BERN, SWITZERLAND – Two Swiss professors’ study of how the Swiss view Muslims, published 6 July, is attracting media attention in several Arabic and other Muslim countries (see links at the end). Their University of Zurich researchers’ two-year, CHF159,000 study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundaton after the Swiss population voted to ban the construction of minarets.
Patrick Ettinger and Kurt Imhof concluded that in recent years a system has operated that has encouraged the Swiss to believe that Muslims are a danger. Three elements have created the situation, they say: terrorist attacks in other countries, the political strategy of right-wing populist political parties and a tendency for media to be more polarized and to generalize.
Endocrinologist finds key to predicting impact of stress on stroke, pneumonia patients
Dr Mirjam Christ-Crain, 2009 Latsis Prize winner
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One of Switzerland’s most prestigious scientific awards, the Latsis Prize, was awarded to Dr Mirjam Christ-Crain in Bern 14 January. The award, worth CH100,000 is given annually to Switzerland’s most outstanding young researcher, selected by a panel of the Swiss National Science Foundation. The winner must be under the age of 40.
Christ-Crain is head of endocrinology at the Basel University Hospital. She was given the prize for her work in discovering that measuring stress hormones levels, such as cortisol, in a pneumonia or stroke patient’s blood can provide doctors with information that allows them to make treatment decisions. Both illnesses can either remain benign or turn deadly, but there are few clinical clues for doctors to make a prognosis and treat the patient accordingly.
(Video, AP) An extraordinary high-definition video of the world’s deepest submarine volcano shows an underwater eruption sending volcanic lava to the ocean floor and creating an environment that is more acidic than battery acid. The film was presented at a conference in San Francisco Thursday by the US National Science Foundation and the NOAA. The film was made near Samoa when scientists headed for the area where they’d spotted volcanic activity, then sent a submersible named Jason down to 1,300 metres under the surface to film the fireworks.
Links to other sites: AP/Daily Breeze, BBC, NOAA News with the video in QuickTime
AP interview with video in background
