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(CONNECT) Veloplus AG is expanding its range of self-developed children's bikes with two mountain bike models. The FLiZZi-MTB 20-inch and the FLiZZi-MTB 24-inch are characterised by a lightweight aluminium frame, child-friendly ergonomics and details such as easy-to-operate gearshifts, Veloplus explains in a press release. The bicycle and bicycle accessories supplier is presenting its two new products for children at Cycle Week in Zurich until May 25.

Like the other children's bikes in the FLiZZi range developed by Veloplus, the new mountain bikes are not simply a scaled-down version of an adult bike, but are specially designed for the anatomy and needs of children. The 20-inch FLiZZi-MTB therefore does not have a suspension fork, for example, as this is “hardly functional for the target group's body weight and makes the bike unnecessarily heavy”, explains Veloplus. The damping is provided by voluminous tires instead. The FLiZZi MTB 24 inch has an 80 millimeter air suspension fork in the front frame for damping. Like all FLiZZi bikes, the new children's mountain bikes are equipped with extra-long saddle rails and a special flip-flop stem to adapt the bike to the child's growth. ce/hs

(CONNECT) Researchers at UZH have investigated how diversity arises in cell populations. According to a UZH report, this diversity can lead to diseases such as cancer, making tumors more complex and therapies less effective. For this reason, the team wanted to understand more precisely what leads to diversity and whether and how it is expressed across cell generations. To this end, it has developed a method that allows these processes to be followed in detail and in real time under the microscope for the first time.

Using CRISPR-based genome editing, they attached fluorescent labels to two proteins: one to track the DNA duplication process and one to mark acquired DNA damage. “We were able to observe how cancer cells react to various stress factors over several cell generations and how this increases heterogeneity within the cell population,” explains Merula Stout, UZH doctoral student at the Institute of Molecular Mechanisms in Disease and co-first author of the study.

They also investigated the extent of different stress signals in daughter and grandchild cells. As they saw, the observed differences continued in the next cell generation. “DNA damage and stress therefore not only have a short-term effect, but also long-term effects on cellular diversity,” says UZH. The team also found that multiple genome copies promote resistance to therapy.

The aim now is to further expand and automate the method in collaboration with the UZH technology platforms. Because “we are very likely only seeing the proverbial tip of the iceberg at the moment,” says Matthias Altmeyer, head of the study and UZH professor. ce/mm

(CONNECT) Switzerland's energy system is to be decarbonized and nuclear-free by 2050. The report by a research consortium involving researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), the Universities of Bern and Geneva, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in Birmensdorf ZH and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Winterthur deals with feasibility and costs.

It was created for SWEET (Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition), the funding program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. EDGE is a consortium funded by SWEET and coordinated by the University of Geneva and EPFL.

The key point of the EDGE report is securing electricity demand until 2050. According to the press release, 60 percent of Switzerland's electricity needs must be covered by new renewable energy sources and the capacity of solar power plants must be quadrupled. The capacity of the wind turbines would have to be 80 times greater.

“This strong increase in photovoltaics and wind energy by 2050 is hardly conceivable without effective subsidies,” says Giovanni Sansavini, Professor of Reliability and Risk Engineering at ETH and one of the co-authors of the study.

The researchers also conclude that functioning electricity trading with other countries is crucial for a cost-efficient Swiss electricity supply.

A partial study of the EDGE report models how expensive it could be to achieve the net zero target in the Paris Climate Agreement. The researchers assume that the prices of fossil fuels and the production costs of many goods will rise by 2050 as a result of CO2 taxes and emissions trading. ce/gba