Albert Einstein (1879-1955), who was born German and died American, has just been named the most significant Swiss of all times according to a survey conducted by the German speaking newspaper SonntagsZeitung.

swissinfo spoke to four Swiss teenagers about their fears, anxieties and hopes for Switzerland and the world at large. Their interest in politics has led them to take part in the annual youth session of the Swiss parliament.

A study by Lausanne University finds that chronically ill young people tend more to drug and drink abuse than their healthy peers. The study has been published in the United States-based Pediatrics medical journal.

An Algerian immigrant has invented a game to ease people through Switzerland's naturalisation process by testing their civic knowledge. The first French copies have sold out already and German, English, Italian and Romansh editions are also planned.

Swiss teacher Louis Palmer has returned home ecstatic after an 18-month tour through 38 countries in a taxi run on solar power. Palmer said educating the public about solar energy was the main goal of his journey.

The Swiss Education Server has a new English rubric: "International" informs Swiss school teachers on international education news and events, possibilities for school partnerships as well as European and international education and ICT projects.

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has given Switzerland very low marks for its efforts to support families with young children. Switzerland only fulfilled the minimum requirements in three of ten indicators included in the Unicef report.

Work permit restrictions will ease in 2009 for foreign students wishing to stay in Switzerland after completing their studies in the country. Students from outside the EU and the EFTA will now be able to apply for residency on an economic basis.

The Swiss Social Report 2008, the third of its kind but the first to compare Switzerland with other countries, revealed that family background is often key in education, with hurdles especially high for those of a lower socio-economic status.

All in all Switzerland scored well in the PISA assessment of 2006. The average of the 15 year olds in their performance in natural sciences amounts to 512 points and in reading to 499 points - which is more than the average in OECD countries.

The Basel-Karlsruhe Forum taking place between January 30 and February 2nd in Basle, is a meeting point of global reach for professionals in educational, science and social television, including a session, a contest, workshops and screenings.

The Federal Statistics Office released a report that studied nearly 1 million Swiss families with children to learn how much parents work between household and employment. Parents with young children and professions work as much as 75 hours a week.

The entire photo archives of the renowned American LIFE magazine, from the 1850s until today, are now available on Google. Add "source:life" to any Google image search and search only the LIFE photo archive.

European Schoolnet is undertaking a major study on the use of games in schools in Europe. Swiss teachers are also invited to participate in this study - whether they use games or not. Survey open until end of November 2008.

An increasing number of youngsters in canton Geneva are carrying knives to protect themselves, according to the author of a study into knives and adolescents. It cannot be excluded that this will take the same direction as in countries like Britain.

Swissworld.org has published a DVD containing 75 video clips on folk customs in Switzerland, religious or non-religious feasts, celebrated at different seasons and in very different ways in the different regions.

Thousands of children on 13th November accompanied their parents to work to mark Switzerland's national Daughters' Day. The day aims to promote equality in the workplace by giving girls a chance to learn more about the variety of career choices.

Fearing strung out students and disorder in the classroom certain schools in Switzerland have placed restrictions or outright prohibitions on energy drinks. There have even been calls on authorities around the country to ban the fizzy drinks.

Disgruntled secondary school teachers in Vaud went on strike, to protest at new public sector pay scales that cantonal authorities want to introduce - the teachers maintain that the new system would cut their pay and amount to a demotion.

Children in Switzerland are most active at the age of 12, according to a study by the Federal Sport Office. Around half of children surveyed - age 10 to 14 - said they partook in more than the compulsory three hours of weekly school sport.

More children are to be attracted into science and engineering with a new package of measures, including project days to rouse the interest of teachers and pupils and a new science and technology website aimed at children aged 12-16.

Fearing strung out students and disorder in the classroom, certain schools in Switzerland have placed restrictions or outright prohibitions on energy drinks. A politician has called on authorities around the country to ban the fizzy drinks.

The Centre for Human Rights Education ZMRB at the University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland - Lucerne supports schools in their efforts to include human rights education in the curriculum and provides appropriate teaching materials.

Zurich University researchers have studied more than a million words used by Barack Obama and John McCain. This is the first time a team has used computer technology to study how words are packaged to convey political messages.

The Swiss Child Protection Association has called for the age of consent in Switzerland to be raised from 16 to 18 in the case of prostitutes, as Teenage girls are increasingly turning to prostitution to be able to afford expensive designer goods.

Microsoft`s You Make IT Smart campaign shows Swiss students how to be innovative and creative with computer science. Teachers of informatics can win one of the 40 LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT for their class by submitting to us their "winning idea".

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says a plan to abolish the statute of limitations for paedophile crimes will not protect children from abuse as a pressure groups initiative leads to believe. A nationwide vote will take place on November 30.

Up to 70,000 people in Switzerland could be addicted to the Internet and another 110,000 are at risk of developing a fixation, a study has found. A person considered a cyber addict uses the Internet on average 35 hours a week outside of work hours.