning around redshift 5. An analysis posted in early August announced another dozen, a few of which may even be in the process of growing by merging.

Also reported in...

external page Techly360

Scientists find new cause of urinary tract infection (UTI)

external page In a groundbreaking development, researchers from ETH Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital have introduced a revolutionary test capable of identifying UTI-causing bacteria in just under four hours.

NASA’s Former Head of Science on What It Takes to Manage Complex, High-Risk Projects

external page Podcast on how to lead extremely technical, complex, and expensive projects with a high risk of failure.

Scientists were stunned when they discovered the darkest river in the world

external page A team of scientists from ETH Zurich University in Switzerland It was used to measure the blackness of the Ruki River. And it was found to be 1.5 times blacker than the Rio Negro River.  

The latest unlikely place where you can now find microplastics

external page Tiny plastic particles have been found in the clouds above Mt. Fuji. Researchers say they could affect the climate. “These particles are so small and light that they get transported to high altitudes. … Here, they could get involved in cloud formation,” said Zamin Kanji, one of the authors of the study. He leads experimental atmospheric physics at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Also reported in...

external page SF Gate

external page The Good Men Project

Solar-Powered Cars: A Glimpse into a Sustainable Future

external page ETH Zurich’s aCentauri Solar Racing Team recently completed an impressive journey, traveling approximately 3,000 kilometers in just six days as part of the World Solar Challenge...Led by a team of dedicated engineering students, the aCentauri Solar Racing Team overcame various hurdles, including technical glitches and a flat tire. Despite these challenges, their solar car reached speeds of up to 85 kilometers per hour, maintaining an average of 500 kilometers per day. Ultimately, they finished twelfth in the “Challenger” category, a commendable achievement.

Also reported in...

external page Electronics Weekly

external page Investing.com

external page DC Velocity

external page Supply Chain Quarterly

Unlocking Cosmic Opportunities through Quantum Technology: Q&A with Thomas Zurbuchen

external page Interview with Thomas Zurbuchen, ETH Zurich: "It could be that quantum computing aids our understanding of complex chemistry, advancing our understanding of advanced materials and the process by which life arises. We’re just cracking the door open."  

How failure drives learning

external page Failure plays a critical role in how we learn, says Manu Kapur, Professor of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich.

How pit latrine microbes could cut greenhouse gas

external page A new (international) study (including researchers from ETH Zurich) sheds light on the complex microbial ecosystems found in pit latrines, which billions of people around the world use. (Work took place with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).

Also reported in...

external page The National Tribune

Scientists discover how room ventilation helps you sleep better at night...

external page Scientists from ETH Zurich have identified the optimal concentration of carbon dioxide at which sleep and overall health are improved...“Sleep is critical to our health, well-being and productivity. The bedroom is where we sleep and spend about a third of our lives. We have already investigated and confirmed the negative impact of inadequate ventilation in bedrooms on sleep quality, but only under laboratory conditions...” said Xiaojun Fan, lead author (ETH Zurich) of the paper.  

How Could Democracy Benefit from AI?

external page The global population is getting interconnected and, in theory, we can all benefit from access to information, knowledge exchange, networking, and global communities. On the other hand, there are major side effects and threats to Democracies — such as the Fake News phenomenon, information overload, or distorted reality...Jennifer Victoria Scurrell, PhD Candidate in AI Politics — ETH Zurich weighs in saying, "Education is everything...we can use AI justly and with integrity, educating citizens to become more critical and informed in the process of democratic decision-making."

The Negotiators Podcast: Just How Close Did Israelis and Palestinians Come to a Peace Deal in 2008?

Scroll down to Episode 5

external page Host Jenn Williams talks to Govinda Clayton, a conflict resolution expert at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich and a co-creator of The Negotiators. They discuss Khaled Elgindy’s story as well as negotiations covered in previous episodes.

AIs can guess where Reddit users live and how much they earn

external page Large language models such as GPT-4 were able to identify people’s personal information by analysing their posts on social media...Robin Staab and Mark Vero at ETH Zurich in Switzerland got nine LLMs to pore through a database of Reddit posts and pick up identifying information in the way users wrote.

Also reported in...

external page Metro UK

external page Inside Telecom

external page Lexology

Supercharging Large Language Models: DEJAVU’s Inference Time Surpasses FasterTransformer...

external page Large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-3...have dazzled the AI world with their exceptional performance and ability to learn in-context. However, their significant drawback is their high cost at inference time. An international team that included researchers from ETH Zurich presented "DEJAVU," a system that employs a cost-effective algorithm to predict contextual sparsity dynamically for each layer, combined with an asynchronous and hardware-aware implementation to accelerate LLM inference.

A compact underwater robot providing a safer alternative for underwater inspection, search and maintenance

external page Jonas Wüst, now CEO at Tethys Robotics, set out to meet these challenges following a student research project at ETH Zurich, a public university in Switzerland...Goal was to build an autonomous underwater robot capable of being deployed in rough water with currents of up to 2 m/s. It would need to be capable of high-accuracy positioning and inspection of its immediate environment in near-zero visibility. This required a very accurate underwater navigation solution.

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external page Ocean Business

Revolutionizing Clean Energy: Chicken Feathers Lead the Way

external page Renowned food and soft materials expert Professor Raffaele Mezzenga from ETH Zurich emphasizes the significance of this breakthrough. The utilization of chicken feathers not only replaces toxic substances but also prevents the release of CO2, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint.

Also reported in...

external page Anthropocene Magazine

external page The Poultry Site

external page Business News

New strategies needed to help banana farmers recover from climate shocks

external page Extreme weather events and the globalised nature of food production puts smallholder farmers at risk of ‘double exposure’ of production and market loss, according to a new study that included researchers from ETH Zurich.

3D Printed Reactor Core Enables Optimal Solar Fuel Production

external page ETH Zurich researchers created customized ceramic structures for a solar reactor using a new 3D printing process. Initial experiments demonstrate that these structures can increase the yield of solar fuels.

Also reported in...

external page CleanTechnica

external page EnergyPortal.eu

external page Technology.org

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external page World Economic Forum

Reducing anxiety and stress with pupil feedback

external page A new study conducted at ETH Zurich now shows..."With the right biofeedback, people can better learn to control their state of arousal through mental relaxation and activation techniques," explains Nicole Wenderoth, Professor of Neural Control of Movement at ETH Zurich.

Also reported in...

external page ScienceBeta

external page Futurity

‘Pink Noise’ in Deep Sleep May Benefit Heart

external page Deep sleep is crucial for overall health. The brain recovers during this sleep stage, and the rest of the body seems to regenerate then as well. The new study, published in the European Heart Journal, finds that the targeted stimulation causes the heart—in particular the left ventricle—to contract and relax more vigorously. As a result, it pumps blood into the circulatory system and draws it out again more efficiently. The left ventricle supplies most organs, the extremities, and the brain with oxygen-rich arterial blood.

World faces huge risks due to faster melting glaciers, rising sea levels

external page Scientists have long warned that warming temperatures driven by climate change are eating into glaciers and ice sheets around the world, contributing to higher sea levels that threaten the world’s populous coastal cities. Global thinning rates, different than the volume of water lost, doubled in the last 20 years and “that’s enormous,” said Romain Hugonnet, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich...who led the study.

Best Inventions of 2023

external page Mythen named among TIME magazine's top 200 best inventions for 2023. The thirty students and alumni of the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich at ETH Zurich - a Swiss university - set out to make the first racing EV that can go from 0 to 100 km/h in less than a second, and in September, at a race in Dübendorf, Switzerland, the mythen did just that—in 0.956 seconds.  

Mars’ Core May Be Smaller Than Thought, Wrapped in a Sea of Molten Rock

external page “To get all these lighter weight elements into the core of Mars while it’s forming is just very, very difficult to do,” Amir Khan, a co-author of one of the new studies and planetary scientist at ETH Zurich...

Also reported in...

external page Chemical & Engineering News

external page Tech Explorist

external page Oman Observer

external page Daily UK News

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external page Inferse

See further news coverage on this topic in the October 2023 In the Media.

Meteors help answer riddles about water

external page Dr Sandrine Péron is exploring elements that came with it to Earth to learn more about the early solar system. Péron is a geochemist at ETH Zürich, a university in Switzerland, and a native of France. Péron leads an EU-funded research project called VolatileOrigin, which runs for 29 months through April 2024. It focuses on two noble gases in the Earth’s crust: krypton and xenon.