Bern (ots) - The composition of blood stains changes over the course of weeks and months. Forensic medicine hopes to make use of this fact in future to convict suspects - or to prove their innocence. The blood-stained paper lay on the roof terrace for almost a year, protected from the rain but otherwise exposed to the elements. Fortunately it wasn't evidence of a violent crime; no, the drops of blood were part of a ...
Bern (ots) - Mosquitoes have thermal preferences. This is an important parameter to better predict outbreaks of diseases transmitted by these insects. "If they have a choice, when it's hot, mosquitoes hide in a cool place to rest," says Niels Verhulst, author of a study recently published in the journal Thermal Biology (*). The entomologist from the University of Zurich summarises the results of the experiment he ...
Bern (ots) - In 2022, the SNSF approved 910 million francs for its regular funding schemes. We awarded a further 173 million for the Horizon Europe transitional measures. Coronavirus research generated a wealth of knowledge. On 1 August 2022, the SNSF celebrated its 70th anniversary. Founded in 1952 out of concern that Swiss research might sink into mediocrity after ...
Bern (ots) - How can economic progress be aligned with social and environmental responsibility? In closing, the National Research Programme "Sustainable Economy" (NRP 73) presents recommendations in this regard. To mark its conclusion, the National Research Programme "Sustainable Economy: resource-efficient, future-oriented, innovative" (NRP 73) is presenting a white paper with recommendations to policymakers for the ...
Bern (ots) - The SNSF Corona Research Conference shows how the Covid-19 pandemic has enabled us to accumulate knowledge that will be useful in dealing with future crises. "If we ever have to deal with a new pandemic in future we will not be starting from scratch, as was the case when we were confronted with the coronavirus." These are the words of scientist Barbara Rath. As an active participant in the Vienna Vaccine ...
Bern (ots) - Special permission is required to clear forest in Switzerland. Until now, the system has worked well. However, plans to increase wind and solar electricity generation could increase conflicts. Around 185 hectares of forest - equivalent to 260 football pitches - are cleared in Switzerland each year. This is not due to felling or storm damage, but to create space for roads, mobile phone masts, drinking water catchment installations, gravel pits and other ...
Bern (ots) - Nineteen works particularly impressed the international jury of the 2023 SNSF Scientific Image Competition. They reveal hidden beauty in research, tell tales of happy coincidences and explore new perspectives on the world around us. The transparent belly of a frog, the caring gesture of a veterinarian, a colony of bees residing on an electronic circuit, and mesmerising vortices: the selection by the jury of ...
Bern (ots) - Artificial intelligence can predict electricity grid loads from road and rail usage data. To satisfy demand and manage consumption peaks, electricity suppliers have to be able to predict grid loads. A team of scientists from Zurich University of Applied Sciences funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has developed an artificial intelligence system capable of accurately anticipating grid loads ...
Bern (ots) - Swiss scientists are reconstructing the climate of the ancient world using small wooden artefacts hung on mummified remains. Throughout history, the earth's climate has undergone natural fluctuations. Although insignificant compared with the current crisis, these fluctuations would nevertheless have been enough to make and unmake empires. According to ...
Bern (ots) - Going to school with friends is a precious time that offers numerous opportunities to learn and also unwind, according to children who were asked for their thoughts on this subject. Parents who do not accompany their children to school sometimes worry what could happen on the way. Children see things very differently: for them, the journey to school is a time of independence and socialisation that contributes ...
Bern (ots) - If handled responsibly, big data enables many useful applications: the National Research Programme "Big Data" (NRP 75) of the Swiss National Science Foundation investigated the opportunities and the challenges. The use of big data can improve our everyday lives: medical care, mobility and energy efficiency, or the supply of information. At the same time, the increasing use of big data poses a challenge - in terms of safeguarding democratic processes, equal ...
Bern (ots) - People affected by multiple sclerosis need to undergo regular MRI brain scans. The images are now being used to visualise the effects of a coronavirus infection. Brain fog, memory problems, loss of the sense of smell - Covid-19 affects the brain in a number of ways, yet the mechanisms behind this remain largely unknown. This is because disease-related changes in our brains are almost impossible to detect if ...
Bern (ots) - Biodiversity loss is accelerating. To identify species in urgent need of protection, scientists from Fribourg want to combine AI with data collection and engagement by citizen scientists. A few years - or sometimes even just a few weeks - can be all it takes for a plant or animal to acquire "endangered species" status. For instance, when a new road is built through a forest, the chainsaws come out and a rare ...
Bern (ots) - When a new Federal Councillor is chosen, their home canton is always a much-discussed topic. Yet the results of referendums are hardly influenced by whether the voter's own canton is represented on the Federal Council or not. Successors will shortly be chosen both for Ueli Maurer and for Simonetta Sommaruga. Ever since they announced their resignations, ...
Bern (ots) - New findings from NRP 72, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation, are helping to curb antibiotic resistance. In the field of new antibiotics, however, structures needed for translating results into practice are lacking. Worldwide, more and more pathogens are becoming resistant to today's antibiotics. As antibiotics lose their efficacy, infections that were once easy to treat can give rise to fatal ...
Bern (ots) - Not all patients desire the same amount of say in their medical treatment. Healthcare professionals should be aware of these different needs and take them into account. When it comes to determining next steps in hospital treatment, patients will frequently say: "I can't decide that. You're the doctor; you decide." Some patients, however, prefer to decide ...
Bern (ots) - During the coronavirus pandemic, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) supported a total of 114 Covid-19 research projects, for which it used funding of over CHF 45 million. In the National Research Programme "Covid-19" (NRP 78), around 200 researchers are working in 28 projects with a total budget of CHF 20 million. Another research programme on Covid-19 is about to start. It was the first time the ...