Vice Rectorate for Sustainability Prof. Dr. Annette Scheersoi celebrated the latest accomplishment: ‘‘Our university’s engagement for fair trade has evolved spectacularly in the past two years. And this engagement has its origins in the midst of the university! The certification as a ‘‘Fairtrade University‘‘ was driven by students in 2020 and we’re excited that students and employees are continuing to determine the path of the Fair University of Bonn.‘‘

"Miniature shredders" are at work in each cell, disassembling and recycling cell components that are defective or no longer required. The exact structure of these shredders differs from cell type to cell type, a study by the University of Bonn now shows. For example, cancer cells have a special variant that can supply them particularly effectively with building blocks for their energy metabolism. The results were published online in advance. The final version has now been published in the journal "Molecular & Cellular Proteomics."

It’s that time again! On Saturday, July 8, 2023, the graduating class of 2022/23 will celebrate the successful completion of their studies at the Unifest. Online registration for the celebration is now open. We ask that all attendees register by June 2, 2023. 

The desert in southern Egypt is filled with hundreds of petroglyphs and inscriptions dating from the Neolithic to the Arab period. The oldest date from the fifth millennium B.C., and few have been studied. Egyptologists at the University of Bonn and Aswan University now want to systematically record the rock paintings and document them in a database. Among them, a rock painting more than 5,000 years old depicting a boat being pulled by 25 men on a rope stands out in particular. 

Pregnant women's attitudes and mindsets can influence the course of childbirth. This is what psychologists at the University of Bonn established in a longitudinal study with around 300 participants. Women who see childbirth as a natural process are less likely to need pain medication or a caesarean section. The results are now published in the “European Journal of Social Psychology.”

Dr. rer. nat. Lorenzo Bonaguro from the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn is the winner of the inaugural Renate and Karlheinz Schmidt Prize for Basic Research in the Natural Sciences. The prize, which recognizes an outstanding publication in the field of biochemistry at the University of Bonn, is awarded in cooperation with the University of Bonn Foundation and is endowed with 10,000 euros. 

The enzyme TBK1 is an important component of the innate immune system that plays a critical role in the defense against viruses. Upon mutation-induced loss of TBK1 function, patients show an increased susceptibility to viral infections. Strikingly, if TBK1 is not expressed at all, this clinical effect is not seen. The mechanism behind this supposed discrepancy has now been elucidated by researchers led by Prof. Martin Schlee from the University Hospital Bonn and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Whether people invest in stocks depends on what they think about stockholders. This is what a team led by Luca Henkel, a member of the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence: Markets & Public Policy at the University of Bonn, found out. The study has been published as an ECONtribute Discussion Paper.