We do it everyday, and yet we don’t know why. In fact, we don’t even know what normal sleep is. Doctors regularly see patients with slumber problems, but monitoring healthy, regular sleepers behind bedroom doors is much tougher…until now. The project is called HypnoLaus, and it’s the largest normative sleep study to ever be done. WRS video journalist Amy Wong went to the sleep clinic in Lausanne to see one of the subjects get wired up.

Nepal is known more for its civil unrest and Mount Everest expeditions than its runners. However, two young Nepalese distance runners, Sudip Kulung and Bed Sunuwar, ventured outside of their home country for the first time ever to compete internationally in Switzerland. The Swissalpine ultramarathon in Davos is one the biggest mountain endurance races, spanning 78 kilometers—the distance of two marathons—and reaching altitudes of 2,600 metres. WRS video journalist Amy Wong followed the two men as they raced against the odds.

Last year, while shopping online for plus-sized clothing, Yasmina Morina, a native of Fribourg, Switzerland, came across Velvet d’Amour, a former Miss Plump Universe. She was inspired to apply for the beauty pageant herself, so she did—and she won. WRS video journalist Amy Wong went out to Morina’s hometown of La Roche to chat with her as she took a stroll with her two boys.

Electricity bills may be going up for the rest of us, but at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), they’re planning to cut their heating bill by 100 percent. Researchers at the main science campus, known as Science City, are installing a new heating system that will use the ground beneath their feet to store heat in the summer—enough to keep all their buildings warm for the entire winter. WRS video journalist Amy Wong went out to Science City to see how it works.

Summer is here and opera season is officially over, but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped singing. For the first time ever, the Lausanne Opera will be touring close to home, stopping in small towns all across the Canton of Vaud as part of their Route Lyrique. WRS video journalist Amy Wong took her opera glasses and went to speak with Lausanne Opera director, Eric Vigié.

Geneva has a crime problem. In fact, the city has the highest rate of crime in the country—more than 2.5 times that of the national average. The problem is not so much murder and assaults, but theft and drug dealing. The canton’s response to this problem is something called Operation Figaro. The goal is to have more police officers visible in problem areas. But is this a good plan, or just a marketing scheme with a fancy name? WRS video journalist Amy Wong hopped into a riot van to find out.

Construction of the much needed Zurich Opera House parking complex was halted earlier this spring when archaeological remains dating back to 3000 BC was discovered. The City of Zurich secured an emergency fund to pay for the CHF 12 million dig. This will be one of the largest, quickest and most difficult archaeological excavations in the country. WRS video journalist Amy Wong picked up a shovel and went out to find some Neolithic artifacts.

When it comes to contemporary art, there aren’t many names bigger than that of Matthew Barney. The multimedia artist has been a force to reckon with since his days as an art student at Yale. The former athlete and present life partner of the singer Bjork is mostly known for his lengthy cinematic master pieces known the Cremaster Cycle and performance piece series entitled Drawing Restraint. The exhibit Matthew Barney. Prayer Sheet with the Wound and the Nail includes two entirely new Drawing Restraint pieces made in Basel, and marks the acquisition of a substantial part of the artists Drawing Restraint series by the Laurenz Foundation, which runs Schaulager. WRS video journalist Amy Wong has the story: