Fishing for DNA to measure biodiversity

Identifying the fish species present in a river based on traces of their DNA: this method has been successfully tested at about 90 sites in Switzerland

07-Dec-2023 - As they swim around, fish leave DNA fragments behind them, e.g. via their skin or their excrements. Once collected and analysed, these indicators allow scientists to determine all the species present in the environment. What's more, the method is precise, simpler and less harmful to the fish than ...

Wastewater provides new insight into Covid-19 dynamics

An interdisciplinary team shows that the R number of coronavirus can be estimated quickly and cost-effectively from wastewater

17-Dec-2021 - Since the start of the coronavirus (Sars-Cov-2) pandemic, many public health measures have been decided based on its dynamic of spread, more precisely, on the reproductive number of the virus, known as the R number. This value indicates how many people on average are infected by a person carrying ...

Detecting microplastics in the environment

Geochemist has developed a method to track microplastics in water, soil and even organisms

07-Oct-2021 - Geochemist Denise Mitrano has found a way to track how micro- and nanoplastic particles spread through the environment. For this work, she is receiving this year's Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Man-made plastic pollutes the environment. When broken down into ...

Speeding up genetic diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

11-Jan-2019 - Elongated segments of DNA cause Huntington’s disease and certain other disorders of the brain. Researchers funded by the SNSF have developed a method to determine the length of the mutated genes quickly and easily. People with Huntington’s disease suffer from jerky body movements and decreasing ...

The first precise measurement of a single molecule's effective charge

Discovery could pave the way to new diagnostic tools

16-Jan-2018 - For the first time, scientists have precisely measured the effective electrical charge of a single molecule in solution. This fundamental insight of an SNSF Professor could also pave the way for future medical diagnostics. Electrical charge is one of the key properties that allows molecules to ...

From photosynthesis to new compounds for eye diseases

03-Jan-2017 - Researchers supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation have succeeded in using X-rays to minutely observe a photosynthesis reaction and produce a movie of the event. The findings will aid understanding of similar processes in the human eye. Thanks to the new SwissFEL particle accelerator ...