Archive News

February 10, 2020Microbial communities are known to be indispensable for our planet. But surprisingly little is known about how they function. Researchers at the aquatic research institute Eawag are now shedding a little light on this subject: A new method enables them to observe the interaction between microorganisms.

February 4, 2020Although use of the fungicide hexachlorobenzene has been banned since 2004, this compound is chemically stable – and accumulates in the polar regions where humpback whales replenish their fat reserves each year. Cell line studies conducted at Eawag have now shown that, while hexachlorobenzene does not have acute toxic effects, it can cause damage to DNA in humpback whale cells.

January 27, 2020“Innovative and successful: the start-ups and spin-offs in the ETH Domain” – this is the motto which Eawag used to present itself at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

January 21, 2020We at Eawag are particularly proud of the international composition of our employees. Dübendorf and Kastanienbaum are home to researchers, technicians, administrators and apprentices from over 40 different nations. We portray this diversity of cultures, languages and countries at our location in Kastanienbaum.

December 12, 2019Pesticides in sediments cause adverse effects on benthic organisms. This was shown by a monitoring study conducted by the Ecotox Centre and Eawag on five streams in agricultural areas. Crustaceans were particularly affected. Concentrations of several insecticides, including chlorpyrifos and the pyrethroid cypermethrin, exceeded effect thresholds, indicating impaired sediment quality.

December 5, 2019The lakes of East Africa are home to a surprising number of different cichlid species. This level of biodiversity has developed partly due to hybrids that managed to take over new ecological niches in their habitats, according to recent research carried out by scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, and the University of Bern.

December 2, 2019Invertebrates on the beds of water bodies are observed closely, for they serve as indicators for the ecological status of running waters. A new Swiss-wide study by the aquatic research institute Eawag shows which species are especially good indicators, and how the monitoring and management of surface waters can be further improved.

November 19, 2019It's World Toilet Day today. What may sound curious is intended to draw attention to a serious problem. Because worldwide, one in three people lack access to appropriate sanitation. In the Blue Diversion Autarky project, researchers are developing an off-grid toilet, with on-site treatment allowing valuable resources to be recovered.

November 18, 2019ETH Zurich has awarded Stefan Achermann the Otto Jaag Water Protection Prize for his dissertation entitled "Exploring linkages between micropollutant biotransformation reactions and microbial community characteristics in activated sludge". This prize is awarded to outstanding dissertations and master theses at ETH Zurich in the field of water protection and hydrology. In his work, Stefan Achermann combined chemical-analytical and molecular-biological methods to investigate the degradation pathways of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants.

November 13, 2019There may be hundreds of species of char living in Greenland’s lakes and rivers, according to a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and the University of Bern, that has discovered the largest known diversity of char species in the catchment area of the Eqaluit River.