Three star clusters – all with the same origin?
Orion Nebula, Pleiades and Hyades: The latest research results indicate that these famous star clusters represent the different phases of life of one and the same star system. A team of astrophysicists at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences in Zanjan, Iran, and the University of Bonn have found evidence that these three star systems are not just located in roughly the same region of space but also developed in the same way. These results were recently published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.”
Franco-German Cooperation
Together with Sorbonne University, the University of Bonn is set to receive increased funding from the Franco-German University (FGU). For the first time, the FGU will be supporting the bi-national master’s degree program in German-French Studies from the 2025/26 academic year alongside the bachelor’s degree program of the same name, which it has been funding for several years now.
Sustainable Building in the Service of Research
The University of Bonn is continuing to invest in sustainable infrastructure and is currently constructing a new Sample and Vegetation Center for the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional, and Engineering Sciences. The newbuild will meet the most stringent environmental standards and thus serve as a role model for construction that is focused on the future.
Nightshade plants as a basis for medications
These plants have potential: physalis, thorn apple and Withania somnifera, or so-called winter cherry, belong to the nightshade family. The three hold a special position within this family: they produce steroids called withanolides, which have been used in traditional herbal medicine for centuries. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Jakob Franke of Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) and Prof. Dr. Boas Pucker of the University of Bonn has now managed to decode how the steroids form in these plants. The findings could be used to develop new medications – for example, to treat cancer. The project, which runs until 2026, has received approximately 511,000 euros in funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Three new members appointed to the University Council
The University Council has three new members, as at today’s meeting Professor Hermann Parzinger, Dr. Nora Kalbarczyk and Dr. Hubertus Hille were inducted into office by Regierungsrätin Elena Ruhnke representing the Ministry of Culture and Science of NRW, who handed over their certificates of appointment by the University of Bonn.
Students from Belgium, Canada, Mexico, Türkiye and the USA win the 12th edition of Beamline for Schools
Beamline for Schools (BL4S) is a physics competition that was initiated by CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, and is open to secondary school pupils from all around the world. Participants are invited to submit a proposal for a physics experiment to be undertaken at the beamline of a particle accelerator, either at CERN or at one of the partner institutes: DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg, Germany) and ELSA (Elektronen-Stretcher-Anlage of the University of Bonn, Germany). In 2025, a record number of five winning teams have been chosen, based on both the scientific merit of their proposals and the communication merit of their submission video.