Using 3D printing to make prosthetics for Colombia war victims

Published:26.08.19 — Summer series – Student projects. For her Master’s project, Emylou Jaquier decided to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste. She sifted through EPFL garbage bins to collect different types of plastics and test how they could be used in 3D printing.

Bioprinting complex living tissue in just a few seconds

Published:23.08.19 — Researchers from EPFL and the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands have developed an extremely fast optical method for sculpting complex shapes in stem-cell-laden hydrogels and then vascularizing the resulting tissue. Their groundbreaking technique stands to change the field of tissue engineering.

EPFL provides over 350 local teachers with computer science training

Published:23.08.19 — During the 2018–2019 school year, teaching staff from ten pilot schools learned how to teach computer science and computational thinking to pupils aged 4–8 years, with a strong focus on unplugged activities.

Brain finds order amidst chaos

Published:22.08.19 — How does the brain find order amidst a sea of noise and chaos? Researchers at the EPFL Blue Brain Project have found the answer to this long-standing question by using advanced simulation techniques to investigate the way neurons talk to each other while submerged in a sea of noise and chaos. In a paper published in Nature Communications, they found that by working as a team, cortical neurons can respond even to weak input against the backdrop of noise and chaos, allowing the brain to find order.

Methods for reducing the risks of melting glaciers

Published:20.08.19 — Under a pilot project being spearheaded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), a team of experts – including civil and environmental engineers from EPFL – are studying methods to help protect a region of the Andes Mountains threatened by glacial retreat. The testing phase of the pilot project will conclude at the end of the month. If successful, their methods could be used in other parts of the world as well. 

Optic nerve stimulation to aid the blind

Published:19.08.19 — EPFL scientists are investigating new ways to provide visual signals to the blind by directly stimulating the optic nerve. Their preliminary study on animals uses a new type of neural electrode and provides distinct signals.

When liver disease affects the brain

Published:19.08.19 — Scientists have demonstrated how chronic liver diseases cause molecular changes in the brain. They carried out their research using the 9.4 Tesla high-magnetic-field MRI machine at the Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM) at EPFL.