Archive News

April 22, 2015Today, invasive animals and plants spread all around the globe. Predicting the dynamics of these invasions is of great ecological and socio-economical interest. Yet studying them is fundamentally challenging because of the large spatial and temporal scales involved. Scientists at Eawag and University of Zurich are now using computer simulations and small artificial laboratory worlds, to study how rapid evolution makes invaders spread even faster.

April 21, 2015Biodiversity in Switzerland has continued to decline sharply in recent decades, and this trend is persisting. This is the result of an analysis by 35 scientific institutions all over Switzerland. Experts spoke today at the Zurich Zoo and the Neuchâtel Natural History Museum about their findings.

April 9, 2015The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has honoured Urs von Gunten, from the Water Resources and Drinking Water department, with a professorship as part of the President’s International Fellowship for Distinguished Scientists initiative.

March 18, 2015In many regions of Asia, Africa and South America, consumption of groundwater contaminated with arsenic or fluoride causes severe health problems.

March 18, 2015With an innovative recycling method, valuable nutrients recovered from urine can be sold as fertilizers. As well as conserving natural resources, this reduces water pollution and makes sanitation systems in developing countries economically more attractive.

March 18, 2015An international research team led by Eawag, Bern University and the Bern Natural History Museum has shed light on the depths of alpine and prealpine lakes.

March 3, 2015Methane emissions are strongly reduced in lakes with anoxic bottom waters. But here – contrary to what has previously been assumed – methane removal is not due to archaea or anaerobic bacteria. A new study on Lake Cadagno in Canton Ticino shows that the microorganisms responsible are aerobic proteobacteria. The oxygen they require is produced in situ by photosynthetic algae.

February 13, 2015From 2 to 5 February a Swiss delegation with Eawag Director Janet Hering was four days on the road with Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard in South Africa. The working visit was focussed on energy and climate policy. Five questions to Janet Hering after her return. 

January 15, 2015Mandated by the Federal Council, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is launching two National Research Programmes (NRPs) to explore the scientific and technological as well as the social and economic aspects of implementing Energy Strategy 2050.