Element Scarcity – EuChemS Periodic Table

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The smartphone you may be using right now to look at this unique Periodic Table is made up of some 30 elements – over half of which may give cause for concern in the years to come because of increasing scarcity. The issue of element scarcity cannot be stressed enough. With some 10 million smartphones being discarded or replaced every month in the European Union alone, we need to carefully look at our tendencies to waste and improperly recycle such items. Unless solutions are provided, we risk seeing many of the natural elements that make up the world around us run out – whether because of limited supplies, their location in conflict areas, or our incapacity to fully recycle them. 

Protecting endangered elements needs to be achieved on a number of levels. As individuals, we need to question whether upgrades to our phones and other electronic devices are truly necessary, and we need to make sure that we recycle correctly to avoid old electronics don’t end up in landfill sites or polluting the environment. On a political level, we need to see a greater recognition of the risk element scarcity poses, and moves need to be made to support better recycling practices and an efficient circular economy. Moreover, transparency and ethical issues need to be considered to avoid the abuse of human rights, as well as to allow citizens to make informed choices when purchasing smartphones or other electronics – as many of the elements we require in our electronics are imported from conflict zones.

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2019 has been pronounced the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT2019), and EuChemS, the European Chemical Society, hopes that this unique and thought-provoking Periodic Table will lead to reflection and ultimately, action. Over the next year, they will provide featured articles on specific elements, their endangered status, and the consequences this will have on the world around us.

The Periodic Table is available for free download. Please note that the work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivs CC BY-ND.

Support notes, which explain in more detail how the Periodic Table has been designed, and which also include some questions for students, will soon be available for download on the EuChemS website.

Spread the word and help protect endangered elements! Share on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and follow the conversation through #elementscarcity & #IYPT2019. 

 

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https://www.euchems.eu/iypt2019/

 

Interview with Prof. Joseph Wang, University of California San Diego (USA)

Continuous monitoring of vital parameters from a person’s body has the potential to provide crucial health information to them or their healthcare provider in a timely fashion. Wearable, flexible electrochemical sensors, for instance integrated on the epidermis, can be used to measure non-invasively metabolites and electrolytes for various biomedical applications. Dr. Joseph Wang, Distinguished Professor and Director of the UCSD Center of Wearable Sensors has been invited to give a plenary lecture at the 2^ndSwiss Symposium in Point-of-Care Diagnostic in Chur on 18^thof October 2018. On the eve of this Symposium Prof. Wang has been interviewed by the conference chairs, Dr. Dieter Ulrich (CSEM Landquart) and Prof. Marc E. Pfeifer (HES-SO Valais, School of Engineering).

Symposium website: www.pocdx.ch

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Dear Professor Wang, in the future are we all going to wear clothes with sensors to monitor vital signs and have bracelets or sensing tattoos to measure the concentration of biomarkers? 

While this is also my vision, these innovative devices must provide clinically relevant information. Hence, initially, I expect fitness applications of these gadgets, although there are tremendous efforts toward integrating similar glucose monitors.

Your plenary lecture at the 2^ndSwiss Symposium in Point-of-Care Diagnostics in Chur is entitled “Wearable Electrochemical Sensors: Toward Labs on the Skin”. Can you please give us already an outlook of what the symposium participants will be hearing from you? 

Yes, I will describe a variety of wearable non-invasive (or minimally-invasive) platforms for electrochemical monitoring of biomarkers in sweat, ISF, saliva and more. Our goal is to go beyond monitoring mobility or vital signs by providing real-time biochemical information.

Glucose sensing for diabetes management – a huge market - is largely based on electrochemical methods. What are the advantages and challenges associated with electrochemical sensors when it comes to detecting and quantifying molecules on or through the skin?

Indeed, electrochemical systems continue to play a leading role in the monitoring of glucose, e.g. the continuous glucose monitor of our San Diego partner Dexcom Inc. Considering this huge market, I will discuss recent effort toward skin-worn sweat or ISF based glucose sensing platforms.  

You are an advisor for several San Diego-based companies that are developing a mobile technology connected diagnostic platform for use at home. Is increasing access to meaningful data going to improve health and well-being of people? 

Mobile-health systems used at home are expected to improve our quality of life, beyond the management of diabetes. Remote home-based elderly care is one such direction being widely explored by various companies.

There are sometimes concerns expressed regarding quality and analytical performance issues of point-of-care diagnostic devices, especially when compared with clinical analyzers in a central laboratory. Are future sensors and wearable devices going to perform equally well? Where is a need for further improvements on a technological level?

Indeed, it is hard to shrink sophisticated clinical analyzers onto the skin or the oral cavity. Nevertheless, significant progress is being made toward the creation of soft epidermal microfluidic platforms for performing the necessary sample manipulations on the skin.

Are nano-robots / -machines one day going to replace in vitro diagnostics (IVD) or even surgery?

Yes, functionalizing nanorobots with proper receptor can lead to new diagnostic tools, and new capsules explore these capabilities.  Eventually, in-vivo microrobots will assist surgical procedures, and nano-grippers are already being developed for tasks such as biopsy.

 

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CSEM SA
Bahnhofstr. 1 | CH-7302 Landquart
www.csem.ch

SCNAT Newsletter, September 2018

 

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Über personalisierte Gesundheit reden

Die Akademien der Wissenschaften Schweiz machen personalisierte Gesundheit zum Thema und treten in den Dialog mit der Bevölkerung. Ein neues Themenportal bietet überdies vertiefte Informationen. Weiter

Prix Schläfli 2019: Jetzt bewerben!

Mit dem Prix Schläfli zeichnet die SCNAT herausragende Schweizer Doktorarbeiten in Biologie, Chemie, Geowissenschaften und Physik aus. Bis zum 31. Oktober 2018 können Bewerbungsdossiers eingereicht werden. Weiter

Wissenschaftscamp begeistert Schüler

Am Cadagnosee erforschten Gymnasiasten die Vielfalt aquatischer Mikroorganismen und die Biogeochemie alpiner Lebensräume. Angeleitet wurden sie von Forschenden, begleitet von Radio und Fernsehen. Weiter

Proclim verstärkt den Dialog mit der Wirtschaft

Das Forum für Klima und globalen Wandel (Proclim) wird Wissenschaftspartner der Klimaplattform der Wirtschaft Basel und Zürich. «Wir brauchen nicht nur wissenschaftliche Berechnungen, sondern Lösungen, um dem Klimawandel zu begegnen. Dazu braucht es Partnerschaften», sagt Proclim-Präsident Reto Knutti. Die Klimaplattform der Wirtschaft fördert Geschäftsmodelle und Projekte zur Ressourcen- und Energieeffizienz und zur Dekarbonisierung und setzt sich für den branchenübergreifenden Austausch ein. Weiter

Wie das Hochwasser 1868 die Schweiz prägte

Das Oeschger-Zentrum für Klimaforschung der Universität Bern präsentiert am 11. September im Haus der Akademien in Bern seine neue Publikation «1868 – das Hochwasser, das die Schweiz veränderte. Ursachen, Folgen und Lehren für die Zukunft». Neue Methoden ermöglichten die Rekonstruktion der Niederschläge; die historische Analyse zeigt, wie die Katastrophe bewältigt wurde. Das Extremereignis wirkt bis heute nach: Siedlungsflächen, Flussverbauungen, Bergwald – ohne 1868 sähe die Schweiz anders aus. Weiter

Happy birthday to the Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management "eco.mont"

The year 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management "eco.mont". Since protected areas in mountain regions want not only to preserve valuable natural assets but also to promote and to develop strategies for sustainable development, it is the journal’s goal to provide insights into ecological, cultural and economic diversity in mountain protected areas. To celebrate the anniversary, «eco.mont» invited authors to write reports on mountain research in their country, a mountain region or a National Park. More

Chaos im Untergrund – Fakten statt Mythen!

Die zweite Revision des Schweizer Raumplanungsgesetzes schlägt einen stärkeren Einbezug des Untergrundes vor. Einmal verbaut können unterirdische Räume aber kaum mehr umgenutzt werden. Wie könnte die Raumplanung im Untergrund künftig aussehen? Welche Rolle spielen dreidimensionale geologische Modelle? Antworten liefert das dritte Gurten-Symposium des Schweizer Geologenverbands am 3. Oktober 2018 in Bern. Die Veranstaltung richtet sich an Entscheidungs- und Bedenkenträger aus Verwaltung und Politik. Weiter

All you ever wanted to know about Mars

Four themes have been chosen for the European Mars Convention 2018: the knowledge of the planet, time, the journey, and the establishment of mankind on Mars. They will be the subject of more than 20 presentations, followed by a debate: Robots and men on Mars under the look of time. The convention will take place from 26 to 28 October 2018 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. More

Workshops "We Scientists 2035":  changes today for better research tomorrow

What do the publishing system, research integrity, work-life balance, academic recognition, equal opportunities, promoting team science, implementing open data policies have in common? They are all part of research culture! Our modern academic system can foster doubtful practices. Nevertheless, positive changes in our working environments is possible. Sign up to one of the next "We Scientists 2035" workshops and let’s co-create manageable first steps towards a healthier research culture! More

Workshop on open data and data management

In certain fields the full disclosure of research data is suitable and straightforward, in others it can become a burden and affects research productivity. On 29 October 2018 SCNAT is organizing a workshop in Bern to discuss open questions related to the implementation of the open data concept in Swiss science with representatives from all relevant funding organizations. The research community has the chance to raise their concern. The Swiss National Science Foundation and the European Commission present their view and inform about recent trends. The workshop provides recommendations on how to implement the open data requirements. More

Leveraging research partnerships for global challenges

On 21 November 2018 the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) will celebrate 20 years of its guidelines with a prominent keynote lecture followed by a discussion with decision-makers in Bern. On 22 November the international annual conference of the KFPE will focus on the new roles and tasks for science in general and research partnerships in particular to address the 2030 Agenda. More

Beyond impact factor, h-Index and university rankings: Evaluate science in more meaningful ways

Scientists and scientific institutions increasingly compete for limited employment opportunities and research funding. The ambition to allocate the available means favoured quantitative metrics to assess the scientific merit. However, these measurements potentially undermine the quality in science. A conference held on 21 November 2018 in Bern shows the limitations of such metrics. It presents assessment approaches that challenge conventional metrics and discusses whether steps are necessary to maintain the high quality of the Swiss science landscape long-term. More

Archive der Umwelt – Geschichte und Naturwissenschaften

Hat die Umwelt eine Geschichte? Woran erkennen Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler ihren Wandel und wie machen sie diesen fassbar? Eine Tagung des Fachportals für die Geschichtswissenschaften der Schweiz (infoclio.ch) beleuchtet die Vielfalt der Quellen und Methoden, die zur Erforschung der Umweltgeschichte verwendet werden. Dabei geht es auch um die Annäherung der Geisteswissenschaften und der Naturwissenschaften im Bereich der Umweltgeschichte. Die Tagung findet am 23. November 2018 in Bern statt. Weiter

Cell biology from tissue to nucleus

Life Sciences Switzerland invites to the LS2 Annual Meeting 2019 with the topic "Cell biology from tissue to nucleus", held on 14–15 February 2019 at the Irchel Campus of the University of Zurich. The LS2 Annual Meeting brings together scientists from many nations and backgrounds to explore the large spectrum united under the umbrella of life sciences. More

Weitere Aktivitäten der SCNAT

www.scnat.ch/events

 

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Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (SCNAT)
Haus der Akademien | Laupenstrasse 7 | 3008 Bern
Andres Jordi | Tel. 031 306 93 23 | www.scnat.ch
Fragen und Anregungen: 

 

Successful Exhibitor Challenge at the SCS Fall Meeting 2018

For the first time, the organizers included the exhibitors actively in the program of the SCS Fall Meeting and launched the SCS Exhibitor Challenge. The goal for the participants was to collect as many exhibitor stickers as possible and fill their sticker card. Cards with a complete column or row participated in the lottery of 2x CHF 50.- in cash and all full cards were taken in account for the main prize of CHF 100.- in cash.

The campaign catalyzed the interaction between the booth staff of the exhibitors and the participants and led to many fruitful discussions. The exhibitor, the participants and the organizers were surprised about the dynamic of the challenge and after the successful launch the organizers will, for sure, continue the initiative.

Winners:

• 1x 100.- 
  Irina Diukova, EPFL Lausanne
• 2x 50.-
  Bansal Priyanka, EPFL Lausanne and  
  Mohebodin Karbasiyoun, University of Zurich

 

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Thanks to all Exhibitors that supported the SCS Fall Meeting and the Exhibitor Challenge.

 

 

 

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David Spichiger, SCS
13.09.2018