June 2021

Not only animals and humans host a complex community of microorganisms – plants do this as well. Researchers at ETH Zurich have recently published two new studies that shed light on fundamental aspects of these close – and often overlooked – relationships.

Niko Beerenwinkel, a Professor at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, is working with colleagues from other research institutions to examine wastewater for traces of the coronavirus. He has detected the Delta variant in five out of six Swiss wastewater treatment plants examined, including ones in Zurich and Bern. Recently he spoke with ETH News.

From robots that offer solace to algorithms that help judges make fact-based decisions, robotics and machine learning are entering new domains that were once the preserve of humans.

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.

Konstantinos Boulouchos spent years helping to shape Swiss energy research. Following his retirement, the charismatic Emeritus Professor of Energy Technology can now look back on more than 30 years at ETH Zurich – time to get philosophical.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a condenser for countries where water is in short supply. Theirs is the first zero-energy solution for harvesting water from the atmosphere throughout the 24-hour daily cycle. It relies on a self-cooling surface and a special radiation shield.

While Domenico Giardini, Professor of Seismology and Geodynamics, already has his hands on Mars, Adrian Glauser, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, has to be patient. Among many others, Adrian worked on the James-Webb-Telescope that shall finally launch this fall, with a delay of many years.

The 23-metre-high tower made of 3D-printed columns is to become a cultural site in Mulegns, a village on the Julier Pass with just 16 inhabitants. The structure is being planned by ETH architects and engineers. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2022 with robots printing the tower’s components on site.