The Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the University of Bonn, and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and an Agreement on Student Exchange. The agreements provide the framework for long-term cooperation in research, teaching, and scientific exchange at the interface of AI-supported life sciences, bioinformatics, chemical informatics, data science, and materials science. The cooperation is an example of targeted international research that goes far beyond symbolic collaboration.

The find is spectacular: an unusually old inscription dating back around 5,000 years in the southwest of the Sinai Peninsula shows in a terrifying manner how the Egyptians colonized the Sinai and subjugated the inhabitants. The scene prominently depicted on a clearly visible rock shows the Egyptians’ dominance in the form of a large man with his arms raised and a Sinaite with an arrow in his chest kneeling in front of him. Mustafa Nour El-Din from the Aswan Inspectorate at the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities discovered the unusual inscription in Wadi Khamila. Egyptologist Prof. Dr. Ludwig Morenz from the University of Bonn interpreted the scene: It announces the Egyptians’ colonial claim 5,000 years ago.

The origin, development, and significance of soft power and charismatic leadership in German-American relations are the subject of the latest publication by Bonn-based political scientist Hendrik W. Ohnesorge. This is his postdoctoral thesis, in which Ohnesorge examines over five centuries of transatlantic relations up to these present days.

Junior-Professor Daqing Wang from the University of Bonn has received a Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for his “MinCryo” project. With the grant of €150,000 over one year, the physicist will continue to prepare his research results for practical applications in industry. The technical solution developed by him and his team facilitates a wider and more resource-efficient access to cryogenic – extremely cold - optical imaging that combines microscopes with extremely cold temperatures.

A short-term oat-based diet appears to be surprisingly effective at reducing the cholesterol level. This is indicated by a trial by the University of Bonn, which has now been published in the journal Nature Communications. The participants suffered from a metabolic syndrome – a combination of high body weight, high blood pressure, and elevated blood glucose and blood lipid levels. They consumed a calorie-reduced diet, consisting almost exclusively of oatmeal, for two days. Their cholesterol levels then improved significantly compared to a control group. Even after six weeks, this effect remained stable. The diet apparently influenced the composition of microorganisms in the gut. The metabolic products, produced by the microbiome, appear to contribute significantly to the positive effects of oats.

Professor Shin-ichi Ohta from the University of Osaka in Japan has scooped a research prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He had been put forward for the €80,000 award by Professor Karl-Theodor Sturm from the Institute for Applied Mathematics and Hausdorff Center for Mathematics, one of the Clusters of Excellence at the University of Bonn. The two researchers will now be stepping up their collaboration at the interface between geometry and probability.

The University of Bonn has opened its own supermarket, in which pineapples, canned tomatoes, and toast are neatly lined up on black shelves. The space measuring 55 square meters (approx. 600 square feet) has pretty much everything you’d need in everyday life. The ‘clientele’, however, is very special: they are subjects participating in scientific studies. Here, researchers from the fields of food and resource economics, psychology, economics, and behavioral science are investigating how health- and sustainability-oriented purchases can be encouraged, for example, through product placement and other incentives. Robots are also demonstrating their capabilities here.

Researchers at the University of Bonn have proven yet again that, besides doing their day job, they also know how to party. On Monday evening, the sold-out Haus der Springmaus theater in the city’s Endenich district was transformed into a hotbed of academic mirth. Entitled “The Jeckcellence Initiative” (referencing the Bonner Jecken, or “Fools,” who play a key part in the city’s Carnival), the 21st edition of the Forschologicum offered a pun-packed mix of scientific excellence and Rhineland Carnival.