The universities of Cologne, Bonn, Düsseldorf and Aachen agreed to establish a joint academic institution (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftliche Einrichtung, GWE) on 1 January 2025. The contractual partners will thereby be transforming the West German Genome Center (WGGC) from its current form as a collaborative research network into a new kind of institution. Newly founding the center as a GWE ensures that the partners can maintain already existing structures and further develop established technologies.

The University of Bonn's rowing teams once again proved their endurance and class at this year's EUREGA. At the traditional long-distance regatta on the Rhine - from Neuwied and from the Loreley to Bonn over a distance of 45 and 100 kilometers respectively - the boats from Bonn achieved excellent placings.

The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis feeds on oil, multiplying rapidly in the wake of oil spills, and thereby accelerating the elimination of the pollution, in many cases. It does this by producing an “organic dishwashing liquid” which it uses to attach itself to oil droplets. Researchers from the University of Bonn, RWTH Aachen University, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and research center Forschungszentrum Jülich have now discovered the mechanism by which this “organic dishwashing liquid” is synthesized. Published in the prominent international journal Nature Chemical Biology, the research findings could allow the breeding of more efficient strains of oil-degrading bacteria.

The “afterglow” of the universe is an important piece of evidence for the Big Bang. This background radiation also provides important answers to the question of how the first galaxies were able to form. Researchers at the Universities of Bonn, Prague and Nanjing calculate that the strength of this radiation has probably been overestimated up to now. If the results prove to be accurate, it would call into question the theoretical foundation of the standard model of cosmology. The results have now been published in the journal “Nuclear Physics B.”

Finding the best possible solution to complex problems with the help of mathematics, computer science and economics - that is the goal of Professor László Végh, who has been the University of Bonn's new Hertz Chair for Algorithms and Optimization since August 2024. Together with his transdisciplinary team, he develops efficient algorithms and expands our understanding of the limits of computability. The inaugural symposium on 25 April 2025 provided a broad insight into the various research areas - from game theory to the latest developments in the theory of optimization.

Technology is being pushed to its very limits. The upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN slated for the next few years will increase data transfer rates beyond what the current neutrino detector for the FASER experiment can cope with, requiring it to be replaced by a new kind of more powerful detector. This is a task that physicist Professor Matthias Schott from the University of Bonn will be tackling with the help of €1 million in Reinhart Koselleck funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG).

The format is unique in Germany: live physics experiments, live singing, and live music – together they create a “phyusical.” The physics show team at the University of Bonn has already broken new ground with this innovative musical genre in recent years. Now, the team led by Prof. Herbert Dreiner and Dr. Jana Heysel from the Institute of Physics is going one step further: the next phyusical will not only be performed by students, but can also be replicated by schools on their own. The team is receiving €42,000 in funding for this project and is one of 15 projects being supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the “Science Year 2025 - Energy of the Future”.

Central administration of the University of Bonn has been in a process for several years now of progressively converting its vehicles into an e-mobility fleet. Three new electric vehicles have just been added to the fleet: an Opel Rocks-E micro car (with space for one plus cargo) and two ATX two-seater electric utility vehicles. These two vehicles by manufacturer Alkè are flexibly adaptable for any requirements, such as transporting garden tools, using a cage structure that goes on top of the cargo bed.