B-cell depletion therapies, in which B cells of the immune system, which may drive disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS), are temporarily removed, have contributed significantly to improved treatment for patients in recent years. Researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn (UKB), the Universities of Bonn, Basel, Toronto, and Yale, along with their collaborators, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism through which B-cell depletion therapies contribute to a better disease course in patients with MS. Surprisingly, the treatment appears to exert part of its beneficial effect by mobilizing regulatory immune cells that naturally reside in the gut. This study has now been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Factors such as erosion, dehydration and compaction of the soil are jeopardizing food supplies for broad swathes of the world’s population according to a recent study by the University of Bonn, the University of Minnesota, the University of Basel and Hamburg University of Technology. If human-made soil degradation were to be reversed by 10 percent, the Earth’s arable land could feed an extra 70 million or so people in purely mathematical terms. The findings have now been published in the journal “Nature Food.”

A team from the University of Bonn and the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center (FZB) has discovered a previously unknown mechanism of action for a synthetic peptide that mitigates excessive inflammatory responses in allergic asthma. This mechanism specifically inhibits a key inflammatory switch in the immune system and opens up new avenues for treating chronic inflammatory diseases. The findings have now been published in the journal Advanced Science.

A new degree program in Protection Against Sexualized Violence and Abuse of Power in Organizations is to be taught from the 2026/27 winter semester onward. The innovative offering was developed by the University of Bonn together with the German Sport University Cologne (GSU), the University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschule für Polizei und öffentliche Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen, HSPV) and the Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia (Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen, katho).

Interferon alpha is an inflammatory mediator that can cause Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease. This is revealed in a recent study carried out by the University Hospital Bonn together with the University of Bonn, the University of Edinburgh and Newcastle University. Their findings, which have been published in the journal “Lancet Rheumatology,” could make it easier in the medium term to develop drugs to fight this chronic condition.

People with Lynch syndrome, the most common hereditary predisposition to colorectal cancer, are at a significantly increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. Many affected individuals therefore undergo a colonoscopy every one to two years, starting in young adulthood. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with the University of Leipzig and Amsterdam UMC, investigated whether artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the detection of precancerous lesions in these high-risk patients. The result: In specialized centers, the additional AI support did not provide any significant benefit. The findings have now been published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.