Clare O'Dea

Clare reports on scientific developments in Switzerland

Sarco suicide capsule hopes to enter Switzerland

This content was published on Dec 11, 2021 A 3D-printed capsule destined for use in assisted suicide hopes to operate in Switzerland, according to Exit International.

From altruistic computing to robot-induced guilt, science stories you might have missed

This content was published on Dec 26, 2020 These are some noteworthy scientific breakthroughs unrelated to Covid-19.

Anna von Siebenthal demonstrating the Vibwife bed

Midwife invents a moving mattress to help in childbirth

This content was published on Dec 16, 2020 Inspired by a real-life emergency, Anna von Siebenthal's childbirth mattress will soon be produced by Europe’s largest hospital bed manufacturer.

Reaching for the stars – and cleaning up in space

This content was published on Dec 13, 2020 Scientific curiosity has to begin with wonder. For the entire history of humankind, we have looked up at the night sky in wonder.

GM wheat test field at Pully in Switzerland.

Swiss GMO ban: ‘What are we afraid of?’

This content was published on Nov 30, 2020 The head of the Swiss federal body for agriculture research has expressed frustration at the government’s plan to extend the moratorium on GM plants.

Alarming numbers, scepticism and reassurance

This content was published on Nov 21, 2020 Things have taken a very serious turn in Switzerland since I last wrote about coronavirus six weeks ago.

Four scientific reasons to be cheerful

This content was published on Oct 30, 2020 I don’t think I’m the only one feeling beset on all sides by negative news right now. That's why I've chosen four uplifting science stories.

Making the most of smart farming

The challenges faced by agriculture today are immense. But used equitably, technological innovation offers a way forward.

Swiss start-up aims to spare women unnecessary pain

This content was published on Jul 19, 2020 A gentler tool for inserting intrauterine contraceptive devices is being developed in Switzerland.

How ‘men as default humans’ threatens to undermine precision medicine

This content was published on Jun 21, 2020 Humans have developed advanced technologies like artificial intelligence but failed to account for sex differences when training them.

How food is being reimagined in Switzerland

This content was published on Jun 1, 2020 Some of the new innovations have to be tasted to be believed. Like the chicken substitute being produced by the young team behind Planted AG in Zurich, a spin-off of the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH). Before I met co-founders Pascal Bieri and Lukas Böni, I popped into a Zurich café to try their product.…

Why we need to know more about wheat, and faster

This content was published on May 7, 2020 Swiss researchers are hoping to get a step closer to ending world hunger by developing wheat's genetic fingerprint.

Young man standing in farming field, controls flying drone

How Swiss technology is changing farming

This content was published on Apr 22, 2020 Remote sensing, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics are being integrated into everyday farm management.

What Swiss researchers are doing to beat Covid-19

This content was published on Mar 31, 2020 Swiss scientists and drug companies are playing an important role in the global effort to develop treatments or a vaccine for the virus.

Hunter takes aim with his rifle in the mountains

The Swiss hunt: collecting the reward for a year’s work

This content was published on Oct 15, 2018 What's it like to go on the hunt in the Swiss Alps, joining tens of thousands of rifle-carrying men each autumn?

Writer of the world in an international city

This content was published on May 11, 2017 As much at home in the outdoors as in the city, American author Anne Korkeakivi has found the perfect mix in Geneva.

Quiet and alone in a Swiss room

This content was published on May 2, 2017 Best-selling author of The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street, Susan Jane Gilman, shares a scoop of the sweet treat with Clare O'Dea.

Writer, economic migrant and orchid

This content was published on Apr 20, 2017 A nomadic life has shaped the world view of author Jason Donald. He tells Clare O’Dea about the ‘undeserved privilege’ that has inspired his novels.

Opinion

Investigating 10 myths about Switzerland

This content was published on Oct 9, 2016 After more than a decade as a journalist in Switzerland, Clare O’Dea explains what motivated her to write a new book on the country.

Testing the limits of a 160-year-old dream

This content was published on Apr 1, 2015 The ragged paupers who first came to Guglera in the middle of the 19th century had a long walk up the driveway to get to the big house. So great was their need, they came before the building was even finished. The four-storey orphanage and school stood for more than a century, as generations came…