December 2015

The Zukunftsblog editors wish all our readers happy holidays and all the best for 2016. If you are looking for some inspiring reading material for the holidays, here you can find a selection from the Zukunftsblog archive. We¡¯ll be back with fresh food for thought on 5 January. Enjoy!

Die Feiertage r¨¹cken n?her und bescheren vielen eine reich gedeckte Tafel. Traditionell hoch im Kurs stehen Fondue Chinoise und Rollschinkli. Niemand k?me hierzulande auf die Idee, Larven, K?fer oder Zikaden zu servieren. In anderen Kulturen gelten Insekten aber als Delikatessen. Warum auch wir sie als Nahrungsquelle in Betracht ziehen sollten.

Entanglement between distant quantum objects is an important ingredient for future information technologies. Researchers at the ETH have now developed a method with which such states can be created a thousand times faster than before.

Cells have an infallible sense of smell that tells them which direction to grow in to move closer to the source of a scent. ETH researchers have now learned how this sense of smell works.

It has long been known that the protein TOR ¨C Target of Rapamycin ¨C controls cell growth and is involved in the development of diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Through a collaborative effort scientists from the ETH Z¨¹rich and from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel have now succeeded in revealing the unique architecture of the mammalian TOR complex 1 (mTORC1) in detail. Their results have been reported in the latest issue of ¡°Science¡±.

Agricultural sciences? Can you still study that? And what is it good for? These are questions that teachers and students in this subject are always asked. Yet these degree programmes are now more relevant than ever ¨C not only due to the new BSc and MSc regulations that will come into effect in autumn semester 2016.

Scientists have developed a new, more complex type of genetic circuit, which has enabled them to successfully treat psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition, in the mouse model.

Ralph Schlapbach was presented with the Golden Tricycle Award at the Executive Board¡¯s Christmas reception this year. The award recognises the father of three as the most family-friendly supervisor at ETH Zurich.

Researchers of ETH Zurich and ETH start-up company Scrona achieve a new world record! They have printed a color picture depicting clown fishes around their sea anemone home. This picture is as tiny as the cross-sectional area of a human hair.

¡°It¡¯s complicated¡­¡±, or at least ¡°it¡¯s more complicated than you think¡°. Our opinion on issues, from the futile to the most pressing, tends to be based on an illusion of understanding [1]. We think we know, and this entitles us to take action. But it¡¯s actually more complicated than you think.