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

How does the coronavirus affect the state of our society? Cultural sociologist Prof. Dr. Clemens Albrecht is discussing this question in his contribution to our series “Signs of life - keeping up the conversation.” His thesis: In the future, we will need less of a global society and more traditional societies again.

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.

Students of the University of Bonn are currently pursuing their studies from home. This, however, does not mean there is no need for exchange with each other. But how can we maintain the discourse when all courses are cancelled, culinary offers are unavailable and meetings of more than two people in public are prohibited by law? Philosophy students Gabriel Valdez and Moritz Richarz have decided to tackle this problem by creating an online blog and posting regularly about philosophical questions and current global issues.

The grandparents also live in the house and childcare is provided: What was long considered an ideal model for many families is dangerous during the Corona crisis: The two economists Prof. Dr. Moritz Kuhn and Prof. Dr. Christian Bayer from the University of Bonn have compared the role of social structures with mortality rates in COVID-19 infections across different countries. Result: The more working people live with their parents, the higher the proportion of Corona deaths at the beginning of the epidemic.

What are the effects of fighting the coronavirus on the global food supply? Dr. Lukas Kornher and Dr. Tekalign G. Sakketa from the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn have given thought to this question.

With the call for a metaphysical pandemic, a gathering of the peoples, the philosophy professor Markus Gabriel from the home office speaks up. Read in our new series " Signs of life – Keeping up the conversation!" what the well-known Bonn scholar, thinker and author has to say in the face of the spread of the coronavirus.

A high-salt diet is not only bad for one's blood pressure, but also for the immune system. This is the conclusion of a current study under the leadership of the University Hospital Bonn. Mice fed a high-salt diet were found to suffer from much more severe bacterial infections. Human volunteers who consumed an additional six grams of salt per day also showed pronounced immune deficiencies. This amount corresponds to the salt content of two fast food meals. The results are published in the journal "Science Translational Medicine".