The Swiss Connection

The search for the elixir of life has been going on since time immemorial – and Switzerland has played a key role. Although scientists have yet to come up with a winning formula, the Alpine nation has a booming market for treatments, pills and gadgets that claim to slow ageing and help us live healthier, longer lives.

Visit SWI swissinfo.ch for more on this topic and a video on this story. Please come to SWI swissinfo.ch for more of our science stories from Switzerland.

Jounalist: Jessica Davis Plüss
Host: Jo Fahy
Audio editor/video journalist: Michele Andina
Distribution and Marketing: Xin Zhang

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

We’ve received the sad news that former CERN director and experimental physicist Herwig Schopper has passed away at the age of 101. He was considered the grandfather of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, helped promote peace through a Middle Eastern science hub, and voiced his concerns about the Nobel Prize. In 2024, just before his 100th birthday, we had the chance to visit him at his home on Lake Geneva. We spoke with him about some of the highlights of his career and his personal thoughts on research and its potential to contribute to peacebuilding.

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

This is the final episode of 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta.

This gripping investigative podcast series has been uncovering the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In our series finale, the Lost Cells team digs deeper into the international standards of the cord blood banking industry. Antoine confronts the Swiss authorities for answers. Tatiana and Ratko vow to go public and warn parents all over the world with everything they’ve learned about cord blood banking.

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

Over the next two episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta.

This gripping investigative podcast series uncovers the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In episode five, families across Europe feel like they’re being held hostage. Who owns their cells? Do they have any rights? They fight back with the only thing they do have: their own tenacity and an international network of sleuths.

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

Over the next three episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta.

This gripping investigative podcast series uncovers the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In episode four, Luis Daniel, Tatiana and Ratko investigate in multiple European jurisdictions. The international band of families turns to Antoine Harari and Valeria Mazzucchi, two journalists based in Geneva, to give them the answers they can’t get from a company in turmoil. Luis Daniel visits Poland looking for assurances that his daughter's stem cells can help him cure his cancer before it's too late. 

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

Over the next four episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta.

This gripping investigative podcast series uncovers the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In episode three, Tatiana and Ratko prepare to move their frozen stem cells but things don’t go as planned. Perhaps the company and its marketing aren’t everything they’ve been promised? Families around Europe begin asking questions about their cells, and where and how they’re being stored. Swiss authorities are alerted and arrange an inspection. What they discover sets off an international quest.

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

Over the next five episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche, and Studio Ochenta. 

This gripping investigative podcast series uncovers the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In episode two Tatiana and her husband Ratko choose cord blood banking in Switzerland for their daughter’s cells. They seek out a top US university conducting research in stem cell transplants and are offered a rare opportunity to be part of this leading-edge program.

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

Over the next six episodes, we're proud to present 'Lost Cells', a short investigative podcast series. The production is an original SWI swissinfo.ch trilingual podcast made in collaboration with Piz Gloria Productions, Futur Proche and Studio Ochenta. 

This gripping investigative podcast series uncovers the human stories behind the promises and failures of private stem cell banking in Switzerland.

In episode one, Luis Daniel suffers from a rare type of blood cancer. Could promising stem cell research, and a baby be the chance he’s been looking for? Banking his baby’s cord blood offers an opportunity to secure a potential cure. He looks to a leading company based in Switzerland to help him protect himself and his family. 

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

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SWI swissinfo.ch's new podcast tells the story of the families affected by a private stem cell banking scandal with Switzerland at its heart.

Subscribe for free to our new podcast ‘Lost Cells’ wherever you get your podcasts. Episode one is released on February 18, 2025.

Listen to this new podcast in English // French // Spanish

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SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern, Switzerland. 

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Please sign up for the latest episode

SWI swissinfo.ch's new podcast tells the story of the families affected by a private stem cell banking scandal with Switzerland at its heart.

Subscribe for free to our new podcast ‘Lost Cells’ wherever you get your podcasts. Episode one will be released on February 18, 2025.

SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland.