News EPFL

Towards a new type of solar cell

Published:29.01.14 — EPFL scientists have uncovered how lead iodide perovskite semiconductor transfer electrical charges to other materials upon irradiation. The milestone discovery allows for a better understanding of the functioning of revolutionary photovoltaic cells with unprecedented power conversion efficiency.

“All cities are similar, yet singular.”

Published:24.01.14 — In a cinematographic manifesto, Jacques Levy, a geographer and urban designer at EPFL, offers a scientific and artistic investigation of cities. With a special focus on China’s urban centers, he draws parallels between Italo Calvino’s book “Invisible Cities” and the real world.

Deepwater Horizon: Identifying Harmful Elements of Persisting Oil

Published:22.01.14 — Scientists are unraveling the composition of persisting oil residues collected from Gulf of Mexico beaches following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, insisting on further assessment of the toxic impact of these chemical remnants on the marine ecosystem.

Scientists shed some light on biological “dark matter”

Published:20.01.14 — Biologists have studied the functionality of a poorly understood category of genes, which produce long non-coding RNA molecules rather than proteins. Some of these genes have been conserved throughout evolution, and are present in 11 species ranging from man to frog. The research was lead at the University of Lausanne, in partnership with EPFL and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB -SIB). It has been published today in Nature.

A Device to Prevent Falls in the Elderly

Published:17.01.14 — The EPFL spin-off Gait Up just put an extremely thin motion sensor on the market. It can detect the risk of a fall in an older person and is equally useful for sports and physical therapy.

The internal clock and feeding rhythm set the pace of the liver

Published:15.01.14 — Living organisms have adapted to the day-night cycle and, in most cases, evolved a "circadian clock" – that is: an actual cellular metronome – whose effects are not completely known yet. A scientific team with members from EPFL and the Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences has found that in the case of the liver, the rhythm of protein production and release is dictated by both the organisms’ feeding behaviors and their internal clock.

Architecture for the elderly

Published:13.01.14 — A new book published by the Press Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes looks into the architecture of nursing homes, focusing on a dozen recent projects in the Swiss canton of Vaud.