Events & Opportunities

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News

Gentle nudges for increased animal welfare

Gentle purchase incentives can lead customers to choose groceries with higher animal husbandry standards more often. A recent study at the University of Bonn at least suggests this. The researchers used two different animal welfare label posters as “nudges.” Each poster itself changed the consumer behavior of participants shopping in a virtual supermarket. The share of products with higher animal welfare standards in the shopping cart was highest when both posters were combined. Further studies have yet to clarify the extent to which the results can be transferred to real shopping situations. The study has been published in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.

University of Bonn Secures Three Proof of Concept Grants

Three University of Bonn researchers have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Neuroscientist Professor Dominik Bach, chemist Assistant Professor Ala Bunescu and radiologist Professor Philipp Vollmuth (from the University Hospital Bonn) are each receiving €150,000 over a period of 18 months. This program helps researchers to take findings from their work and turn them into commercial products or services.

I want everything right now – or maybe later?

Splashing out – or saving for a big holiday? Relaxing on the couch – or working out? Polishing off a whole bar of chocolate – or leaving some for later? Decisions such as these are not easy to make because the urge for immediate gratification has to take a back seat to a longer-term desire. People’s behavior is highly individual here, and there also appear to be differences between cultures. To better understand these types of decisions, psychologists from the University of Bonn are working with researchers in 77 countries to conduct an unusually large online study: Around 15,000 people are set to be surveyed. Interested adults can take part until August 18, 2026: https://www.soscisurvey.de/tricc-project/

Focus on the Guardians of the Antibody Response

For the immune system to effectively combat pathogens, antibody responses must be precisely controlled. So-called follicular regulatory T cells (Tfr cells) play a key role in this process by limiting excessive immune responses and helping to maintain immune tolerance. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now developed a robust laboratory method that allows Tfr cells to be generated from precursor cells and studied in a targeted manner. The results were recently published in the journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology.

Young People Explore the Agriculture of the Future through Hands-On Research

How can we feed a growing global population? And what role are new technologies playing in making food systems sustainable? The PhenoRob Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn welcomed a class of schoolchildren to Klein-Altendorf Campus to show them some innovative approaches being taken in the world of agriculture. The young people spent a morning gaining an insight into current research projects and learning how robots, drones and digital technologies are transforming the agricultural sector.

When the map needs an update

Every time we move through a familiar environment, the hippocampus consults an internal map, a detailed spatial representation that is built up through repeated experience. But what happens when something unexpected occurs on a well-known route? Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn were able to demonstrate in a mouse model that the brain does not redraw its maps from scratch. Instead, it annotates them: preserving the underlying spatial layout while overlaying new information on top of the existing map. Their findings have now been published in the journal PNAS.

Andreas Pinkwart Appointed Senior Professor for Strategic Entrepreneurship at the University of Bonn

Professor Andreas Pinkwart is to take on a new Senior Professorship for Strategic Entrepreneurship at the University of Bonn with effect from October 1, 2026, a role that will see him support the Rectorate with the continued development of its strategic transfer concept. The University of Excellence is thus gaining the services of one of the most distinguished individuals straddling the boundaries between research, innovation, entrepreneurship and politics.