The University of Bonn has been successful twice in the funding line for the Synergy Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) with other partners. The GravNet project is building a global detector network to search for high-frequency gravitational waves. The CeLEARN project coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – CAESAR aims to decode how single cells learn from their environment. The ERC uses Synergy Grants to support research groups in which different skills, knowledge, and resources are brought together in order to tackle ambitious research questions. The projects will receive several million euros of support in the next six years.

Since the beginning of human history, we have surrounded ourselves with textiles. In its multimedia exhibition “Enmeshed and Entwined: Textures of Dependency”, the Cluster of Excellence Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS) at the University of Bonn shows the social interdependencies and asymmetrical dependency relations inherent in one of our oldest cultural assets. At the centre of the exhibition is a large quilt that provides the ‘narrative’ framework for the multi-dimensional story of the ‘textures of dependency’ in a series of “story patches” from different periods and regions. The exhibition can be seen until 20 December at the University and State Library Bonn (ULB) of the University of Bonn and also via a digital exhibition portal.

Whether lying on their back, all-fours position, sitting upright or squatting - women adopt different birthing positions during childbirth. What has not yet been researched is how the respective final birthing position affects the satisfaction of the woman giving birth. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne have now investigated precisely this. In particular, they also took into account whether the choice of birthing position was voluntary. The results showed that it was precisely when this was chosen voluntarily that women were more satisfied. Around three quarters of those surveyed were lying during the birth and were particularly dissatisfied if they felt that they had not made this choice themselves. However, if the expectant mothers had chosen the supine or lateral supine position themselves, the position actually tended to make them more satisfied. The study has now been published in the journal "Archives of Gynecology".

At the University of Bonn’s International Days 2024 from October 15 to 18, everything was about tackling global challenges together, strengthening international cooperation and honoring excellence in research. In addition to the traditional ceremony for the state awards and the DAAD Prize, the Vice Rectorate for International Affairs invited the public to attend a host of info events, talks and workshops. The keynote speech by Harvard professor Homi K. Bhabha, who is a key figure in post-colonial theory, was a particular highlight.

Propofol is used in the operating room to induce anesthesia. To maintain anesthesia, a continuous infusion of the agent via a separate syringe pump is the standard procedure for total intravenous anesthesia. However, this is not entirely sustainable: propofol produces about 45 percent of the drug waste in the operating room, and a quarter of the agent remains unused. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now shown that an alternative method reduces the amount of waste. Instead of a separate syringe for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia, the researchers were able to show that the use of a single syringe pump for the induction and maintenance of anesthesia is more sustainable: propofol waste could be reduced by between 30 and 50 percent. The study has now been published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. 

Our ability to see starts with the light-sensitive photoreceptor cells in our eyes. A specific region of the retina, termed fovea, is responsible for sharp vision. Here, the color-sensitive cone photoreceptors allow us to detect even the smallest details. The density of these cells varies from person to person. Additionally, when we fixate on an object, our eyes make subtle, continuous movements, which also differ between individuals. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now investigated how sharp vision is linked to these tiny eye movements and the mosaic of cones. Using high-resolution imaging and micro-psychophysics, they demonstrated that eye movements are finely tuned to provide optimal sampling by the cones. The results of the study have now been published in the journal "eLife".

Researchers from the University of Bonn have trained an AI process to predict potential active ingredients with special properties. Therefore, they derived a chemical language model – a kind of ChatGPT for molecules. Following a training phase, the AI was able to exactly reproduce the chemical structures of compounds with known dual-target activity that may be particularly effective medications. The study has now been published in Cell Reports Physical Science.

The University of Bonn is once again welcoming a top-notch reinforcement in the shape of mathematician Professor László Végh. He has been appointed to a Hertz Chair, which connects up different disciplines at the University of Excellence in a unique way. Professor Végh will be based in the Transdisciplinary Research Area “Modelling”, where he will help to strengthen the links between different departments in the fields of algorithms and optimization problems in particular.