News EPFL

How stress tears us apart

Published:19.09.14 — Chronic stress can lead to behavioral problems. A team from the Brain Mind Institute has discovered an important synaptic mechanism: the activation of a cleaving enzyme, leading to these problems.

The oscillator that could makeover the mechanical watch

Published:17.09.14 — For the first time in 200 years the heart of the mechanical watch has been reinvented, thereby improving precision and autonomy while making the watch completely silent. EPFL researchers have developed an oscillator that turns continuously in one direction, eliminating one of the crucial mechanisms of traditional watches.

Back to school and already thinking about the future!

Published:15.09.14 — To welcome this year’s new students, EPFL’s alumni have come to share their experiences and talk about their career choices. The campus will be receiving fewer Bachelor students due to new admission criteria. As for the m1 metro line, which was disrupted following an incident, it is fully operational starting today.

In Mice and Men, a Shared Gene of Diabetes

Published:12.09.14 — By using novel analysis tools, researchers from EPFL and ETH Zürich identified a gene in mice involved in the development of type 2 diabetes. A subsequent study in partnership with the CHUV revealed that the same gene is also involved in type 2 diabetes in humans, hinting at possible new approaches to research and treatment.

“Promoting homeownership is not entirely risk free”

Published:10.09.14 — For twenty years, Switzerland has been promoting homeownership by letting residents draw on their pension fund assets to buy a home. In a recent study, Philippe Thalmann, EPFL professor in economics and architecture, dispels some popular beliefs and sheds light on the consequences for the insured.

A low-energy optical circuit for a new era of technology

Published:08.09.14 — Optical circuits use light instead of electricity, making them faster and more energy-efficient than electrical systems. Scientists at EPFL have developed a first building-block for photonic “transistors” that requires record-low energy to operate. The device is a big step forward in the development and implementation of optical circuits.

Loudspeakers in Jet Engines

Published:05.09.14 — Unless one is attending an aeronautics convention or going on a trip, noise associated with aircraft engines is rarely tolerable. Different means of significantly reducing that noise are being tested by EPFL’s Electromagnetics and Acoustics Laboratory.