Schweizerischer Nationalfonds / Fonds national suisse

Compassion doesn't help all couples

Bern (ots) - More compassion = a better relationship. This is an obvious rule of thumb for couples. But it doesn't apply to everyone, as a study shows. Some people prefer to do without it. Whether irrevocably estranged or merely bored with the daily routine: "Couples counselling can improve communication and the quality of the relationship. And it has a positive effect on mental health", says Andrew Gloster, Professor of ...

Breath analysis to monitor health status in intensive care

In 2023: 1800 innovative projects and major impetus for Switzerland as a research location

Bern (ots) - From nitrogen pollution to bullying in schools: in 2023, the SNSF invested 961 million francs in its regular research funding. It approved a further 235 million francs for the Horizon Europe transitional measures. Excess nitrogen pollutes water and the air. To what extent can nitrogen emissions from agricultural land be reduced by an indigenous plant, ...

She deciphers how tomato roots communicate

Myriad visions of research

Essential investments in education, research and innovation

Bern (ots) - The Federal Council draft of the Dispatch on the promotion of education, research and innovation (ERI Dispatch) for the period 2025-2028 is strongly influenced by concerns about the overall state of government finances. Thus there will be fewer financial resources available to the ERI sector in 2025 than in the previous year. As a consequence, there is a risk that the level of services will be cut back and ...

Ten years of research deliver sustainable solutions across the world

Bern (ots) - The r4d programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation is ending. It funded 57 research partnerships between Switzerland and countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Research can help solve global economic, environmental and societal problems. With this aim in mind, the Swiss Programme for ...

A breath of fresh air for vertical wind turbines

Preventive drone attacks based on digital traces are a grey area under international law

Bern (ots) - Identifying terrorists by analysing their online activities is an approach that is sometimes at odds with international law, especially if the outcome is death. A study has documented this problematic legal and ethical issue. These days, virtually everyone leaves footprints in the digital world. Terrorists are no exception. Intelligence agencies realised ...

She observes children's digital habits - and doesn't demonise smartphones

Wie Fadenwürmer altern - und was das für die Menschen bedeuten könnte

Bern (ots) - Ein Protein reduziert die Lebenserwartung von Fadenwürmern. Diese Entdeckung wirft die Frage auf, ob es beim Menschen ebenfalls den Alterungsprozess mitbewirkt. Selbst von den am besten erforschten Genen und Proteinen kennt man noch längst nicht alle Geheimnisse. Wie das Schweizer Taschenmesser haben sie zahlreiche, teilweise unbekannte Funktionen. Mit ...

Robot swings its way to unexplored treetops

An architect of nano power plants

Torsten Schwede appointed as new President of the SNSF Research Council from 2025

Fishing for DNA to measure biodiversity

Observing apes to get a better understanding of humans

How robots make people hear voices

Bern (ots) - Researchers have developed a method for triggering auditory hallucinations in healthy people. They are investigating the causes of a phenomenon that can be a huge burden for people with psychiatric illnesses. Studies indicate that five to ten per cent of all people sometimes hear voices - those of dead relatives or higher beings, for example - without having any kind of illness. In other words, the phenomenon is not restricted to people with psychiatric ...

New SNSF Foundation Council from 2024

Bern (ots) - The new SNSF Foundation Council has been elected. Smaller in size, it brings together leading figures from science, business and government, and will take up its duties at the beginning of 2024. The SNSF is a foundation under private law with a funding mandate under public law. As the senior governing body, the Foundation Council is responsible for ensuring that the foundation stays on mission and for ...

Covid-19: Research findings form the basis for scientific communication with public authorities

Bern (ots) - Insights into Covid-19, recommendations for health authorities and vaccines: the findings and synthesis report for the Swiss National Science Foundation's National Research Programme "Covid-19" (NRP 78) were presented today. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) launched the National Research ...

Phosphorous - too much in lakes, too little in the soil

Bern (ots) - Over-fertilised waterways, impoverished soils: the use of phosphorous in agriculture is creating a dilemma, and it all began thousands of years ago. This has been verified by an analysis funded by the SNSF. It is well known that phosphorous from agricultural fertilisation and wastewater is harmful to lakes. But the entry of phosphorous into water is also contributing to the scarcity of this substance, which ...

The expert on pain in children

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Do bacteria make you fat? Prizewinner Maria Luisa Balmer is looking for answers

On a quest for new particles

Agency photos aestheticise dying