Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Regensburg have elucidated the structure of a central cellular inflammatory switch. Their work shows which site of the giant protein called NLRP3 inhibitors can bind to. This opens the way to develop new pharmaceuticals that could target inflammatory diseases such as gout, type 2 diabetes or even Alzheimer's disease. The results are published in the journal Nature.
The flags in front of the University of Bonn’s main building have been lowered to half-staff today to mark the memorial service being held at the Heidelberg University. The universities that make up the German U15 alliance—of which the University of Bonn is also a member—are today united in grief and solidarity with Heidelberg University and are flying their flags at half-staff as a sign of their sympathy.
In line with the University of Bonn's strategic goal of expanding networks, a cooperation agreement between two traditional and outstanding European libraries is now taking shape after long preparation. Namely the Bonn University and State Library (ULB) and the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow.
Mathematics and life sciences - Sefah Frimpong is fascinated by this connection. The master's graduate in applied mathematics will begin his doctoral work on infectious diseases in populations at the beginning of this year. Prior to that, the 26-year-old Ghanaian paid a visit to the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) Cluster of Excellence - as the first participant in the so-called YAM program. The visitor program, which lasts several months, enables talented and motivated African students and graduates to get to know the mathematical community at the University of Bonn. In an interview, Sefah Frimpong talks about his stay in Bonn and his plans for the future.
According to a team of plant researchers, mitochondria provide unexpected help for cells in a crisis by respiring away harmful substances. The current study produced by the Institute of Biology and Biotechnology of Plants (IBBP) at the University of Münster and the Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES) at the University of Bonn has been published in the journal Plant Cell.
Investors often decide how to invest based on past stock prices. In fact, however, future and past returns do not depend on each other. If investors are made aware of this error, they change their investment behavior. This is shown in a study by the team of economist Prof. Dr. Christine Laudenbach, member of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy at the University of Bonn. The study was published in advance as an "ECONtribute Discussion Paper".
University of Bonn physicist Rudolf Clausius (1822-1888), famous for postulating the second law of thermodynamics and introducing the concept of entropy—a vital theorem of the natural sciences—was born in January 200 years ago. Surprisingly little is known about the life of this extraordinarily talented scientist, comparable in stature to Helmholtz, despite his great achievements in the field of physics, and the fact that he remained fully active in research on up into his later years. The last installment of the lecture series entitled “The Motive Force of Heat” was devoted to shedding more light on his research work for the lay public in an experiential way.
Smartphones, tablets and wearables that measure step counts or calorie consumption, for example, have become an integral part of many people's everyday lives. All these devices are part of the Internet of Things - a socio-technological reality that is increasingly becoming the focus of legislation. In a new project, researchers from the Universities of Bonn, Osnabrück, Stirling and Warwick (both UK) investigate how consumers can be better protected when using smart devices. The project, which has been described by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as "world leading", is scheduled to run for three years and has a total funding volume of around 650,000 euros.