Home office at full pay is not an option for all employees hit by the coronavirus crisis. To analyze changes in work arrangements during the pandemic, a team of economists from the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute in cooperation with the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) surveyed around 5,500 individuals in the Netherlands from March 20-31. The results show that high-skilled workers spend more time in the home office, while less-skilled workers are more likely to work reduced hours or lose their jobs.

UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohamed has invited Professor Joachim von Braun, Director of Center for Development Research of University of Bonn (ZEF) to chair the Scientific Group for the Food System Summit of the UN Secretary General, which shall be held in 2021.

Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders. The enzymes RNaseT2 and RNase2 cut ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of bacteria into small fragments that are as characteristic as a thumbprint. Only then can TLR8 recognize the dangerous pathogens and initiate countermeasures. The results have now been published in the renowned journal "Immunity".

No matter where we look, the same rules apply everywhere in space: countless calculations of astrophysics are based on this basic principle. A recent study by the Universities of Bonn and Harvard, however, has thrown this principle into question. Should the measured values be confirmed, this would toss many assumptions about the properties of the universe overboard. The results are published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics”, but are already available online.

Many students from Bonn are currently doing exchange and scholarship programs abroad. Many others had to interrupt, cancel or postpone their stays due to the Coronavirus. In the new series "Signs of Life – Keeping up the Conversation”, we hear from those who are directly affected by the Coronavirus. Our outgoing and incoming students tell us about their everyday life at home and abroad and how they are dealing with the current situation. They give valuable tips to their fellow students against boredom and recommendations for anyone who is stranded.

Can a special diet help in certain cases of asthma? A new study at the University of Bonn at least points to this conclusion. According to the study, mice that were switched to a so-called ketogenic diet showed significantly reduced inflammation of the respiratory tract. The results are now published in the renowned journal "Immunity".

The first issue of the research magazine DEPENDENT of the Cluster of Excellence "Beyond Slavery and Freedom" of the University of Bonn has been published. It reports the scientific findings and ongoing research projects in the field of dependency and slavery research in an understandable and interdisciplinary way.

In order to fight against the spread of the coronavirus, 2020 summer semester courses will begin online on April 20, 2020.