Julia Keuer and Simon Wiener, two comparative literature students at the University of Bonn, organized the 15th Comparative Literature Student Congress (Studierendenkongress der Komparatistik, or SKK)—the largest German-speaking conference for students of comparative literature—together with a team of fellow students. Entitled “Literatur und Grenzen” (“Literature and Borders/Boundaries”), it brought nearly 30 speakers and some 100 other participants together. In an interview and podcast, the pair discuss their challenges and successes—and why they would go through all the trouble all over again. 

Loads of written exams, deadlines for handing in term papers, not enough time—for many students, things can quickly become too much. There is unlikely to be anybody who knows how to learn more effectively and divide up their time better as does Kathrin Herrmann from the Central Study Advisory and Counseling Service at the University of Bonn. In her workshop, entitled “Learning Strategies and More,” she tells students how they can “learn to learn” and what strategies are out there.

For immune cells, the actin cytoskeleton is more than a structural scaffold. Immune cells can migrate to sites of infection or form precise, short-lived contacts with other cells, by constantly reshaping their actin cytoskeleton. Genetic errors in the molecular machinery controlling actin dynamics lead to impaired immunity, and often to autoimmunity and chronic inflammation. Prof. Kaan Boztug, recently appointed Clinical Director of Pediatric Immunology and Rheumatology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and member of the ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence, has specialized in the characterization of inborn errors in immunity. An overview of the current state of research on immune-related actinopathies, prepared in cooperation with Loïc Dupré of the Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases, Toulouse, and Irinka Castanon, senior researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Boztug, has now been published in Nature Reviews Immunology. 

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods cause devastating damage around the world. Space-based Earth observation, communication, and navigation systems can provide important assistance in warning of and managing disasters. Global capacity building for such peaceful uses of space technology should continue to advance. To this end, the University of Bonn, the International Peace Alliance (IPA Space) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) have signed a partnership agreement for the next four years.

A surprising discovery has been made behind an inconspicuous hole in a wall at the Academic Museum of Art in Bonn: a roughly 200-year-old cornerstone dating back to the building’s construction. A lead plate concealed inside tells of the historic building’s origins.

Bonn Research Alliance (BORA) was initiated by the University of Bonn in 2018 to highlight and structurally strengthen its long-standing cooperation with numerous non-university research institutions in Bonn. The alliance currently comprises twelve non-university institutions in the region that belong to the four major national research communities: Fraunhofer, Helmholtz, Leibniz, and Max Planck, the regional Johannes Rau Research Community, and the United Nations University (UNU)

People with temporal lobe epilepsy in particular often wander around aimlessly and unconsciously after a seizure. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have identified a neurobiological mechanism that could be responsible for this so-called post-ictal wandering and potentially other postictal symptoms. According to their hypothesis, epileptic seizures are not directly responsible for post-ictal symptoms, but rather seizure-associated depolarization waves, also known as spreading depolarization (SD). The results of the studies have now been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The “Versäumte Bilder” (“Missed Pictures”) exhibition opened in Berlin with a special greeting from former Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel at the vernissage. Curated by science photographer Gesine Born, the exhibition is of AI-generated images of female scientists whose achievements went largely overlooked during their in lifetime. Six of the images shown are from the related University of Bonn exhibition “Bring the Portr[AI]ts!”, which served as inspiration for the project. These and eight other AI portraits will be on display at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) in both Bonn and Berlin until mid-October.