Protecting art and passwords with biochemistry

New technology is based on a pool of one hundred million different DNA molecules and protects against counterfeiting

10-Apr-2024 - A new molecular test method helps to prove the authenticity of works of art. The new method could also help to make passwords secure against quantum computers. Instead of using algorithms, the method employs the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Security experts fear Q-​Day, the ...

Ocean acidification in coloured stripes

Making environmental changes visible

15-Sep-2023 - Our oceans are acidifying rapidly. Climate researchers from ETH Zurich are now illustrating these chemical changes with colour-​coded stripes. Global observations of ocean acidification over the last four decades serve as the basis. Most people consider climate change to consist only of the ...

New corrosion protection that repairs itself

An extraordinary corrosion protection was created from a chance find: It glows in places where it is not damaged, repairs itself – and can be reused multiple times

22-Feb-2023 - Skyscrapers, bridges, ships, aeroplanes, cars – everything humans make or build sooner or later decays. The ravages of time are known as corrosion; nothing is safe from it. This makes the fight against corrosion expensive. All countries together invest around 3.5 percent of annual global gross ...

ETH Zurich researchers want to make salt printing marketable

They have also come up with a name for their start-up: “Sallea”, a portmanteau of “salt leaching”.

06-Oct-2022 - Materials scientists Nicole Kleger and Simona Fehlmann have developed a 3D printing process for creating salt templates that they can fill with other materials. One area of application is the creation of highly porous lightweight metal components. The two Pioneer Fellows are now trying to ...

One more clue to the Moon’s origin

Researchers from ETH Zurich discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth’s mantle

18-Aug-2022 - The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed. Humankind has maintained an enduring fascination with the Moon. It was not until Galileo’s time, however, that scientists really began ...

Light amplification accelerates chemical reactions in aerosols

Temporal sequence of photochemical reaction in individual aerosol particles observed with high resolution

21-Apr-2022 - Aerosols in the atmosphere react to incident sunlight. This light is amplified in the interior of the aerosol droplets and particles, accelerating reactions. ETH researchers have now been able to demonstrate and quantify this effect and recommend factoring it into future climate models. Liquid ...

Lights on for silicon photonics

The demonstration of electroluminescence at terahertz frequencies from a silicon-germanium device marks a key step towards the long-sought goal of a silicon-based laser

10-Mar-2021 - When it comes to microelectronics, there is one chemical element like no other: silicon, the workhorse of the transistor technology that drives our information society. The countless electronic devices we use in everyday life are a testament to how today very high volumes of silicon-based ...

Decoding the way catalysts work

Good catalytic performance is driven chiefly by processes that occur on the surface of the catalyst – and not electrochemical processes

20-Nov-2020 - Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is an important chemical reaction, especially considering that the use of hydrogen as an energy source in sustainable mobility in the future. An international research team has now decoded how one of the catalysts used in this reaction works. Hydrogen is a ...

How the chemical industry can meet the climate goals

07-Apr-2020 - ETH researchers analysed various possibilities for reducing the net CO2 emissions of the chemical industry to zero. Their conclusion? The chemical industry can in fact have a carbon-​neutral future. Switzerland’s Federal Council has decided that the country should become carbon-​neutral by 2050. ...

When sand behaves like oil

08-May-2019 - Sand, coffee grounds and rice behave very differently than water or oil, but under certain conditions they will suddenly exhibit astonishing similarities. Scientists have found a way to better understand the behaviour of granular materials. Sand, rice and coffee are all examples of granular ...