Research and Study at the University of Excellence in Bonn

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the University of Bonn have renewed their partnership, reinforcing their commitment to leveraging space technology in response to growing threats from natural and human-made disasters. This five-year agreement, signed today in Vienna, extends the "Spaceborne Earth Observation Applications for Emergency Response and Disaster Risk Reduction" (SPEAR) project, focusing on African nations.

The University of Bonn was represented by some high-level figures at this year’s GAIN Conference in San Francisco. Rector Professor Michael Hoch and Vice Rector Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch attended the congress of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) between August 23 and 25. The conference is the largest networking event for international academic careers in Germany.

In December 2007, the then Brazilian government passed a law to curb the illegal destruction of the rainforest. A study by researchers from the Insper Research Institute in São Paulo and the University of Bonn now shows an interesting side effect: where the measures were implemented, not only did deforestation decrease, but so did the number of homicides. The results have now been published in the Journal of Institutional Economics.

The elimination of damaged cell components is essential for the maintenance of the body’s tissues and organs. An international research team led by the University of Bonn has made significant findings on mechanisms for the clearing of cellular wastes, showing that strength training activates such mechanisms. The findings could form the basis for new therapies for heart failure and nerve diseases, and even afford benefits for manned space missions. A corresponding article has been published in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology.