News

Zinc from industry and fossil fuel combustion reaches even the most remote oceans, as researchers at ETH Zurich have shown. There, it now exceeds natural inputs, potentially disturbing the balance of marine ecosystems. 

In the “Embedded Systems” course at ETH Zurich, students develop their own prototypes. A new hardware platform, a small, graded project and an AI assistant facilitate this form of project-based learning for the first time in a major course with 400 participants.  

A new study shows that, across Europe, wind farm planning can avoid especially scenic areas without increasing generation costs. However, at the regional level, conflicts remain between landscape conservation and energy objectives, as exemplified in the Alpine region. 

The new trend of “vibe coding” allows people to program software without writing a single line of code. Now, a new study by ETH Zurich has shown that users who want to develop apps and programs successfully with AI need not only a capacity for clear written expression, but also a basic knowledge of computer science.  

The Eurovision Song Contest is constantly updating itself. A new ETH Zurich study shows how participating nations learn from one another, why recipes for success lose their effectiveness and how rules maintain a level playing field. 

What are the reasons for traffic jams? Traffic jams are a consequence of how cities are planned, built and how they are used – as a comparison of 30 cities worldwide shows. The results could change urban and transport planning in the medium term. 

Students at ETH Zurich dismantle buildings, catalogue their materials and use them to develop new construction projects. In a course held directly on the building site, they learn how to put the circular economy and digital tools into practice in real-world projects.

In animal experiments involving mice, changes in the facial expression indicate whether an animal is suffering. Until now, researchers have had to rely on the human eye to detect any possible signs of pain or distress. A standardised video monitoring system and AI algorithms now make this task easier.  

Over 700 students continuously engage with the study material in Dennis Kochmann’s Dynamics lecture, leading to higher participation rates, less exam stress and more sustainable learning. The ETH professor has been nominated for the KITE Award 2026. 

The reintroduction of extinct animals such as beavers or the restoration of wilderness: nature conservation is often imposed without involving the local population. Ecosystem researcher Jaboury Ghazoul writes that we must incorporate concepts of fairness and justice into landscape management to ensure the success of restoration projects. 

A volcano can lie dormant for over 100,000 years not because it is dying, but because water-rich magma is trapped in the crust, silently growing its reservoir. Studying zircon crystals from the Methana volcano, scientists show how seemingly extinct volcanoes could reawaken with limited warning.