SNSF-funded researchers have developed a new technique for carving materials to create micromechanical systems. In particular, they have created a miniscule watch component out of synthetic single-crystal diamond. Diamond is very hard and elastic, a very good thermal conductor and highly transparent, which makes it ideal for many mechanical and optical applications. But cutting it into ...
Doctors are increasingly fighting cancer by stimulating patients' immune systems. SNSF-supported researchers have now discovered a method for predicting the likelihood of treatment success. Immunotherapy changes a patient's immune system to allow it to attack cancer cells and either destroy them or at least keep them from growing. ...
Social opposition to new high-voltage lines is delaying modernisation of the power grid. Two projects of the National Research Programmes "Energy Turnaround" and "Managing Energy Consumption" have determined the optimum design of hybrid overhead lines needed to increase the capacity of the power transmission grid and, at the same time, win popular acceptance for the new technology. Unlike conventional power lines, hybrid ...