The University of Bonn's rowing teams once again proved their endurance and class at this year's EUREGA. At the traditional long-distance regatta on the Rhine - from Neuwied and from the Loreley to Bonn over a distance of 45 and 100 kilometers respectively - the boats from Bonn achieved excellent placings.

The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis feeds on oil, multiplying rapidly in the wake of oil spills, and thereby accelerating the elimination of the pollution, in many cases. It does this by producing an “organic dishwashing liquid” which it uses to attach itself to oil droplets. Researchers from the University of Bonn, RWTH Aachen University, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and research center Forschungszentrum Jülich have now discovered the mechanism by which this “organic dishwashing liquid” is synthesized. Published in the prominent international journal Nature Chemical Biology, the research findings could allow the breeding of more efficient strains of oil-degrading bacteria.

The “afterglow” of the universe is an important piece of evidence for the Big Bang. This background radiation also provides important answers to the question of how the first galaxies were able to form. Researchers at the Universities of Bonn, Prague and Nanjing calculate that the strength of this radiation has probably been overestimated up to now. If the results prove to be accurate, it would call into question the theoretical foundation of the standard model of cosmology. The results have now been published in the journal “Nuclear Physics B.”

Finding the best possible solution to complex problems with the help of mathematics, computer science and economics - that is the goal of Professor László Végh, who has been the University of Bonn's new Hertz Chair for Algorithms and Optimization since August 2024. Together with his transdisciplinary team, he develops efficient algorithms and expands our understanding of the limits of computability. The inaugural symposium on 25 April 2025 provided a broad insight into the various research areas - from game theory to the latest developments in the theory of optimization.

Technology is being pushed to its very limits. The upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN slated for the next few years will increase data transfer rates beyond what the current neutrino detector for the FASER experiment can cope with, requiring it to be replaced by a new kind of more powerful detector. This is a task that physicist Professor Matthias Schott from the University of Bonn will be tackling with the help of €1 million in Reinhart Koselleck funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Central administration of the University of Bonn has been in a process for several years now of progressively converting its vehicles into an e-mobility fleet. Three new electric vehicles have just been added to the fleet: an Opel Rocks-E micro car (with space for one plus cargo) and two ATX two-seater electric utility vehicles. These two vehicles by manufacturer Alkè are flexibly adaptable for any requirements, such as transporting garden tools, using a cage structure that goes on top of the cargo bed.

The global climate is in an imbalance. Potential "tipping elements " include the Greenland ice sheet, coral reefs, and the Amazon rainforest. Together they form a network that can collapse if just one individual component tips. Researchers from Bonn University Hospital (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now shed light on seemingly sudden and rare, often irreversible changes within a system, such as those that can be observed in the climate, the economy, social networks or even the human brain. They took a closer look at extreme events such as epileptic seizures. Their aim was to better understand the mechanisms underlying such changes in order to ultimately make predictions. The results of their work have now been published in the journal "Physical Review Research".

The University of Bonn is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of its members, Professor Bernhard Korte, who died last Saturday, April 26, aged 86.