The latest rankings issued by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands have again shown that the University of Bonn is a leading scientific-academic institution and a significant player in international research.

Fossil skeletons have long fascinated researchers as a window to prehistory. But so far, little is known about details of sexual development in extinct creatures. An international team of researchers from China, Germany and Japan, with significant participation from the University of Bonn, reports on the puberty of Keichousaurus in the journal Current Biology. This is a small marine viviparous reptile that lived about 240 million years ago in what is now China.

Assistant Professor Dr. Vera Traub from the Institute for Discrete Mathematics at the University of Bonn is joining nine other researchers in being awarded the €200,000 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has accepted mathematician Dr. Illia Karabash from the University of Bonn onto its Heisenberg Programme. This provides five years’ worth of funding that enables researchers to complete high-quality projects and thus further increase their academic and scientific reputation. Karabash’s research is geared toward the mathematical optimization of optical resonators, a key component in quantum computing. 

Nearly 300 guests attended the opening event of the “An Invitation from the University of Excellence Bonn” series on June 14, 2023 and were treated to an informative and wide-reaching evening. Alongside talks about Argelander’s research and its enduring importance, the impact of his work was also explored through artistic means. By the time the event concluded, one thing was clear: there’s plenty of call for another such event.

Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) are awarded to outstanding researchers and are worth millions of euros in funding. Assistant Professor Yongguo Li from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Bonn has now obtained a much-sought-after ERC Starting Grant. The researcher is investigating how the lipid metabolism can be influenced so as to “burn” as many calories as possible, thus opening up potential new ways to treat obesity and diabetes.

Ten doctoral students from the Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn have embarked on a research trip to the Japanese capital Tokyo and the island of Hokkaido. They will be tackling some urgent questions relating to the marine environment, agriculture and resource management at the University of Tokyo over the next eight days. The group has a decidedly international makeup, with the doctoral students from the ZEF hailing from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Namibia, Nigeria, Sweden, the Philippines, Tanzania and the US. They will be writing a blog about their journey and their research activities in the field, which they will be carrying out together with a group of ten researchers from the University of Tokyo and its International Program in Agricultural Development Studies (IPADS). 

Containing little fat but lots of protein, mushrooms are also rich in beta-glucans and soluble dietary fiber. They are believed to bring health benefits and can help us feel more full after eating, qualities that could inform a strategy for people who are severely overweight, or obese. Nutritionists from the University of Bonn now want to investigate this idea in more detail and are inviting overweight adults to take part in their trial.