Protein molecules require a defined shape in order to function. When they are created, their building blocks are therefore linked together in a very specific way. Researchers at the University of Bonn are now taking a closer look at a key step in this process and are investigating the effects of transient oxygen starvation on protein folding in plants. Researchers from the University of Münster, the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and the University of Bielefeld were also involved in the study. The study has now been published in the journal Plant Cell.

The war in Ukraine has raised numerous pressing questions that need to be answered. At the University of Bonn, multiple experts research the topic area from different perspectives - from international law to international relations to resource policy. We have put together an overview for the media.

The University of Bonn has once again received excellent reinforcement. The internationally renowned anthropologist, curator and critical heritage specialist Paul Basu now occupies a so-called Hertz Professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Present Pasts". The starting point for his work is a critical engagement with the heritage of Western knowledge production, especially as it is reflected in scientific archives and collections. In doing so, he brings together different disciplines, but also the non-university public.

A study led by the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn has identified a molecule - the purine inosine - that boosts fat burning in brown adipocytes. The mechanism was discovered in mice, but probably exists in humans as well: If a transporter for inosine is less active, the mice remain significantly leaner despite a high-fat diet. The study, which also involved researchers from the University of Leipzig and the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, has now been published in the journal Nature.

Mathematician Maryna Viazovska has received the Fields Medal, which is presented at the International Congress of Mathematics in Helsinki, which opened today. The award has been presented every four years since 1936 to mathematicians under the age of 40. The 37-year-old Viazovska is from Ukraine. She completed her doctorate at the University of Bonn in 2013. Today she is a professor at EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland.

How does international trade in agricultural and forest products affect biodiversity? A research project led by the University of Bonn will investigate this question, particularly for animal feed, energy crops, tropical timber and aquacultures. In collaboration with stakeholders from politics, the private sector and civil society, the researchers will develop innovative solutions for more sustainable production and consumption. The European Union is funding the project with around 2.6 million euros over the next three years, of which around 850,000 euros will go to the University of Bonn. Funding has been granted for other projects.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting a boost: the German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a total of eight new AI research units with a total of 31.4 million euros. Two projects from the University of Bonn in the fields of geodesy and precision agriculture are among them. The millions in funding will flow over the next four years. An extension is possible.

A bar of chocolate in the U.S. might have been made in Belgium, with cocoa from the Ivory Coast, almonds from Morocco, vanilla from Madagascar and sugar from Brazil. Were forests cut down for it? Were forced or child laborers involved in the harvest? Were toxins used or rivers polluted? We see similar stories for other products we use daily, such as smartphones, clothes, and cosmetics. These questions cannot be answered easily. That's why companies and corporations should conduct due diligence in their supply chains and pay more attention in the future to the impact of their products on the environment and human rights. Dr. Jorge Sellare, group leader and senior scientist at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and member of the Transdisciplinary Research Unit "Sustainable Futures" at the University of Bonn, has written a commentary on this topic together with other authors in the journal "Nature". The Department of Communications of the University asked him about it.