Bern (ots) - Spruce and deciduous trees take up nano-sized microscopic plastic particles via their roots. These can reach the leaves and needles where they have an effect on photosynthesis. The exact mechanism behind this is not yet fully understood. It is well known that more and more plastic waste is ending up in soil and bodies of water. Researchers are particularly concerned about tiny micro- and nano-sized particles. ...
Bern (ots) - Temporary complaint or chronic affliction: a research team funded by the SNSF has identified typical trajectories for back pain. Psychosocial factors play a smaller role than expected. Back pain is a widespread condition: at least once in their lives, almost 85% of people will experience pain in the area of the lumbar spine, in other words between the bottom rib and the tailbone. Treating this correctly is ...
Bern (ots) - The Global Research Council in Switzerland! The conference was hosted by the SNSF together with its partner organisation FONSTI from Ivory Coast. The main topic of this year's conference was sustainability in research. The annual conference of the Global Research Council (GRC) at the end of May in Interlaken brought together 60 research funders from 53 countries. The institutions that participate regularly in ...
Bern (ots) - More compassion = a better relationship. This is an obvious rule of thumb for couples. But it doesn't apply to everyone, as a study shows. Some people prefer to do without it. Whether irrevocably estranged or merely bored with the daily routine: "Couples counselling can improve communication and the quality of the relationship. And it has a positive effect on mental health", says Andrew Gloster, Professor of ...
Bern (ots) - From nitrogen pollution to bullying in schools: in 2023, the SNSF invested 961 million francs in its regular research funding. It approved a further 235 million francs for the Horizon Europe transitional measures. Excess nitrogen pollutes water and the air. To what extent can nitrogen emissions from agricultural land be reduced by an indigenous plant, ...
Bern (ots) - The Federal Council draft of the Dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation (ERI Dispatch) for the period 2025-2028 is strongly influenced by concerns about the overall state of government finances. Thus there will be fewer financial resources available to the ERI sector in 2025 than in the previous year. As a consequence, there is a risk that the level of services will be cut back and ...
Bern (ots) - The r4d programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation is ending. It funded 57 research partnerships between Switzerland and countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Research can help solve global economic, environmental and societal problems. With this aim in mind, the Swiss Programme for ...
Bern (ots) - Identifying terrorists by analysing their online activities is an approach that is sometimes at odds with international law, especially if the outcome is death. A study has documented this problematic legal and ethical issue. These days, virtually everyone leaves footprints in the digital world. Terrorists are no exception. Intelligence agencies realised ...
Bern (ots) - Ein Protein reduziert die Lebenserwartung von Fadenwürmern. Diese Entdeckung wirft die Frage auf, ob es beim Menschen ebenfalls den Alterungsprozess mitbewirkt. Selbst von den am besten erforschten Genen und Proteinen kennt man noch längst nicht alle Geheimnisse. Wie das Schweizer Taschenmesser haben sie zahlreiche, teilweise unbekannte Funktionen. Mit ...
Bern (ots) - Researchers have developed a method for triggering auditory hallucinations in healthy people. They are investigating the causes of a phenomenon that can be a huge burden for people with psychiatric illnesses. Studies indicate that five to ten per cent of all people sometimes hear voices - those of dead relatives or higher beings, for example - without having any kind of illness. In other words, the phenomenon is not restricted to people with psychiatric ...
Bern (ots) - The new SNSF Foundation Council has been elected. Smaller in size, it brings together leading figures from science, business and government, and will take up its duties at the beginning of 2024. The SNSF is a foundation under private law with a funding mandate under public law. As the senior governing body, the Foundation Council is responsible for ensuring that the foundation stays on mission and for ...
Bern (ots) - Insights into Covid-19, recommendations for health authorities and vaccines: the findings and synthesis report for the Swiss National Science Foundation's National Research Programme "Covid-19" (NRP 78) were presented today. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) launched the National Research ...
Bern (ots) - Over-fertilised waterways, impoverished soils: the use of phosphorous in agriculture is creating a dilemma, and it all began thousands of years ago. This has been verified by an analysis funded by the SNSF. It is well known that phosphorous from agricultural fertilisation and wastewater is harmful to lakes. But the entry of phosphorous into water is also contributing to the scarcity of this substance, which ...