In the current university ranking by British magazine Times Higher Education (THE), the University of Bonn is again ranked 9th among the top 10 German universities. Among the more than 1,500 educational institutions evaluated, Bonn takes 114th place. For the World University Ranking, various indicators were collected in the areas of research, teaching, knowledge transfer and internationality.
Plant biologist Prof. Dr. Ute Vothknecht from the University of Bonn is a partner in the new EU "ADAPT" project to investigate the adaptation mechanisms of potato plants to heat and drought.
Breast milk strengthens a child’s immune system, supporting the intestinal flora. These facts are common knowledge. But how does this work? What are the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon? And why is this not possible the same way with bottle feeding? The reasons were unknown until a team from the RESIST Cluster of Excellence at Hannover Medical School (MHH) recently discovered how alarmins are that mechanism in a project involving the University of Bonn. The results have been pre-published online in the medical journal Gastroenterology. The paper will soon be appearing in print.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common muscle disease in children and is passed on by X-linked recessive inheritance. Characteristic is a progressive muscular atrophy. The disease often results in death before the third decade of life. Researchers of the Universities of Maynooth (Ireland) and Bonn have found a connection between dystrophic muscles and the lymphatic system in mice with Duchenne disease. The results have now been published in the journal "iScience".
A congenital disorder of the fat metabolism can apparently cause chronic hyperreaction of the immune system. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the University of Bonn in a recent study. The results are published in the journal Autophagy.
The intervertebral discs connect the vertebrae and give the spine its mobility. The disc consists of a cartilaginous fibrous ring and a gelatinous core as a buffer. It has always been assumed that only humans and other mammals have discs. A misconception, as a research team under the leadership of the University of Bonn has now discovered: Even Tyrannosaurus rex could have suffered a slipped disc. The results have now been published in the journal "Scientific Reports".
The University of Bonn is inviting to the "Digital Unifest 2020" and thus creates an alternative opportunity to celebrate graduation. Students can create an individual graduation video of themselves and share it with their families and friends, among other digital activities.
“Spinocerebellar ataxias” are diseases of the nervous system associated with a loss of motor coordination. A European research alliance headed by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn has now registered whether and how symptoms of ataxia developed over the years in around 250 persons at risk, who initially did not show symptoms. This is the first study worldwide to investigate the onset of spinocerebellar ataxia directly and in a large group of individuals. The results published in the journal “The Lancet Neurology” provide valuable data for prevention studies.