Tag Archives: Sci & Tech

Through a blood sample, the test can detect antibodies to the new coronavirus, which could signal a person may have already been infected. (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency approval for use of the serological test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, the company announced on Sunday. The test is designed to determine whether a person has been exposed to the new...

Qatar and other Middle East nations have announced fintech strategies. (Keystone / Yoan Valat) Swiss fintech company Instimatch has launched into the Middle East, having won a licence to operate in Qatar, and signed up its first Kuwaiti bank. The mineral and cash-rich region is proving a magnet for financial innovation from Switzerland. Instimatchexternal link’s digital platform directly connects deep-pocketed corporate, financial and municipal lenders with global...

Zermatt is a regular haunt for well-heeled international winter sports lovers. (© Keystone / Christian Beutler) The iconic ski resort of Zermatt has become the second local authority in Switzerland to allow residents to pay their tax bills using the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Zermatt, which lies in the shadow of the Matterhorn mountain, said on Tuesday that it will allow people living there to pay the whole range of taxes in bitcoin with no limit on the amount they...

Entrepreneurs are thriving in Switzerland, with a record number of companies launched in 2019 and unprecedented investment pumped into start-ups. Switzerland saw 44,482 companies founded last year, the highest number to date and a 3% increase on 2018, according to the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. Investments in start-ups also grew strongly in 2019, topping CHF2 billion ($2.06 billion) for the first time. In recent years innovation parks have multiplied to...

Employees test jelly sweets in the laboratory of fragrances and flavours manufacurer Givaudan in Dübendorf in 2013. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) Nestlé, Givaudan, Panalpina and the Bern Cantonal Bank are among 179 companies given a top “A” rating in a global survey of transparency and action on climate change. On Monday, non-profit group Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)external link published its study of 8,000 companies worldwide. Only 2% of them made it onto the...

Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich is one of the most upmarket shopping streets in the world. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) A building on Zurich’s most exclusive shopping street has been converted into a blockchain-powered investment following its CHF130 million ($134 million) sale. It is the latest attempt to unlock the value of bricks and mortar using digitally-coded tokens. Bahnhofstrasse 52, which houses offices and a Swatch retail outlet, was bought by Zug-based real estate...

Looks amazingly similar to a real nugget: 18-​carat gold with latex as the base material. ( ETH Zurich / Peter Rüegg) Five years ago researchers at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich developed the lightest gold in the world, which could float on a cappuccino. But there wasn’t much they could do with it. Now they have created 18-carat light gold which can be used for watches, jewellery and electronics. It is based on a plastic matrix that replaces metallic...

Early bird WEF delegates will be learning about blockchain in the ski resort of St Moritz. (Keystone / Martin Ruetschi) Global politicians, regulators, financiers and technology pioneers will soon be gathering in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. This has not been lost on the blockchain and crypto industry, which is redoubling efforts to engage with policy makers. Next week’s Crypto Finance Conferenceexternal link (CfC), in the up-market ski resort of St...

The methanation gas containers at Regio Energie Solothurn (Keystone) Flatulent bacteria, electric vehicles and a supply network for greenhouses are among the winners of this year’s Watt d’Or competitionexternal link organised by the Federal Office of Energy. “What is the link between flatulence and renewable energy?” the energy office asked. “The answer is Archie, the farting archaeobacteria.” Archie picked up the award in the “renewable energy” category, presented...

The first commercial prototype from Energy Vault is 60 metres tall and will be built next year. (Energy Vault) Stacking blocks of concrete with a crane to store energy and use the force of gravity to keep producing electricity when renewable sources are lacking: simple but revolutionary, the battery solution proposed by the Ticino start-up Energy Vault is attracting investors and customers from around the world.  What do we do when there is no sun or wind? Energy...