Marc Solioz, PhD, Biochemist  Department of Clinical Pharamacology University of Berne Murtenstrasse 35, 3010 Berne  Switzerland  Fon +41 31 632 3268  Fax +41 31 632 4997  marc at solioz-scientific.ch

Job:
   With my research team, I am studying copper homeostasis in living cells. Copper ions are both, an essential nutrient and a toxic substance, and must be carefully controlled by all cells. A part of this control is taken by copper pumps that transport copper accross biological membranes. Using molecular biology, we are studying the function and regulation of such copper pumps in bacterial and mammalian model systems. For more details, see our lab webpage.

Metallic copper and its alloys, brass or bronze, are antibacterial materials. Germs such as bacteria or viruses on the surface of these metals are killed within minutes. Copper and its alloys are therefore increasingly being used in health care facilities for door handles, light switches or bathroom fixtures to curb hospital acquired infections. I also manufacture the antimicrobial CopperPen for health care workers.

Home:
   With my wife Catherine and son Kevin, I live in town, near the University. Favored outdoor activities are scuba diving and mushroom hunting. When the weather is adverse (which it is rather often in this part of the world), the emphasis is on good food and wine. I also developed a special interest in bamboo and conducted a world-wide survey on the flowering of bamboo.

Some of my Hot Links

	NCBI  My favored biocomputing site.  PubMed  The best public site for literature retrieval that I know.  Genetic Diseases  All known genetic disease genes and disease descriptions.
	SBB Timetable  Find a train from A to B in Switzerland. Live Ship Maps  Follow any vessel at sea in real-time.
	Stalking the misterious microbe  A fun site with experiments for kids.  Gen-ABC  Einführung in Gene und Molekularbiologie für Jugendliche.
	Ernährung und Gesundheit kontrovers.  Brilliant site for infos on nutrition. EPICURIOUS: FOOD, DRINK, COOKING  ...and much more.
	Robert Parker's Homepage  A starting point for wine aficionados.  Wine Searcher Find wines and their prices around the world.
	Build a solar cell yourself. Kit and instructions to build a Grätzel cell. Haidinger's brush. Learn how to see polarized light with the naked eye.
	SwissWebCams  Find webcams accross Switzerland AfriCam See African wild animals life. Eumesat monitors weather, climate, and environment.
	Internet Hoaxes  Look here before you take those virus scares seriously! Doodle Find a date for your meeting with this easy online tool. Easter Egg Archive Find hidden programs, errors, gags, and other funny stuff.

Live Ships
   I invested some money in the container ship "MSC Madeira". This is a fun investment since you can see your money at work. The radar of a modern ship continuously sends data on the identity, position, speed and course. This so-called AIS was developed to increase the safety of ship traffic, but it also allows to track ships by land-based AIS receivers. By the MMSI code 248982000, it is located by marinetraffic.com and the ship can be followed in real-time. Note that the ship is not always within reach of a land-based AIS receiver. Javascript must be enabled for this link.