News Portal

Swiss groundwater contains numerous pesticide degradation products. This has been discovered by an extensive screening by Eawag and ETH Zurich. The transformation products (metabolites) originate predominantly from pesticides from agriculture. Read more

The efforts for clean water are having an effect: According to the European Environment Agency, over 85 percent of bathing sites in European waters have excellent water quality. Read more

Ebola is a deadly viral infection that has so far mainly been present in Central and West Africa. Many people in those regions are either unfamiliar with the disease, do not believe in it, or don’t know how to prevent infection. For this reason, UNICEF was active in The Gambia, West Africa, among other places, between 2014 and 2016, running information campaigns on how to prevent the spread of Ebola. Read more

Phosphate supplies are limited and found in only a few countries. Mining and transport of this nutrient are costly. It is therefore becoming increasingly important that phosphorus be recovered and reused regionally, and Switzerland, with a functioning phosphorus recycling economy, can lead the way. Read more

A team of ten female cyclists is currently undertaking the hardest ride of their lives, riding all stages of this year’s Tour de France route—albeit one day ahead of the men’s race. Amongst the cyclists is Sara Beck, a postdoc in the Environmental Microbiology department. Read more

Without phosphorus there would be no life; however, the mineable quantities are limited. The element was first described 350 years ago. This week, some 200 experts are meeting in Zurich to discuss the future of phosphorus. Read more

Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC) to fund six projects worth CHF 1.2 million to advance the replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments. Read more

When animals migrate into an ecosystem, the ecosystem turns into a temporary land of milk and honey for predators. But novel findings from a recent study on local fish migration patterns in northern Europe indicate that even when animals migrate out of an ecosystem, their absence has an effect on food webs. Read more

The summer heat has reached Switzerland and cooling down in the lake certainly does no harm. On the website "Meteolakes" you can find out how refreshing a dip in Lake Zurich will be at the moment, the next hours and days. Read more

A large metal box was buried in the foundation of Eawag's new Flux building in Dübendorf last Wednesday, 19 June. Read more

Some insecticides, such as the neonicotinoids, have an effect on the nervous systems of organisms. But not only, as shown by the results of a new study in which Eawag scientists took part. And: the resulting damage can be very different, depending on the species of fish. Read more

For 13 years, the "building" foundation has been committed to promoting the next generation of engineers in the construction industry, which also includes the Building Award for remarkable and innovative engineering achievements in construction. This year's award in the "Research and Development" category goes to NEST, the modular research and innovation building of Empa and Eawag. Read more

Since the last ice age, stickleback have managed to emerge from the sea to colonise many freshwater waterbodies. Genetic analysis by Eawag researchers and colleagues from the University of Bern and the National Institute of Genetics in Shizuoka, Japan, now demonstrate that they achieved this thanks to additional copies of a metabolism gene. Read more

Climate change will also have an effect on the surface waters and aquatic ecosystems of Switzerland. The extent of this effect has now been examined by Eawag researchers in a synthesis report commissioned by FOEN. All in all, it will be possible to maintain the high quality of Swiss waters through management and adaptation, however, this will entail higher costs, say the authors of the report. Read more

Geologist Carsten Schubert has been appointed adjungt professor by the ETH Board. He is thus honoured for his research on biogeochemical cycles and for his teaching activities and doctoral training. Read more

In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity (IPBES) IPBES warns of the massive consequences of biodiversity loss. Florian Altermatt explains in a video interview why aquatic communities are particularly affected. Read more

A team of engineers from ZHAW and Eawag has developed a smart-sensor solution for monitoring drinking-water mains. The system supplies its own energy and sends the data by wireless transmission. Read more

Wastewater contains valuable resources. However, because existing wastewater management systems have been designed primarily for pollution control and hygiene, the recovery of resources from wastewater is cumbersome. Read more

Cyanobacteria were among the first organisms to produce oxygen, which meant they were a significant milestone in the evolution of plants and animals. Countless species of cyanobacteria inhabit almost all habitats around the world. For her doctorate at Eawag, Marie-Eve Monchamp analysed sediment cores from ten different lakes around the fringes of the Alps, thus gaining an insight into the communities of cyanobacteria living over the past 100 years. Read more

For the first time ever, a toxicity test with cultured gill cell lines from fish has been ISO-certified. The test is used to determine the acute toxicity of water samples and chemicals to fish. This is an important milestone because there is a lack of recognised alternatives to experiments with live fish. Read more