People who strongly identify with their Covid vaccine status discriminate more strongly against the respective other group. This is shown by a study conducted by the team around Luca Henkel, member of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute at the University of Bonn, with the participation of the Universities of Erfurt and Vienna and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine Hamburg. The study was published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

Prof. Lucy O'Brien from University College London receives a research award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Prof. Dr. Markus Gabriel from the Center for Science and Thought at the University of Bonn nominated the scientist for the award, which is endowed with 60,000 euros. Now both researchers are intensifying their collaboration. The scientist conducts research on the nature of self-consciousness and self-knowledge.

For 35 years now, the Erasmus+ Programme has been helping students achieve their goal of studying abroad. In early summer, the EU Commission allowed universities to draw on unused funds originally intended for German students’ international mobility in order to extend their support to Ukrainian students and university staff in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The University of Bonn made use of this option and advertised its available places for students from Ukraine in June 2022.

Inflammatory reactions in the skin can reduce damage from UV radiation or infections, but can also result in painful symptoms such as sunburn. A recent study at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn has now identified a molecular control which integrates these stress signals. The results have been published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

The prestigious US News & World Report rankings which assesses a range of subject areas, reached a favorable verdict on the University of Bonn. The University’s performance in six of the subjects considered was assessed as ranking amongst the top five universities in Germany, whilst it made the top ten in 14 other areas. The subjects mathematics, economics and nutrition and food sciences were especially successful.

UV light makes it possible to see intricate structures of fossils that are barely visible in normal daylight. This method has often been used on the fossilised seashells from the Earth’s current geological era to reveal patterns of colour that had long since faded away. Now, research by a scientist from the University of Göttingen shows that fluorescent colour patterns can even be found in shells that are around 240 million years old, from the Earth's Mesozoic Era. This makes them the oldest fluorescent colour patterns found so far. The results have been published in the journal Palaeontology. 

Several days ago, a member of our University and of the Faculty of Law and Economics has been accused of severe misconduct in social media. Currently, we have no hard evidence concerning the accusations. The facts are currently being examined.

An international team of astrophysicists has made a puzzling discovery while analyzing certain star clusters. The University of Bonn played a major role in the study. The finding challenges Newton's laws of gravity, the researchers write in their publication. Instead, the observations are consistent with the predictions of an alternative theory of gravity. However, this is controversial among experts. The results have now been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.