The Swiss Connection

This episode takes listeners to the Rhone glacier in the Alps, which is rapidly melting and releasing ancient microorganisms. These microorganisms, which have been trapped in the ice for thousands of years, are now being studied by scientists from the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape (WSL).

Journalists Céline Stegmüller and Luigi Jorio join the researchers on the glacier to observe their methods of collecting and analyzing these microorganisms. The team, led by Beat Frey, uses custom-made equipment to filter meltwater and capture bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The goal is to understand the diversity and potential applications of these microorganisms, which could include producing antibiotics or degrading plastics.

Read more about this story or other science stories from Switzerland please visit www.swissinfo.ch/science.

Journalists: Luigi Jorio & Céline Stegmüller
Host: Jo Fahy
Audio editor: Michele Andina
Distribution and Marketing: Xin Zhang 

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

Cities tend to get hotter than the countryside when a heatwave hits. What can be done about these urban heat traps? How can hot summers be made more tolerable for city dwellers? SWI swissinfo.ch asked an expert at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich.

If you are interested in reading about this story or other science stories from Switzerland please visit www.swissinfo.ch/science.

Jounalist: Luigi Jorio
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. 

This episode explores a groundbreaking Swiss innovation that could revolutionise the construction industry. Join us as we delve into Neustark's pioneering method of turning concrete waste into a carbon sink, permanently removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Discover how this technology not only helps decarbonise the concrete industry but also increases the strength of concrete. We'll discuss the science behind the mineralisation process, the impact of Neustark's 22 operational plants in Switzerland and Germany, and their ambitious plans to scale up globally. Tune in to find out how Swiss ingenuity is paving the way for a more sustainable future in construction.

The video version of this episode and other science stories from Switzerland is available at www.swissinfo.ch/science.

Jounalist: Simon Bradley
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. 

Swiss students are propelling the future of space travel with innovative reusable rocket technology, putting Switzerland on the map in the global space race. SWI swissinfo.ch took a closer look at their projects in northern and western Switzerland.

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

Jounalist: Christian Raaflaub
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. 

Using a new type of instrument, two astrophysicists from the University of Bern hope to get a little closer to unravelling the mystery of the solar system's origins. They believe the key to this lies in the ice that can occur in a dust layer on comets.

Please visit SWI swissinfo.ch for more information about this research and a video about ice on comets. Please come to SWI swissinfo.ch for more of our science stories from Switzerland.

Jounalist: Christian Raaflaub
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. 

Swissinfo talks to Herwig Schopper, former CERN director, the grandfather of the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, who helped promote peace through a Middle Eastern science hub and has his qualms about the Nobel Prize. If Herwig Schopper has learned anything during his 100 years on Earth, it’s that breakthroughs only happen when we work together.

Please read here this interview and the full biography of Herwig Schopper,  and please come to Swissinfo.ch  for more of our science stories from Switzerland.


Jounalist: Zeno Zoccatelli
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. 

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The Swiss Connection Podcast is back on October 22 with six new episodes on science happening in Switzerland.

SWI swissinfo.ch is a public service media company based in Bern Switzerland. It publishes independent news and information in 10 languages about Switzerland for a global audience.

For artist and researcher Şerife (Sherry) Wong the popular image of visionary geniuses who change the world from their garages is an illusion. “We are idealising the myth of the inventor, the American dream of the man who, from nothing, becomes super rich and changes the world for the better, but...for whom?” asks Wong, who studies the social implications of emerging technologies. She is also an affiliate research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley.

You can find more written content about this story on SWI swissinfo.ch: 

in English 

in Italian (original) 

in German 

Journalist: Sara Ibrahim

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. 

In this episode, we talk to Stanford University professor Fred Turner, who’s been studying the impact of new media technologies on American culture for decades. Turner is also among those most vocal in denouncing the injustices faced by people living and working in Silicon Valley.

You can find more written content about this story on SWI swissinfo.ch: 

in English 

in Italian (original) 

in German 

Journalist: Sara Ibrahim

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. 

Pamela Munster, a world-renowned oncologist, has been working in San Francisco for 15 years.  In this episode, she recounts her battle against breast cancer. 

You can find more written and video content about this story on SWI swissinfo.ch: 

in English 

in French (original) 

in German 

Journalist: Marc-André Miserez 

Host: Jo Fahy 

Audio editor/Video: Michele Andina 

Distribution and Marketing: Xin Zhang 

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