uni.news - Tag [fo]

Professor Dr. Kohse-Höinghaus elected first woman president of the international Combustion Institute

Bielefeld’s Professor Dr. Katharina Kohse-Höinghaus has been elected to the Presidency of the International Combustion Institute. This makes her not only the first woman President but also the first European President of this international association for combustion research. After a series of almost exclusively American presidents, the Board of Directors elected her to a 4-year term of office during their meeting in Warsaw at the beginning of August. Professor Kohse-Höinghaus has already been Vice President of the Institute since 2008.
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Researchers at Bielefeld University questioned schoolchildren on cyberbullying attacks through the Internet and by mobile phone

Embarrassing personal photos and videos circulating in the Internet: researchers at Bielefeld University have discovered that young people who fall victim to cyberbullying or cyber harassment suffer most when fellow pupils make them objects of ridicule by distributing photographic material. According to an online survey published on Thursday, 19 July, about half of the victims feel very distressed or severely distressed by this type of behaviour. 1,881 schoolchildren living in Germany took part in the survey conducted by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) and commented on their experiences with cyberbullying as a victim, offender or witness.

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Bielefeld University students participating in MIT competition

A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water. The 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to the ‘international Genetically Engineered Machine competition’ (iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA are setting their sights high. They are persuading internationally active companies and associations in the biotechnology and chemistry sector to contribute several ten thousands of Euros to cover the costs of entering this rapidly expanding global competition in synthetic biology. Since May, they have been spending their free time in the laboratory making new DNA building blocks, reproducing them, and producing enzymes. First results give reason for optimism. [Weiterlesen]

The Bielefeld biochemist Thomas Dierks and his team establish the cause and develop a treatment concept

An international research team headed by Professor Dr. Thomas Dierks at Bielefeld University has discovered a hereditary enzyme deficiency. It is a subform of the mucopolysaccharidosis syndrome and has been termed MPS IIIE or – after its discoverer – ‘Dierks’s disorder’. It leads to a progressive loss of mental abilities in mice, particularly to learning and coordination difficulties along with forgetfulness. The biochemist Dierks and his team have not only identified the disorder but also developed a treatment concept. Their findings are being published this week (CW 24) in the renowned journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA‘ (PNAS).  [Weiterlesen]

Promoting graphene research

Privatdozent [senior lecturer] Dr. Andrey Turchanin, a member of the Physics of Supermolecular Systems and Surfaces research group at Bielefeld University’s Faculty of Physics, has been awarded a Heisenberg fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG). The physicist Andrey Turchanin is engaged in research on the new two-dimensional carbon material graphene. Among its many potential applications, this new material could well revolutionize computer technology, because it can be used to manufacture components that are many times faster. With Heisenberg fellowships, the DFG supports young academics who are already qualified for professorships and have proven themselves by carrying out particularly outstanding research. The fellowship will initially enable the physicist to pursue his research freely for 3 years with Bielefeld University providing the infrastructure. The DFG awards about 50 scholarships each year, each paying 4,500 Euro per month.[Weiterlesen]

German Research Foundation (DFG) funds Bielefeld project on the love life of locusts

In the animal world, it is not always the strongest that prevails – sometimes, it is the most beautiful. A well-known example is the peacock. The peahen chooses the partner with the most attractive tail fan. A research team at Bielefeld University headed by the evolutionary biologist Dr. Holger Schielzeth is now studying how far a comparable mechanism is involved in mate choice among locusts. The male Siberian locust (Gomphocerus sibiricus) has swollen front legs. The scientists are now studying how far female locusts prefer the male with the most powerful swellings and select their mates accordingly. The German Research Foundation is funding the project for five years as part of its Emmy Noether Programme.[Weiterlesen]

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation publishes its rankings

Bielefeld University has gained one of the top places in the 2012 Humboldt Rankings. It has taken third place in the popularity scale for researchers from abroad in the natural sciences. The University is also a good address for engineers. Bielefeld University came 13th. In the overall ranking of German higher education institutes, Bielefeld came eleventh out of a total of 79 universities. The ranking is based on the number of guest researchers for every 100 professorships.[Weiterlesen]

Professor Andreas Dress honoured in Peking

The Bielefeld mathematician Professor Dr. Andreas Dress has been honoured with the 'International Science and Technology Cooperation Award' for his scientific achievements and for setting up the Max Planck Partner Institute for Computational Biology in Shanghai. This award, considered to be China's top award for international scientific cooperation, was given to Andreas Dress in a ceremony held on the 14th of February in Peking's Great Hall of the People. Andreas Dress taught and researched at Bielefeld University from its foundation in 1969 until his retirement in 2003. His scientific interests range from topology and classical algebra across structure formation processes and visualization procedures, to the application of combinatorics in biology and chemistry.[Weiterlesen]

Biologists at Bielefeld University and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics identify the genome sequence of the sugar beet

Success for researchers at Bielefeld University's Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) headed by Professor Dr. Bernd Weisshaar and at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin headed by Dr. Heinz Himmelbauer: They have decoded the genome sequence of the sugar beet. What makes the sugar beet such an interesting case is its only distant relationship to previously decoded plants. This should generate completely new knowledge on plant construction and function.

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Biologists at Bielefeld University make new discovery in zebra finches

The behavioural scientists Dr. Tobias Krause and Dr. Barbara Caspers from Bielefeld University have discovered that songbirds use their sense of smell for social communication and can apply this to distinguish relatives from non-relatives. The scientists' study is being published today (4 January) in the online version of the journal Biology Letters published by the renowned British Royal Society. Only recently, the two biologists were able to confirm that songbirds – in contrast to previous claims in the textbooks – have a sense of smell.

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