Chiara Herzog

Digitalisation reduces carbon emissions to a great extent in many sectors and therefore helps to protect the environment. Simultaneously, the increasing use of digital technologies requires an immense amount of energy. To promote a resource-efficient economy, we need to consider energy efficiency and sustainability as core elements – not only…

After successful restoration of visual function in animal models of retinal degeneration (with Botond Roska (IOB, Basel), Dr. Sahel conceived the first-in-man clinical trial combining a biotherapy (photoactivatable optogene channelrhodopsin expressed in retinal ganglion cells) coupled with a stimulation device, and observed the first clinical evidence for vision restoration using…

As a result of the strong economic growth in many African countries, the continent has a growing demand for young professionals, particularly in mathematics, IT and engineering, in order to ensure rapid and stable economic, social and political development. Yet, only six per cent of post-secondary aged Africans are enrolled…

How Social Science Combats Unfree Labour in the Global Economy We tend to think of the cruelties of slavery as a thing of the past, something that humanity has largely overcome. This assumption is false. Globally, there are some 46 million people in slavery, according to Kevin Bales, Co-Founder of…

Dr. Chuan Xia is a Professor of Materials and Energy at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). He obtained his Ph.D. at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2018 followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard university and Rice university. In 2020 he joined…

Tsolmon Adiya is addressing environmental pollution caused by the disposal of organic residues from agricultural activities by proposing their use as substrates for mushroom cultivation or enzyme production. This research aims to bioconvert the organic residues into edible mushrooms, providing a sustainable solution to both environmental issues and a valuable…

The nominating institution Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research on the breakthrough: In February, SORMAS was extended by a module for the control of COVID-19. Since then, it supports international health authorities in risk assessment and disease control. SORMAS is already used in Ghana and Nigeria, and the governments of 8…

Benoit Schillings: Breaking the Wall to Invention Machines – Falling Walls Science Summit 2023 Generative artificial intelligence models are beginning to play a crucial role in automating creative tasks, enhancing simulations, improving content creation, enabling personalised user experiences, and revolutionising various industries. However, these advancements also bring ethical concerns, such…

How is it possible that a bird is able to perform some of the same tasks as a chimpanzee, or even a human? This should be impossible, at least on a cognitive level, given everything we have learned about the brain in the last century. According to a long-held theory,…

In a novel approach to empower citizens to contribute to scientific research and close the linkages between science and society, we crowdsourced research questions from patients as well as their relatives and caretakers in the fields of mental health and traumatology. In both projects, crowd members provided more than 1000…