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UZH has been able to reduce energy consumption in the last three years; among other things, this has been achieved through the installation of photovoltaic systems, the conversion of lighting to LED, and energy efficiency measures in the heat supply. (Image: UZH)
Until 2019, air travel accounted for the largest portion of UZH’s carbon footprint. As a result of the pandemic, these emissions decreased significantly by more than three-quarters, from 7,587 in 2019 to 1,670 tonnes in 2020. Air travel has thus been surpassed by electricity and heat consumption (5,380 tonnes) at the top of UZH’s emissions ranking. Commuter traffic also declined in 2020 due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, it still caused more greenhouse gas emissions than the production and disposal of IT equipment and food provision in UZH’s cafeterias.
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Exosomes are small vesicles released by cells, which contain proteins and genetic materials. They are thought to be involved in various life activities, but current techniques to observe them are expensive and time-consuming. In a recent study, a team of undergraduate students from DGIST, Korea, proved the convenience and effectiveness of laser-based technique in identifying exosomes using exosomes from a less studied cancer type, paving the way for future exosome research.
Despite our great progress in understanding various cellular mechanisms over the last decades, many of them remain unclear. Such is the case for exosomes, small vesicles released by cells that contain genetic materials called “RNA” and various proteins. The roles of exosomes are believed to be very varied and important, both for normal bodily functions and also in the spreading of diseases like cancer. However, exosomes are so small that studying them is challenging and calls for costly and time