Last changed: 11.05.2022The Zambezi and Kafue Rivers in southern Africa still carry very clean water today. Only below dams do they suffer from increased water temperatures, lack of oxygen and loss of sediments. Smaller trib
Last changed: 11.05.2022The energy turnaround - the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources - is being driven forward worldwide. "Reductions in fossil fuel emissions have been crucial in combating air pollution,
Last changed: 11.05.2022An Eawag researcher has helped to develop a new approach to tracking how river water enters the groundwater. In the test area within the Emmental, the flow time within the aquifer has been shown to be
Last changed: 11.05.2022The researchers from Empa and Eawag tackle these miniscule pathogens using two clever tricks: First, a temporary reduction in pH causes the tiny viruses, which are only about 70 nanometres across, to
Last changed: 11.05.2022How dangerous are chemicals that enter water bodies for aquatic life? To answer this question, tests are needed on organisms – or as is increasingly the case – on isolated cells, which can replace tes
Last changed: 11.05.2022“I am really proud of our technology and can see huge potential in it”, says Eva Reynaert, who was involved in the project and was one of the advisors during the field testing. The Blue Diversion Auta
Last changed: 11.05.2022Questioning conventional wisdom is part of the scientist’s job. This also applies to legionella in plumbing systems. For decades, experts have maintained that the proliferation of these bacteria (the
Last changed: 11.05.2022Mercury is extremely toxic for humans and ecosystems. It evaporates very quickly, is transported in the air over long distances and accumulates in organisms. The heavy metal has therefore been known f
Last changed: 11.05.2022PREMIER is the name of the massive international project with a total budget of 9 million euros. The acronym stands for Prioritisation and Risk Evaluation of Medicines in the Environment. Along with t
Last changed: 11.05.2022Greywater is relatively clean wastewater – from showers, baths, bathroom and kitchen sinks, washing machines or dishwashers – which (unlike blackwater) has not been in direct contact with faeces. It a
Last changed: 11.05.2022Eradicated at the start of the 19th century, beavers can now be found once again almost anywhere across the length and breadth of the country. Particularly on the Swiss Plateau and in the last ten yea
Last changed: 11.05.2022Today, almost nothing works without rare earth metals. There would be no smartphones, flat screens, LED lamps, rechargeable batteries, electric motors and many other electronic devices. In the high-te
Last changed: 11.05.2022A large number of chemicals are used in everyday products, in agriculture or in industry. At some point, many of these end up in the environment. In order for these substances to be authorised for the
Last changed: 11.05.2022Can we recapture or detoxify the chemical waste of past generations? Microbiologist Hans Peter Kohler from the aquatic research institute Eawag and Empa chemist Norbert Heeb, together with researchers
Last changed: 12.05.2022Bacteriophages are viruses that look like lunar modules. But instead of landing peacefully on celestial bodies, they dock onto bacteria to destroy them a short time later. They need the bacteria as ho
Last changed: 12.05.2022Like a building plan, reference genomes provide a nearly complete genetic code of an organism, acting as a representative example of the entire species. “Comparisons of other genome sequence data with
Last changed: 12.05.2022Wastewater treatment plants (WTP) place a greater burden on the climate than was previously thought. They generate greenhouse gases at various processing stages and, in total, account for over one per
Last changed: 12.05.2022Biodiversity is being increasingly talked about in the media and in public. But are these words also followed by deeds? Is there a biodiversity policy that takes the complexity of the issue into accou
Last changed: 12.05.2022Biodiversity is now declining at a rate unprecedented in human history, from the local to the global level, threatening not least human well-being. Rapid action is needed, which in turn requires a goo
Last changed: 12.05.2022Lake Constance on the border between Germany, Austria and Switzerland is one of the largest lakes on the edge of the Alps and is an essential drinking water reservoir and ecosystem, important for tour
Last changed: 12.05.2022Floods such as those that made headlines again this summer are not only drastic for people living along the affected rivers but also for aquatic organisms. They can be displaced, injured, or even kill
Last changed: 12.05.2022In professional circles, there is talk of a toilet revolution. What exactly is going on here? It is not only about the toilet itself, but also highly about the treatment of excreta. Nowadays, they are
Last changed: 12.05.2022What do our toilets have to do with global challenges such as climate change? Climate change – particularly fast, worldwide population growth – poses significant global challenges for us. These challe
Last changed: 12.05.2022Climate models all point to an increase in the duration and intensity of heatwaves and dry spells in Switzerland. Also likely to increase, however, are intense rainfall events, creating major problems
Last changed: 12.05.2022Studies on the temporal development of insects in Switzerland and worldwide often conclude that their biodiversity has declined drastically. These results are particularly worrying for terrestrial ins
Last changed: 12.05.2022Groundwater serves as drinking water for around half of the world’s population and provides water for over 40 percent of the world’s agriculture. So, there is no question that groundwater research pla
Last changed: 12.05.2022Mr Moeck, 22 March is World Water Day and this year the motto is “Our groundwater, the invisible treasure”. What does this mean for you as a hydrogeologist and groundwater researcher? It is good that
Last changed: 12.05.2022Ciliates and rotifers are the ‘cleaners’ in sewage treatment plants. That is the result of a study by Jule Freudenthal and Kenneth Dumack from the University of Cologne’s Institute of Zoology, togethe
Last changed: 12.05.2022The population of Geneva has just voted in favour of the expansion of the heating network by almost 80%. The use of Lake Geneva as a heat reservoir is central to this. There are also expansion project
Last changed: 12.05.2022The carefully labelled paper bags look fairly plain, but they are actually a piece of luck for research. They contain historical scale samples, collected on a regular basis from all Lake Constance whi
Last changed: 12.05.2022Symbiotic relationships are not as rare as we sometimes think. Symbiosis is widespread in nature, for example in aphids. This refers to the close coexistence of two species that partially benefit from
Last changed: 12.05.2022Eawag avoids animal testing wherever possible, and the Institute is also heavily involved in the development of methods that will eventually make animal experiments obsolete. A team of researchers led
Last changed: 12.05.2022Antibiotic resistance is an emerging threat to public health, and now a leading cause of death worldwide , killing close to five million people in 2019. Due partly to the overuse and abuse of antibiot
Last changed: 12.05.2022Around 30 million years ago, numerous mountain ranges began to form in south-eastern Europe as a result of the collision of the European, Adriatic and African tectonic plates. Where these consisted of
Last changed: 12.05.2022Shallow lakes can remain clear and dominated by macrophytes (rooted aquatic plants) for years despite increasing nutrient inputs, but then suddenly, lose their macrophytes and become turbid. This coll
Last changed: 12.05.2022The desire for freedom and self-determination is deeply rooted in our Western culture. Regulations, prohibitions and even recommendations therefore frequently induce defiant reactions. Some people may
Last changed: 12.05.2022"When I came to Eawag in 2019, I didn't do anything much at first other than to try to get RNA into fish cells," says Marina Zoppo, a postdoctoral researcher at the aquatic research institute Eawag. R
Last changed: 12.05.2022Every day, a large number of synthetic chemicals enter streams, lakes and sometimes even drinking water via various pathways. The Eawag Water Research Institute wants to find out what the long-term co
Last changed: 12.05.2022How can decisions about sanitation in emergency and humanitarian crisis situations be made? Based on the Compendium of Sanitation Technologies in Emergencies, Eawag-Sandec, SuSanA and the Global WASH
Last changed: 12.05.2022Waste water is not simply dirty water to be disposed of as expediently as possible. “It is replete with useful resources,” says Bruno Hadengue, “and so waste water treatment plants are expected to bec
Last changed: 12.05.2022What courses does the PEAK programme offer? Isabelle Schläppi: In 2020, nine training courses were planned, including three in French-speaking Switzerland. Our selection of topics is guided by new ord
Last changed: 12.05.2022Chlorine is deadly for many microorganisms and is therefore used to disinfect drinking water. But what does chlorinated water do to the intestinal flora of young children, which yet has to develop? An
Last changed: 12.05.2022“I would never have thought that this species would be so widespread,” states Rosetta Blackman, a postdoctoral researcher at the aquatic research institute Eawag. She is referring to the peach blossom
Last changed: 12.05.2022Naturally, water levels of rivers and streams are variable and fluctuate between drier and wetter periods. Spring snowmelt and the timing and location of rainfall events often drive these fluctuations
Last changed: 12.05.2022Have you ever tried pressing the button at a pedestrian crossing with your elbow? Tricky, isn’t it? Two studies co-authored by Eawag scientists have now shown that we should not be too concerned about
Last changed: 17.05.2022Groundwater Pollution Red River Delta/Vietnam Việt Inorganic arsenic and manganese are the most widespread elemental contaminants of potable water around the world. Being mainly of natural (geogenic)
Last changed: 17.05.2022How widespread is fluoride contamination of Ghana’s groundwater? Most people in Ghana have no or only basic access to safely managed water. Especially in rural areas, much of the population relies on
Last changed: 31.05.2022Worldwide, the demand for fertiliser for agriculture is increasing. This makes the recovery of nutrients from wastewater interesting. Switzerland, for example, is completely dependent on imports for p
