News — University of Bonn

Another step towards decoding smell¹

We often only realize how important our sense of smell is when it is no longer there: food hardly tastes good, or we no longer react to dangers such as the smell of smoke. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University of Aachen have investigated the neuronal mechanisms of human odor perception for the first time. Individual nerve cells in the brain recognize odors and react specifically to the smell, the image and the written word of an object, for example a banana. The results of this study close a long-standing knowledge gap between animal and human odor research and have now been published in the renowned journal "Nature".

“Concern can provide the energy needed to tackle the problem”²

“It's really difficult and depressing to keep reading and researching about how people and ecosystems are suffering from climate change,” says Prof. Dr. Lisa Schipper from the Department of Geographical Development Research at the University of Bonn. As a scientist, she was involved in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Now, in a commentary in the renowned journal “Nature Climate Change”, she argues that science also needs discussions about emotions. We asked Lisa Schipper about this.

Talk and Discussion with World-Class Professor Homi K. Bhabha of Harvard³

International Days 2024 is all about excellent early-career researchers, international partnerships and dialogue on how to meet global challenges. In addition to the traditional ceremony for the state awards and the DAAD Prize, the Vice Rectorate for International Affairs invites the public to attend a host of info events, talks and workshops. One major highlight will be a keynote lecture by Harvard Professor Homi K. Bhabha, who is an internationally recognized cultural theory scholar.

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Innovative catalyst produces methane using electricity⁴

Researchers at the University of Bonn and University of Montreal have developed a new type of catalyst and used it in their study to produce methane out of carbon dioxide and water in a highly efficient way using electricity. Methane can be used, for example, to heat apartments or as a starting material in the chemical industry. It is also the main component of natural gas. If it is produced using green electricity, however, it is largely climate neutral. The insights gained from the model system studied by the researchers can be transferred to large-scale technical catalysts. The system could also be used to produce other important chemical compounds. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal “Nature Chemistry.”

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Hunting for Clues⁵

Until March 2025, the opening exhibition in the Knowledge Lab Uni Bonn (KLUB), housed in the P26 building, will provide insights into the stories behind some of the objects in the University of Bonn’s museums and collections. Researchers have set out to discover the origin and acquisition history of various objects, known as their “provenance.” To this end, they are posing various questions: who collected or purchased the objects, when and how? How and why did they end up at the University of Bonn? In addition, the exhibition explores the question of how museums can handle objects from sensitive contexts in an appropriate way.

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Japan’s Imperial House honors Rector Michael Hoch⁶

Rector Professor Michael Hoch has now been given the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” of Japan’s Imperial House in recognition of his contribution to academic exchange and Japanese-German understanding. The order, which is one of the highest awarded in Japan for services to civil society, was presented by the country’s Consul-General Setsuko Kawahara on behalf of the Tennō and the Prime Minister of Japan at a ceremony held at her official residence in Düsseldorf.

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More clarity on hereditary colorectal cancer⁷

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".

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“Make Bonn Your City!”⁸

The annual First-Semester Students’ Welcome was held September 30, 2024, a traditional event aimed at welcoming new students on campus and making it easier for them to get acclimated to life at the University. In addition to a large info market, the event featured the central first-semester student party as an important occasion for new students to meet people, among with many other opportunities to make contacts.

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