How neurons regulate their excitability autonomously

Nerve cells can regulate their sensitivity to incoming signals autonomously. A new study led by the University of Bonn has now discovered a mechanism that does just that. The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior were involved in the work. The results have now been published in the journal Cell Reports. 

Construction work on Rotation Building progresses

The cranes are currently turning on the Poppelsdorf campus of the University of Bonn. In the southern corner of the largest University development area close to the city center, a new building, the "Rotation Building," is rising to make room for University institutes that have to leave their previous premises due to renovation work. The client is Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb (BLB) NRW.

Sustainability more important for young people than high wages

Young people would accept a lower salary for a job in a sustainable or socially oriented company. This is what a team led by Thomas Dohmen, professor at the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute at the University of Bonn, has discovered.

Justus von Liebig-Award for World Nutrition to Louise O. Fresco

For outstanding achievements in the fight against hunger and rural poverty, the Foundation fiat panis has awarded the Justus von Liebig-Award for World Nutrition for the seventh time. This year it goes to the Dutch agricultural and nutrition expert Prof. Dr. Louise O. Fresco. The award ceremony took place at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn. Fresco gave a lecture on "Where Are We in Understanding World Hunger" as part of the Distinguished Lectures Series of the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Sustainable Futures" at the University of Bonn.

A Truly Special Occasion

Following a two-year enforced hiatus due to COVID-19, the Universitätsgesellschaft Bonn’s traditional winter soirée returned this year. Held in the main auditorium in the University Main Building, it included a ceremony at which the UGB prizes were presented in recognition of exceptional doctoral theses and student engagement.

New function of the CRISPR gene scissors discovered

For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine. This new tool of molecular biology has its origins in an ancient bacterial immune system. It protects bacteria from attack by so-called phages, i. e. viruses that infect bacteria. Researchers from the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), in cooperation with the partner University of St Andrews in Scotland and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Hamburg, have now discovered a new function of the gene scissors. The study was published in the scientific journal "Nature".

Next round for Collaborative Research Center in Immunology

Success for a research alliance of the University of Bonn, the Technical University of Dresden and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU): The Collaborative Research Center (SFB)/Transregio 237 "Nucleic Acid Immunity" has convinced with its research work of the past four years. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding it for another period with around ten million euros. As planned, the function of spokesperson will be transferred from Prof. Dr. Gunther Hartmann of the University of Bonn to Prof. Dr. Veit Hornung of the LMU.

What does artificial intelligence do to us?

Artificial intelligence is on everyone's lips. But what does AI do to us and our society? How does it change our view of humanity? How can AI applications be steered in an ethically desirable direction? In the project "Desirable Digitalization" of the Center for Science and Thought at the University of Bonn and the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, which is funded by Stiftung Mercator, researchers take a look at the challenges of AI for society as a whole. Participants discussed these topics at the kickoff in Bonn. 

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