Gains from accommodative monetary policy unevenly distributed

Urban Tanzanians have a more activated immune system compared to their rural counterparts. The difference in diet appears to explain this difference: in the cities, people eat a more western style diet, while in rural areas a traditional diet is more common. A team of researchers from Radboud university medical center (Netherlands), the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Kilimanjaro Clinic Research Center in Tanzania presents in a recent study that this increased activity of the immune system could contribute to the rapid increase in non-communicable diseases in urban areas in Africa. The study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Immunology.

Listening to exciting topics from economic research

Bioplastics in the sustainability dilemma

A type of novel molecular voltage sensor makes it possible to watch nerve cells at work. The principle of the method has been known for some time. However, researchers at the University of Bonn and the University of California in Los Angeles have now succeeded in significantly improving it. It allows the propagation of electrical signals in living nerve cells to be observed with high temporal and spatial resolution. This enables investigations into completely new questions that were previously closed to research. The study has now been published in the journal PNAS.

The first examination period of the winter semester traditionally starts in early February. This year, however, the pandemic is turning the usual routines upside down. While on-site examinations are the standard for times when there is no coronavirus, almost everything is taking place digitally this semester. Exceptions may apply, however, under certain circumstances.

The course for organ health is set in the early embryo. For this finding, Prof. Elvira Mass, a scientist at the University of Bonn, receives the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for Young Researchers, which is endowed with 60,000 euros. In her research, she showed that specialized immune cells from the yolk sac accompany organ development and contribute to maintaining their health throughout life. For Elvira Mass, impaired function of these immune cells might cause many diseases.

The University of Bonn will continue participating in the European Union’s Erasmus+ program for at least the next seven years. The university's proposal, assessed as “excellent,” earned it the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, which in turn ensures access to all funding lines in the new generation of the EU's Erasmus+ program.