Research and Study at the University of Excellence in Bonn

The genetic confirmation of a suspected diagnosis of "hereditary colorectal cancer" is of great importance for the medical care of affected families. However, many of the variants identified in the known genes cannot yet be reliably classified in terms of their causal role in tumor formation. Under the leadership of the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, an international team of researchers has reassessed the medical relevance of a significant number of unclear variants and thus significantly reduced their number. The results of the study have now been published in the renowned journal "American Journal of Human Genetics".

The formation of pores by a particular protein, gasdermin D, plays a key role in inflammatory reactions. During its activation, an inhibitory part is split off. More than 30 of the remaining protein fragments then combine to form large pores in the cell membrane, which allow the release of inflammatory messengers. As methods for studying these processes in living cells have so far been inadequate, the sequence of oligomerization, pore formation and membrane incorporation has remained unclear. An international research team led by the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn has succeeded in answering this question with the help of antibody fragments, so-called nanobodies, which they have identified. They hope that this will lead to potential therapeutic applications. Their results have now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".

Artificial intelligence (AI) methods are here to stay in science and academia. Yet a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not suffice for researchers, as AI programs and models have to be adapted and trained for each project at a minimum, if not self-programmed outright. In a seminar series titled “AI for All”, the University of Bonn thus intends to teach the necessary skill sets to researchers of all disciplines.

Despite its importance for mathematics, the neuronal basis of the number zero in the human brain was previously unknown. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University of Tübingen have now discovered that individual nerve cells in the medial temporal lobe recognize zero as a numerical value and not as a separate category "nothing". The results have now been published in the journal "Current Biology".