Artificial intelligence (AI) can be an important tool for sustainable development to minimize energy usage in large factories or to predict natural disasters before they happen. However, these uses can also have a social and ethical downside. For example, training and tuning AI models produces carbon emissions that harm the environment. Or there are power asymmetries between people when not everyone gets access to the technology. At the world's first conference on the sustainability of artificial intelligence, researchers will discuss environmental, social and economic costs of designing, developing, and using AI from June 15 to 17. The virtual conference is launched by AI ethicist Prof. Aimee van Wynsberghe, Humboldt Professor at the University of Bonn. The conference is supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Institute for Science and Ethics at the University of Bonn.
The latest edition of the widely respected “Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021” recognized the University of Bonn as Germany's top-ranking university for Mathematics and Economics, whose Agricultural Sciences and Physics departments furthermore rank third nationwide. And many other Bonn departments are following close behind.
Communities benefit from sharing knowledge and experience among their members. Following a similar principle - called “swarm learning” - an international research team has trained artificial intelligence algorithms to detect blood cancer, lung diseases and COVID-19 in data stored in a decentralized fashion. This approach has advantage over conventional methods since it inherently provides privacy preservation technologies, which facilitates cross-site analysis of scientific data. Swarm learning could thus significantly promote and accelerate collaboration and information exchange in research, especially in the field of medicine. Experts from the DZNE, the University of Bonn, the information technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and other research institutions report on this in the scientific journal “Nature”.
The mammalian brain is extraordinarily complex - it is estimated to consist of around 100 billion nerve cells. Each of these cells is linked via synapses to tens of thousands of other brain cells. How do the elements of such a complex network work together to produce behavior? How do the networks change as a result of disease? For eight years, scientists have been investigating these and other questions in the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1089 "Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease" at the University of Bonn. With great success: The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the interdisciplinary network for another four years. The requested funding amount is around 11.1 million euros. Partners are the caesar research center in the Max Planck Society and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn.
Genetic factors contribute significantly to the development of bipolar disorder. The probably largest analysis to date on the hereditary factors involved has now been published. More than 40,000 affected individuals and 370,000 controls were included in the study; some 320 researchers around the globe were involved. Lead partners for the project included the Icahn School of Medicine, New York, the University of Oslo and the University Hospital Bonn. The results not only provide new insights into the genetic basis of the disease, but also into possible risk factors in living conditions or behavior. They are published in the journal "Nature Genetics".
The University of Bonn invites you to Unifest 2021. This year, the University of Bonn is breaking new ground with its Unifest and is planning digital offerings as well as a Graduation Walk around the Hofgartenwiese.
Breast cancer diagnosis: Around 88 percent of patients survive the dangerous disease in the first five years. Work is important for getting back to normality. Researchers from the University of Bonn and the German Cancer Society investigated how satisfied former patients are with their occupational development over a period of five to six years since diagnosis. About half experienced at least one job change during the study period. Around ten percent of those affected even report involuntary changes. The researchers conclude that there is a need for long-term support measures for patients. The study is now published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.
Researchers at the University of Bonn and the research center caesar have succeeded in ultra-fast freezing proteins after a precisely defined period of time. They were able to follow structural changes on the microsecond time scale and with sub-nanometer precision. Owing to its high spatial and temporal resolution, the method allows tracking rapid structural changes in enzymes and nucleic acids. The results are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.