News EPFL

Monitoring Pilot Alertness for Solar Impulse

Published:20.12.13 — Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard put his mental and physiological limits to the test during a 72 hour simulated flight across the Atlantic Ocean which ended today. EPFL scientists monitored his mental states and cardiac rhythm throughout the flight.

Uranium found to be mobile in a natural wetland

Published:19.12.13 — EPFL researchers studying a natural wetland near a decommissioned uranium mine in Limousin, France, have shown that under certain circumstances the uranium present in the wetland could be more mobile than previously believed.

EPFL has become the Swiss capital for research on new materials

Published:17.12.13 — Today, the Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Amman has unveiled eight new National Centers of Competence in Research (NCCR), which will receive substantial funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation. The "MARVEL" project, managed by EPFL and dedicated to developing innovative materials using powerful computer simulations, was one of the winning submissions.

An Animation That Explains a Thesis in 5 Minutes

Published:16.12.13 — A doctoral student in computational biology has succeeded with the daunting task of summarizing four years of research through a short animated film dedicated to friends and family.

Portable Virtual Reality Rehab For Stroke Victims

Published:13.12.13 — A portable virtual reality device improves neuroplasticity for quicker recovery. It is conquering hospitals around the world. It is being validated by the CHUV hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland and soon by the Stanford Stroke Center in the United States.

Animals and robots develop an unlikely scientific partnership

Published:11.12.13 — Collaborations between robotics specialists and biologists have never been so successful. The former draw their ideas from animal morphology while the latter have found in technology a useful tool for studying nature. Francesco Mondada, robotics engineer at EPFL, and Laurent Keller, specialist in evolutionary genetics at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), exchange their points of view. The latest issue of Flash presents their entire interview together with a special "robots- animals" section (in French).

Novel tool for assessing the impact of toxic agents in cells

Published:09.12.13 — EPFL researchers have developed a method for accurately determining the toxicity of nanomaterials. By using optical techniques, they are able to measure the concentration of the oxidizing substances produced by a damaged cell. Furthermore, this research also offers a new way to know more about the mechanisms of oxidative stress.