ETH News

From the giant blue whale to minuscule microbes, all creatures on this earth continuously shed traces of their DNA. These clues help researchers to determine the degree of biological diversity.

Together with partners in Ethiopia, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, ETH Zurich researchers are creating circular economies that use processed organic waste and human excreta as fertilizer or animal feed, resulting in higher crop yields and new jobs.

Agriculture practices that preserve resources? Enough food to make sure that everyone can enjoy a healthy and balanced diet? We still are a long way from that, finds Robert Finger – and outlines the most important fields of action to make the food system more sustainable.

To protect tropical forests in Brazil, commodities traders have made voluntary commitments to avoid buying soybeans grown in areas that have recently been deforested. Two new studies reveal just how inadequate these guidelines are in protecting Brazil from deforestation and assess the potential effect of implementing the commitments on a much larger scale.

The 2022 summer has shown us again how climate is becoming more extreme year by year. Sticking to business-as-usual and counting on adaptation alone will not work. Only a rapid phase out of fossil fuels will prevent the worst, says Sonia Seneviratne.  

Does nuclear power have a future? Are electric cars dirty? In a four-part series, the ETH Podcast takes a detailed look at popular theories about the future of energy.

Before it reaches our plates, the food we eat usually has travelled a long way. In this episode of the ETH podcast, we talk about how far a breakfast travels and the resulting political and ecological significance.  

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss is one of the major private donors for Swiss science. Today, Wyss was celebrated as the laureate of the 2022 Gallatin Award of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce.

Human geographer Christine Eriksen and physicist David Bresch conduct research into weather and climate risks. Their methods may be different, but they agree that the scale of a disaster is often determined more by societal decisions than by the natural hazard itself.  

An international research team use a global sampling of seawater to reveal which tropical reef fish occur where. To identify species and families, they successfully used the residual DNA shed by the animals present in the water. But not all fish can be traced in this way.

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 map could provide key information for fighting climate change and species extinction, as well as for sustainable regional development planning.  

The Swiss Polar Institute has launched a four-year study led by EPFL in which researchers from several other Swiss institutions are investigating the impact of climate change on Greenland’s fjord ecosystems. Research groups from ETH Zurich are also involved.  

Wanting to keep plastics in circulation is currently en vogue. According to Magdalena Klotz, however, high collection rates are of little use if recyclate only replaces virgin material to a limited extent.

Hydropower delivers renewable electricity, but comes with massive fish mortality – a global dilemma that can only be addressed by true compromises, says Luiz Silva, and outlines how to find them.

All living organisms that respire have to get rid of electrons. In oxygen-free environments, microorganisms deploy special molecules which act as extracellular electron shuttles to transfer the electrons from cells to minerals. A group of researchers has now discovered what determines the electron transfer efficiency of these "cabs".

Manuel Mathis is doing an internship at a composting plant in Nairobi as part of his Master’s degree programme. He is now in charge of a 20-strong team of workers – and, thanks to his improvements, the business is back in profit.

Núria Casacuberta Arola studies water circulation using radionuclides to understand the role of the oceans in mitigating climate change.

After analysing the global plastics value chain, ETH researchers have revealed that the impact of plastics on climate and health is bigger than originally thought due to the increased use of coal for process heat, electricity and as a raw material in production.

Ocean warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions will prompt many species of marine plankton to seek out new habitats, in some cases as a matter of sur-vival. ETH Zurich researchers expect many organisms to head to the poles and form new communities – with unforeseeable consequences for marine food webs.

The chaotic behaviour of vortices is one of the things that makes weather forecasting so difficult. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a novel experimental method that enables more accurate analyses of the movement of turbulence in fluids.

From the factory hall and not the field: ETH spin-off YASAI should soon be harvesting 20 tonnes of herbs a year from an indoor facility. Their “vertical farming” method offers ecological benefits in particular, as more can be produced with fewer resources.

Today, molecular genetic methods can be used to breed sustainable crops - such as multinutrient rice. Researchers are calling for the risk of new plant varieties to be assessed not on the basis of the breeding method, but on the basis of their characteristics.

Nina Buchmann, Chair of the Department of Environmental Systems Science, looks back on 150 years of Agricultural Sciences. There have been many highlights, but what really stands out are the sweeping changes in research and teaching.

What holds true for meadows would seem to apply to arable land, too: mixed cultures are more fruitful than monocultures. This was the outcome of an ETH Zurich research project led by Christian Schöb.

ETH Zurich researchers examined chemicals in plastics worldwide. They found an unexpectedly high number of substances of potential concern intentionally used in everyday plastic products. A lack of transparency limits management of these chemicals.

Once of interest only to enthusiasts, ETH Zurich’s Entomological Collection now offers researchers a treasure trove of hidden knowledge.  

The climate action potential of carbon capture during the processing of biomass feedstock is considerable, ETH Zurich researchers have calculated. If this potential is to be fully exploited in practice, however, there are challenges to overcome.

ETH Zurich’s Division of Agriculture was founded in 1871. One glance at its 150-year history is enough to know why the subject is still so important today.  

The scientific community is taking a clear stand on the CO₂ Act. Given their expertise, they are not only permitted, but obliged to do so, asserts Reto Knutti.

Making agriculture climate-neutral has a high cost – which some rich countries might be willing to accept, ETH Zurich researchers find.

Based on the long-term Potsdam radiation time series, ETH Professor Martin Wild and his collaborators have shown that variations in the intensity of sunlight over decades are down to ultra-fine, man-made dirt particles in the atmosphere.

An extraordinary year is drawing to a close. ETH News takes a look back at the highlights that emerged amidst difficult and unsettling times, at ingenious ideas, fascinating science and solidarity in action during – and despite – the coronavirus pandemic.

Coral reefs are in acute danger of disappearing due to climate change. An artist and a marine biologist have taken up the challenge of rebuilding the reefs by harnessing the power of 3D printers.

Jan Dirk Wegner uses artificial intelligence to research different aspects of the Earth's surface. In doing so, he hopes to help raise people's quality of life and protect the environment. His work has now earned him a place in the World Economic Forum's Young Scientists community.

Climate change hasn’t been hitting the headlines quite as much in recent months – but that’s not because the situation has improved. ETH Zurich researchers Lynn Kaack and David Dao spoke to the ETH Podcast back in March about how we can use AI to help in the fight against climate change.

What happens when COVID-19 means architecture students have to get by without a workshop, electrical engineers without high-voltage laboratories and environmental scientists without field trips.

Pioneer Fellows Cyrill Hess and Melanie Binggeli want to market duckweed as a healthy food that’s good for the environment.

Algae and insects are rich sources of protein for humans and livestock alike. Getting them on restaurant menus and into animal diet formulations still requires a lot of work – but it’s worth the effort.

Climate change, global population growth and biodiversity loss are a threat to our food system. Four ETH researchers know how to produce, process and consume food more sustainably.

To safeguard the long-term future of agricultural production in Switzerland, ETH and Agroscope are investigating how resistant the country’s crop­ping systems are to drought.

ETH scientists have been researching the effect of precipitation and population size on rising temperatures in cities compared with the surrounding countryside. They have found that more green spaces can help to lower temperatures in urban zones – but not everywhere.

Around 0.9 billion hectares of land worldwide would be suitable for reforestation, which could ultimately capture two thirds of human-made carbon emissions. The Crowther Lab of ETH Zurich has published a study in the journal Science that shows this can be a powerful tool for drawing carbon from the atmosphere.*

Anton Küchler’s farm is largely self-sufficient in terms of food, water and heat. The ETH environmental scientist lives according to the principles of permaculture in the Balmeggberg community in the Upper Emmental valley.

The ETH alumnus Aeneas Wanner is dedicated to the environment as a CEO, politician and board member. The foundation for this commitment was laid by his studies at ETH.

ETH researchers have shown that during drier years the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises faster because stressed ecosystems absorb less carbon. This global effect is so strong that it must be integrated in the next generation of climate models.

Humans need water. If it is in short supply, conflicts can arise. Contrary to popular belief, however, these almost never lead to war, but rather to cooperation, writes Thomas Bernauer.

Where and how we cultivate our crops has always been a matter of dispute – and is today more relevant than ever. But there will be no easy answers in the foreseeable future, says Achim Walter.

A research project by ETH Zurich, MIT with other US universities will receive 15 million US dollars in funding from the New York-based Simons Foundation. Over the next five years, researchers will investigate how microbial communities are organised and function, with a focus on the oceans.

If degraded and logged areas of tropical forests are left to nature, the populations of certain endangered tree species are not able to recover. This applies in particular to trees with large fruit where the seeds are distributed by birds, as ETH scientists have shown in a rainforest in India.

By planting pigeon peas alongside maize, African farmers can improve the soil and their own nutritional intake. This was the conclusion of a field trial in Malawi by Gina Garland, an ETH doctoral student.

Upon application of ETH President Lino Guzzella the ETH Board appointed a total of eight professors and awarded the title of professor to one individual.

Um Siedlungswasser zu bewirtschaften, leisten sich Industrieländer wie die Schweiz eine komplexe Infrastruktur aus Trinkwasserleitungen, Kanalisation und zentralen Kläranlagen. Doch dieser konventionelle Ansatz ist weder zukunftsfähig noch geeignet für weniger entwickelte Regionen der Welt.

Die Alpen und ihre Gletscher sind das Wasserschloss Europas. Schwindet das «ewige» Eis, könnte das Wasser in den Sommermonaten knapp werden. Warum nicht die abnehmende Speicherwirkung der Gletscher mit neuen Stauseen kompensieren?

Fast 270‘000 Tonnen Kunststoffmüll treibt in den Weltmeeren. Plastik ist zu einem Umweltproblem unfassbaren Ausmasses geworden, das bis in die letzten Ecken der Erde vorgedrungen ist.