Research expedition into the cell nucleus
What controls our genes? What mechanisms ensure that they are switched on or off at the right moment? Chromatin biologist Raffaella Santoro from the University of Zurich is seeking answers to these questions with her ERC project. Protocol of a
About viruses, poultry and humans
How epidemiologist Claire Guinat draws from the genes of the avian influenza viruses the secret of their spread, how this helps to more efficiently fight the disease and why this knowledge also benefits the health of people and animals.
Redesigning asylum processes
How do asylum policies affect the subsequent integration of refugees and how to design an asylum process to promote integration? Dominik Hangartner, Professor of Public Policy at ETH Zurich, uses an ERC project to find practicable solutions. Rolf Probala met
How God became a lawgiver
How Konrad Schmid, Professor of Theology at the University of Zurich, researches the Hebrew Bible, what he discovers and why the findings from his ERC Project are of great significance far beyond theology. A report by Rolf Probala.
Switzerland’s full association is indispensable
Why Switzerland has to be fully associated to the EU Research Framework Programme Horizon Europe despite the missing Institutional Framework Agreement. An interview by Rolf Probala with Elisabeth Stark, Vice President Research of the University of Zurich, and Detlef Günther,
Searching for hidden order
How does she design materials with properties that don't coexist? How does the ERC Synergy Grant help her to discover what is hidden? And how does she keep up research and teaching in times of corona? A meeting with Nicola
The best address for the most ambitious projects
The mathematician Jean-Pierre Bourguignon was President of the European Research Council ERC from 2014 to 2019. In July last year, he was asked to return to office as President on an interim basis. In this interview with Rolf Probala, he
«I enjoy the mathematisation of complex problems»
Why he is fascinated by statistics and how he, with the financial support of an ERC Grant, develops mathematical methods that make the hidden connections in large data sets visible. That is what Peter Bühlmann, Professor of Mathematics at ETH
Standing once again on solid ground
How a simple method helps traumatised refugees from Syria to cope with psychological distress. An on-site visit to the Psychologist Naser Morina at the Department of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine in Zurich.
Where supercomputers calculate the future
Of weather forecasts, climate models, why supercomputers are stretched to their limits and the consequences of these limitations: A meeting with Thomas Schulthess, Director of the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS)