Even when we think we are holding our gaze perfectly still, our eyes make tiny, involuntary movements. While these "fixational eye movements" might seem like they would blur our vision, new research reveals they actually help us see fine details more clearly. The results of the study have now been published in "PNAS".

How can nerve pathways in the brain be visualized to improve the planning of complex surgeries? A research team from the Lamarr Institute and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with the Translational Neuroimaging Group at the Departments of Neuroradiology and Epileptology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), has investigated an AI-powered method that makes these reconstructions more precise. The study, recently published in NeuroImage: Clinical, could ultimately help make neurosurgical procedures safer.

Having been certified for a third time in a row, the University of Bonn is entitled to call itself Fairtrade University for two more years. “Promoting fair trade is important to us at the University of Bonn. We are delighted that successes achieved and measures still in planning have been officially recognized and have become more visible through this award,” Professor Annette Scheersoi, Vice Rector for Sustainability, emphatically states. 

Nerve cells have amazing strategies to save energy and still perform the most important of their tasks. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn as well as the University Medical Center Göttingen found that the neuronal energy conservation program determines the location and number of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins, and differs depending on the length, longevity and other properties of the respective molecule. The work has now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn has conferred an honorary doctorate on the illustrious researcher Professor Sharon Lewin. The Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, Professor Lewin is also a Laureate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in Australia and collaborates with the University Hospital Bonn. She is being recognized for her exceptional research on the international stage and her groundbreaking work in the field of HIV research in particular.

Depression affects 280 million people worldwide. The mental illness has been proven to lead to changes in eating behavior. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Tübingen have discovered that although patients with depression generally have less appetite, they prefer carbohydrate-rich foods. The results have now been published in the journal "Psychological Medicine".

Scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn provide new evidence that preventing brain inflammation is a promising approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings, based on studies in cell culture, mice and tissue samples from patients, may contribute to the development of more effective therapies. They are published in the scientific journal “Immunity”. 

The University Council of the University of Bonn has a new chairman: The committee unanimously elected the Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation, Dr. Georg Schütte, to succeed Prof. Dr. Dieter Engels, who had chaired the University Council since 2013.