Designing solutions for a healthier world has always been one of the great challenges of science. The goal is to make a healthy life possible for each human being and for the growing world population as a whole. Food, plants and marine algae can have a positive effect on health similar to that of conventional medicine. However, scientists first have to identify and isolate bioactive substances and explore their safe application through transdisciplinary cooperation between geo science, life sciences, physics and chemistry.
The coronavirus threatens and changes our lives in many ways: It attacks individual cells, influences the value system of humans and has massive economic consequences. At Jacobs University, scientists from a wide range of disciplines are researching its effects. "We want to contribute to a better understanding of the virus and to its successful control. In doing so, it is important to us to draw lessons for the future," says Prof. Thomas Auf der Heyde, Provost at the international university.
The network of brain areas and their connections is one of the key examples of research on complex networks. Using this human connectome as an example, systems biologist Professor Marc-Thorsten Hütt from Jacobs University Bremen and his colleague Dr. Paolo Moretti from the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg have developed a mathematical method for predicting propagation patterns in networks. It paves the way for a better classification of the dynamic behavior of networks. The results of this basic research have recently been published in the renowned U.S. scientific journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS).
Where life is present, it contributes to the change of its habitat. It is not only mankind that has significantly shaped its environment; traces of bacteria can be tracked back over three billion years. Fungi and plants also influence their environment. They are supported by biomolecules produced specifically for this purpose. While the influence of these molecules on today's environment has been relatively well researched, studies on the interaction of biology and geology for early phases of the Earth's history are rare.
It was the largest single person donation from a Jacobs Alumnus in the history of Jacobs University: In 2018, the science communicator and video producer Hashem Al-Ghaili donated 50,000 euros to his Alma Mater. The funds went to the research group of his patron, Sebastian Springer, Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at the international university in Bremen. With the donation, Springer purchased a modern protein purification system that will help advance cancer research. The device now arrived.
The pollution of seas, lakes and rivers with plastic waste is a major environmental problem. Over time, objects made of plastics are mechanically broken down into their smallest particles, which can then be found all over the world as microplastics. How toxic are these particles? The research group of Dr. Arnulf Materny, Professor of Chemical Physics at Jacobs University, wants to develop a method that allows the rapid analysis of these tiny particles and their properties – using laser technology.
It’s supposed to be more effective than previous products, more widely applicable and it will be obtained from plant waste such as coffee, quince or rhododendrons: researchers at Jacobs University Bremen aim to develop a new disinfectant in cooperation with the Bremen companies "ProPure – Protect" and "Just in Air". The Bremer Aufbau-Bank GmbH, a public bank of the Federal State of Bremen, promotes the research project. "We can apply our many years of research to an important topic that has become increasingly prominent with the corona crisis," says Chemistry Professor Nikolai Kuhnert. He is leading the project at Jacobs University together with his colleague Matthias Ullrich, Professor of Microbiology.
Jacobs University has established itself as one of the world's best young universities. For the third year in a row, the private university performed excellently in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Ranking, one of the leading global university comparisons for universities younger than 50. In this year's ranking, Jacobs University took 33rd place out of 414 participating universities worldwide. In a Germany-wide comparison, it is among the four best young universities.
The promotion of young scientists and strengthening the common good are part of their guidelines: As one of Bremen's major scientific foundations, the Wolfgang Ritter-Foundation is committed to opening up opportunities and enabling talented young people to study at Jacobs University. "When I see that our support has an effect, that young, committed people are seizing their opportunities, I am deeply moved," says Alexander Witte, member of the Board of the Wolfgang Ritter-Foundation.
Jacobs University’s economics students receive an excellent education. This confirms the latest CHE-university ranking. The private, English-speaking campus university receives particularly good marks for the support at the beginning of studies, which lays the foundation for later academic success, and for its efficiency: almost all economics students complete their studies within the standard period of study.
Fragments of viruses and tumors can trigger defense proteins of the immune system to snap close like a Venus flytrap plant. This is the result of a study led by Professor Sebastian Springer, Biochemist at Jacobs University Bremen, together with a multidisciplinary team of colleagues. The study was recently published in the journal “Nature Communications”.
Jacobs University is suspending in-person teaching activities on their campus in Bremen starting Friday, 13 March 2020. The international university is transferring their teaching operations to electronic platforms by 23 March. The decision was reached after assessing the risk and high level of concerns relating to the spread of the coronavirus. The suspension is in place until 14 April with the option of extension if deemed necessary.
The deep sea is increasingly being used as a source of raw materials - and exploited industrially. An international research team, including Prof. Laurenz Thomsen from Jacobs University in Bremen, has now identified key areas for protecting this fragile ecosystem. They are described in the current issue of the renowned scientific journal "Nature Ecology and Evolution".
Spacecrafts are advancing deeper and deeper into our solar system. They deliver breathtaking images from space as well as increasingly more comprehensive data. In order to make better use of it, the European research network "Europlanet" promotes the connection and exchange between planetary researchers. It streamlines access to current research results, laboratory facilities and data within the European Research Area. Part of this international network is a group of young researchers working with Angelo Pio Rossi, Professor of Earth and Planetary Research at Jacobs University.
Computer simulations of biological systems can help to understand molecular processes in detail. For example, they make it possible to simulate the transport of molecules through biological membranes. An important area of research is the transport of antibiotic molecules through bacterial membranes so that they can exert their healing effect. The comprehension of these processes is very important for the development of new antibiotics. To better understand them is one of the goals of Dr. Kalyanashis Jana, who is a fellow of the renowned Humboldt Foundation spending two years researching in the group of Dr. Ulrich Kleinekathöfer, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Jacobs University.
Electric cars should not only absorb energy as easily as possible but should also be able to release it again when needed and feed it into the power grid – this is the vision of the "FeedbacCar" research project. Jacobs University Bremen with Dr. Alexander Lerchl, Professor of Biology and Ethics in Natural Sciences and Technology, is part of the research consortium. The scientist is investigating the possible biological effects of the technology, which is based on an inductive charging system.