Swiss Stories

Rocket body explosion: In addition to satellite collisions, the space environment can also compromise the integrity of a rocket’s mechanical parts. Wear and tear can trigger auto-ignition or an explosion generating thousands of pieces of debris. (ESA) RemoveDEBRIS 3: More than 7,600 tonnes of space debris are floating in or near the Earth's orbit at an altitude of 2,000 kilometres.

Swiss tech cleans up space

Science & Education
Since humans first conquered space, it has become a dumping ground for fragments of rockets and obsolete satellites. These millions of pieces of debris scattered in orbit pose a considerable risk. To tackle this serious problem, Switzerland has positioned itself at the forefront of the clean-up of space.

by Mehdi Atmani

standby

Nestlé to cure peanut allergies

Science & Education
The Swiss multinational has just been given the go-ahead from Brussels for a drug that desensitises people with peanut intolerance, and the head of its health science division says this is just the start. How will things change for allergy sufferers?
Virtual Reality

Giving virtual reality the Swiss touch

Science & Education
Swiss start-ups are making the most of the boom in immersive technologies.
Zanziba

Swiss drones for mapping Tanzania

Science & Education
With one of the highest rates of population growth in the world, this east African country has acquired dozens of minidrones produced by the Swiss company SenseFly to map its territory.
iPhone: Siri

The Swiss inventor of Siri

Science & Education
The man behind Siri, the Apple voice assistant used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, is a Swiss engineer who divides his time between the canton of Vaud and San Francisco. In his own words, this allows him to "keep his feet on the ground".
Ursula Keller

Ursula Keller has seen the light at the end of the laser

Science & Education
Ursula Keller, the well-known Swiss physicist, has more than one string to her bow: as the first woman to obtain a professorship in physics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, this inventor specialised in ultra-fast laser technology won the 2018 European Inventor Award and was awarded a gold medal in 2020 by the international society for optics and photonics (SPIE). She is also committed to encouraging women to pursue careers in science or engineering.
Main building at ETH Zurich

ETH Zurich: Einstein's university

Science & Education
Houseofswitzerland.com presents universities and research institutions in Switzerland that are among the best in the world. This time, let’s take a close look at ETH Zurich which regularly appears in world university rankings as the top university in continental Europe.