Rapid tests effectively broke Covid-19 infection chains in spring 2021. This is shown by a model developed by researchers of the ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy Cluster of Excellence of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, the Collaborative Research Center Transregio 224 EPoS of the Universities of Bonn and Mannheim, and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). According to the results of this simulation model, antigen testing significantly reduced spring Covid-19 numbers, while vaccinations played a minor role. The study was published in advance as an "ECONtribute Discussion Paper."

Six months ago, astronomers at the University of Bonn reported the discovery of an extremely long intergalactic gas filament with the X-ray telescope eROSITA. In a new study, they have now focused on an interesting structure in the filament, the northern clump. Their new observational data prove that this is a cluster of galaxies with a black hole at its center. The gas filament is therefore a galactic matter highway: The northern clump is moving along it towards two more giant galaxy clusters and will eventually merge with them. The paper will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, along with other papers published on the occasion of the first eROSITA data release.

How does one deal with the past, especially with the issues of slavery and colonization and their legacies? The tensions that this question can trigger among different groups of actors became visible last year in the global "Black Lives Matter" movement resulting in the toppling of statues and monuments. A workshop hosted by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn will approach the topic from an interdisciplinary and European perspective from June 30 to July 2. During the conference, not only international scholars but also museum experts and activists will talk.

Mythological nymphs reincarnate as a group of corn smut proteins to launch a battle on maize immunity. One of these proteins appears to stand out among its sister Pleiades, much like its namesake character in Greek mythology. This is shown by a recent study led by the GMI – Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in which the University of Bonn was also involved. The results are published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

The nucleus is much more than a storage compartment for chromosomes: It also contains the complex machinery that produces transcripts of the genes that are currently needed and releases them into the cell body. Some of the proteins involved herein are not evenly distributed in the nucleus, but cluster at specific sites. A study by the universities of Würzburg, Heidelberg and Bonn with the help of Evotec SE at the Martinsried site now shows how these "flash mobs" are regulated. In the long term, the results could also yield new therapeutic approaches for spinal muscular atrophy. They are published in the journal Cell Reports.

Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Bonn have examined the way in which SARS-CoV-2 reprograms the metabolism of the host cell in order to gain an overall advantage. According to their report in Nature Communications, the researchers were able to identify four substances which inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in the host cell: spermine and spermidine, substances naturally found in the body; MK-2206, an experimental cancer drug; and niclosamide, a tapeworm drug. Charité is currently conducting a trial to determine whether niclosamide is also effective against COVID-19 in humans.

The University of Bonn is inviting the graduating class of 2020/21 to a "Unifest" again this year - in a new format due to the pandemic. The University of Excellence is breaking new ground with its Unifest, which holds digital offerings as well as a "Graduation Walk" around the Hofgartenwiese park for the future alumni.

The Magna Charta Observatory in Bologna has accepted the University of Bonn as a new signatory of the Magna Charta Universitatum. Due to the ongoing pandemic, a digital launch ceremony for the release of the new Magna Charta has now taken place.