Archive News

May 9, 2016No two bacteria are identical – even when they are genetically the same. A new study reveals the conditions under which bacteria become individualists and how they help their colony grow when times get tough.

April 28, 2016The interactive and free available Groundwater Assessment Platform (GAP) is now online. Over 300 million people worldwide use groundwater contaminated with arsenic or fluoride as a source of drinking water. Researchers in the Department of Water Resources & Drinking Water have developed a method whereby the risk of contamination in a given area can be estimated using geological, topographical and other environmental data without having to test samples from every single groundwater resource.

April 28, 2016In the modular experimental building known as NEST, Eawag and Empa – together with industrial and scientific partners – are investigating new forms of living and working, innovative construction methods and energy-efficient technologies.

April 21, 2016In the last century, the natural reproduction of whitefish and Arctic char in several Swiss lakes was adversely affected by high levels of nutrient inputs. So far, stocking measures have been implemented in efforts to support fish populations and maintain yields. The effectiveness of these measures varies according to the particular species and lake.

April 13, 2016The pipe material used for shower hoses or tap connections influences the type and amount of bacterial growth. This was shown by an Eawag study in which the microbiological impact of six commonly used plastic pipe materials was compared in a shower simulator over an eight-month period.

April 6, 2016Environmental engineer Christoph Ort is one of the Eawag scientists whose work has been particularly widely covered in the media over the last few years. His research field – drugs in wastewater – is a magnet for journalists.

March 22, 2016Researchers at Eawag have brought daphnia back to life that were more than 40 years old. They then tested the organisms’ varying reactions to lead pollution.

March 7, 2016Individual bacterial cells have short memories. But groups of bacteria can develop a collective memory that can increase their tolerance to stress. This has been demonstrated experimentally for the first time in a study by Eawag and ETH Zurich scientists published in PNAS.

March 1, 2016Nathalie Dubois from the Surface Waters Research and Management Department has received a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) professorship. She plans to use the professorship to research what effects early human activity had on ecosystems in previously uninhabited eastern Pacific islands.

February 29, 2016Sometimes evolution proceeds much more rapidly than we might think. Genetic analysis makes it possible to detect the earliest stages of species formation and to gain a better understanding of speciation processes.