News

Alumni Stories: Julia Wyss shares how the Summer School "Design Ideas for Sustainable Food Systems" helped her connect theory with practice, navigate complex food system challenges, and gain confidence in the power of collaborative solutions.

A new project within the Smart Sustainable Farming Research Program is developing CRISPR-based test kits that detect invasive pests and disease vectors from environmental DNA (eDNA). The tests are designed to run on site, deliver results within hours and require no laboratory.

What helps us age well? At the latest World Food System Center Dialogue Series event, experts explored how nutrition for metabolism and cognitive health as well as social connection can contribute to healthier aging and longer lives in good health.

Glaciers are melting faster than ever before in Switzerland. New measurement data shows that Swiss glaciers lost more than 5 per cent of their volume in 2026, following a winter with little snow and record-breaking summer heatwaves.  

Youth are key actors in shaping the future of food systems. A recent visit by a delegation from the FAO Office of Youth and Women to ETH Zurich provided an opportunity to exchange on youth engagement and empowerment in food systems transformation and explore opportunities for future collaboration.

The EU has introduced new legislation for plants developed using new genomic techniques. If Switzerland were to follow a different path, it would increase red tape and make it harder to exchange plant material for research, breeding and agriculture, says ETH professor Bruno Studer.

A new method allows whole legumes to be converted into tasty products with a fibrous structure. The technique is so simple that it can even be applied at home.

The human microbiome may play a critical role in determining the health impacts of chemical exposure from food, according to new research on the herbicide metazachlor.

The sustainability of tropical products can only be verified using reliable data on production practices. A new study, using cocoa as an example, shows that such data is frequently falsified by the auditing agents. However, a simple change to the way data is collected could significantly reduce manipulation.