News — University of Bonn

University of Bonn Passes Diversity Re-Audit¹

The University of Bonn initially passed the Shaping Diversity audit in 2020. Now following a re-audit the Stifterverband has granted the institution a three-year renewal of the Shaping Diversity certificate. The auditors noted in particular the “outstanding progress made in the advancement of women” and that the University has launched numerous projects and implemented a host of measures since the initial audit.

New Landing Stage for the University Boathouse in Time for Start of Rowing Season²

Following a year of renovation works that left them without direct access to water, rowers from University Sports are as of now finally able to use the remodeled landing stage of the University boathouse in Bonn-Beuel.

Kilo-Degree Survey Confirms Standard Model of Cosmology³

An international research team has analyzed data from 41 million galaxies in order to estimate the distribution of matter in the universe. The data confirm a long-established model – much to the team’s surprise.

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Deciphering the sequence of neuronal firing⁴

How does the brain retain a sequence of events in memory? Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Tübingen and the University of Tübingen investigated this question. Using a unique measurement technique with implanted electrodes in the human brain, they were able to test a widely accepted theory of memory processes for the first time. The response pattern of the nerve cells did not align with the theory, but could be explained by a new model. The results have now been published in the journal "Nature Neuroscience".

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Starting points for the control of protein synthesis⁵

The research field of "cellular IRESes" lay dormant for decades, as there was no uniform standard of reliable methods for the clear characterization of these starting points for the ribosome-mediated control of gene expression. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with Stanford University in California (USA), have now developed a toolbox as a new gold standard for this field. They hope to discover strong IRES elements that are directly relevant for synthetic biology and for application in emerging mRNA therapeutics. The results of their work have been published in The EMBO Journal.

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Leibniz Prize awarded to Prof. Dr. Angkana Rüland⁶

Last December, the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced that Prof. Dr. Angkana Rüland from the Cluster of Excellence Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) would receive a Leibniz Prize endowed with 2.5 million euros. She has now been officially presented with the award at Cafe Moskau in Berlin.

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Euclid opens data treasure trove, offers glimpse of deep fields⁷

Germany’s members of the Euclid Consortium have played a significant role in producing the mission’s first large set of survey data which the European Space Agency has just released. Researchers from the Argelander Institute for Astronomy (AIfA) of the University of Bonn have been involved in these activities. The data includes stunning images of deep fields with a breathtaking number of 26 million galaxies, many showing their detailed structures. More than 380,000 galaxies have been characterized according to their shapes and distances. Nevertheless, this impressive milestone is only a foretaste of what we can expect in the coming years.

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Domestic Robots from Bonn Win the German Open⁸

The University of Bonn’s NimbRo team masterfully defended its title at the German Open household robot competition, held March 13-16 in Nuremberg. University of Bonn’s robots for assistance with day-to-day tasks were developed by the Autonomous Intelligent Systems working group at the Institute of Computer Science. Capable of grasping and dropping objects and navigating everyday environments, they interact with human beings via voice dialogue system.

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