News — University of Bonn

Record attendance at the Unifest

Almost 2,000 graduates celebrated the successful completion of their studies at what is probably the largest central graduation ceremony at a German university. Families, friends and lecturers joined in the celebrations - over 5,000 guests in total. The tradition has existed for almost two decades, and currently one record attendance follows the next.

Greenland science expedition aims to unveil critical climate insights

The British polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough set sail for its first scientific expedition to the Arctic on July 19, with doctoral student Katrin Wagner on board from the University of Bonn Institute of Geosciences. Along with an international team of researchers associated with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Wagner will be working in southeast Greenland to study the region’s rapidly melting ice sheet—a phenomenon that is impacting the oceans and the global climate. During the expedition she is reporting on her experiences on board the ship, taking questions from interested members of the public. To send in a question, write to wissenschaftskommunikation@uni-bonn.de.

Gustavo Politis Wins Humboldt Research Prize

The Argentinian archaeologist Professor Gustavo Politis is to receive a research prize from the Humboldt Foundation. Among other things, the researcher is studying the early settlement of the Americas. Professor Carla Jaimes Betancourt from the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn had put his name forward for the €60,000 award. The pair are now stepping up their collaboration.

Large genetic study on severe COVID-19

Whether or not a person becomes seriously ill with COVID-19 depends, among other things, on genetic factors. With this in mind, researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in cooperation with other research teams from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, investigated a particularly large group of affected individuals. They confirmed the central and already known role of the TLR7 gene in severe courses of the disease in men, but were also able to find evidence for a contribution of the gene in women. In addition, they were able to show that genetic changes in three other genes of the innate immune system contribute to severe COVID-19. The results have now been published in the journal "Human Genetics and Genomics Advances".

Bonn Household Robots are World Champions

Team NimbRo from the University of Bonn took first place at the RoboCup@Home World Championships in Eindhoven. From July 17 to 21, the domestic service robots competed against 16 other teams in Eindhoven, Netherlands. NimbRo achieved the highest score in the tests and also impressed the jury in the final. The assistance robots for everyday environments are being developed at the Chair of Autonomous Intelligent Systems at the Institute of Computer Science. They navigate autonomously, can pick up and place objects and interact with people using a speech dialog system.

Genetic diagnostics of ultra-rare diseases

The majority of rare diseases have a genetic cause. The underlying genetic alteration can be found more and more easily, for example by means of exome sequencing (ES), leading to a molecular genetic diagnosis. ES is an examination of all sections of our genetic material (DNA) that code for proteins. As part of a Germany-wide multicenter study, ES data was collected from 1,577 patients and systematically evaluated. This made it possible to diagnose a total of 499 patients, with 34 patients showing new, previously unknown genetic diseases. The study thus makes a significant contribution to the initial description of new diseases. In addition, software based on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) was used for the first time on a broad scale to support clinical diagnosis. The "GestaltMatcher" AI system can assist in the assessment of facial features with regard to the classification of congenital genetic syndromes. The results of the study, in which 16 universities and university hospitals were involved, including the University of Bonn, have now been published in the renowned journal "Nature Genetics".

Meat Consumption Falls After Veggie Month

What effect does a vegan/vegetarian month have on a canteen? For this experiment, the Studierendenwerk Bonn sought scientific support from researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Kassel. They found that the impact could still be felt up to eight weeks after the campaign month had ended: as a result of the vegan/vegetarian month, the amount of meat consumed in the canteen fell by 7 to 12 percent compared to the level recorded beforehand. In addition, around half of the people surveyed agreed with the idea of one meat-free month a year, while over 80 percent said that canteens should offer more vegetarian options. The findings have been published in a working paper prepared by the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn.