R2-D2 kidnapped from museum

Unidentified thieves have stolen a replica of the Star Wars robot R2-D2 from a film prop museum in Frauenfeld, canton Thurgau. According to local police, the theft must have occurred some time between the beginning of the month and Tuesday, when some objects were reported missing. The thieves broke into a basement storage room, making [...]

Fruit fly has trouble deciding between Arthur and Martha

Swiss scientist Yaël Grosjean has discovered that sexual orientation in fruit flies is controlled by a previously unknown regulator of chemicals in the brain. While the evolutionary basis for homosexuality remains a mystery, researchers have succeeded in using genetic manipulation or drugs to turn the flies’ homosexual behaviour on and off within a matter [...]

Blocher’s long march to the top stopped

The Swiss parliament has thrown a spanner in the works: by refusing to re-elect populist rightwing politician Christoph Blocher to the seven-member cabinet, the federal assembly has decided his brand of politics is no longer acceptable. Instead, a temporary alliance of Greens, Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, along with a support cast of [...]

Turning off African migrants

Switzerland is funding a bleak anti-migration television campaign in Africa to discourage would-be migrants from trying to seek their fortunes in Europe. The hard-hitting advert, which has been aired on prime-time television in Cameroon and Nigeria, depicts the life of freshly arrived migrants in Europe as one fraught with problems and dangers. In the film [...]