«Globe»: failure allowed
Researchers are no strangers to failure. They can’t expect to find the right path straight away. And many already discover that a second crack of the whip is sometimes necessary during their degrees. The latest issue of Globe, the magazine of ETH Zurich and ETH Zurich Alumni, examines this ubiquitous topic, which nobody likes to talk about but is an inherent part of science.
To the outside world, science primarily presents itself as a success story. Usually, however, behind all the positive reports lurks a lengthy process of trial and error. Globe reveals how researchers deal with this situation, why focussing solely on the good news is not necessarily beneficial and how a fruitful culture of errors can be established in hospitals, for instance.
Globe reporter Christine Heidemann shadowed two scientists at ETH Zurich’s special cleanroom centre First Lab, where minute optic, electric or acoustic components are developed on a micro and nanometre scale – for lasers or transistors, which enable vast amounts of data to be transmitted quickly. Research in the cleanroom requires no end of preparatory work, a healthy dose of skill and above all plenty of patience.
Immunologist Katja Fink has also taken on a challenging task: the scientist, who completed a doctorate at ETH Zurich’s Institute of Experimental Immunology, and her team are attempting to develop an effective vaccine against dengue fever in Singapore. In doing so, she needs to keep four different pathogens in check at once.
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Subscribe to the print version of Globe in German by sending an e-mail to . Subscribers receive a copy of the magazine of ETH Zurich and ETH Alumni four times a year at the cost of CHF 40. Globe is also available in a free iPad and Android version in English and German in the respective shops. Or read the magazine on the ETH Internet (english/german).