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.
They won silver four times in a row, and now they won a gold medal again. Bibek Bhujel from Nepal, Fahrudin Delic from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Carmelo Ortiz from the Philippines secured first place for Jacobs University Bremen at the University Physics Competition (UPC). The trio prevailed against strong international competition. A total of 346 teams took part in the contest, which the English-speaking University already won in 2014. It is the only German university to have won gold medals at the UPC so far.
They wanted to contribute to the fight against the coronavirus with the help of a Bremen-based institution that is strong in research, because they themselves are at home in the Hanseatic city. At Jacobs University, the young HAORI Foundation has funded its first major project – a research project investigating the significance of nerve cell antennas as a possible entry point for viruses such as the coronavirus.
First a few days of quarantine, then the research vessel "Meteor" takes off to the North Sea as well as to the rivers Weser, Ems and Elbe – even over Christmas. A team of scientists from Jacobs University Bremen and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) is carrying out its work under pandemic conditions over the holidays. Their goal is to study the spread and impact of metals in water. Those interested in the journey are able to follow the research trip through a blog.
The international, English-speaking Jacobs University welcomes over 450 new students from 82 nations to its campus in northern Bremen, Germany, for the academic year 2020/21. With the start of the new academic year, 362 young people started their undergraduate studies in the 15 bachelor's programs at Jacobs University. Although the number of new students is slightly lower than in 2019/2020, President Loprieno sees the high demand for study places in view of the current coronavirus pandemic as an extraordinary confirmation of the educational concept of the international university. In total, more than 1,550 people from over 110 countries are studying at Jacobs University.
In order to receive, process and filter signals, nerve cells have various extensions. These include cilia, which act as sensors of the environment. In a pilot project at Jacobs University, Klaudia Brix, Professor of Cell Biology, and her team research whether they also serve as entry points for viruses. The project is funded by the Bremen HAORI Foundation, which supports scientific projects in the fields of brain research, neuroscience and rare diseases.
Antibiotic resistance poses a major challenge for medicine. Many substances that could potentially kill bacteria are known. However, the question of how they can penetrate the pathogens in order to render them harmless is often unresolved. Dr. Ulrich Kleinekathöfer, Professor of Theoretical Physics at Jacobs University Bremen, is working on improving a method for identifying successful antibiotic molecules in a new research project. It is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 200,000 euros over a period of three years.
Thinking beyond national borders is important – especially in science. Every year, renowned scientists from abroad decide to spend a research stay at Jacobs University. According to the recently published Humboldt Rankings, the international university in Bremen is one of the most popular universities among researchers from abroad. The English-speaking Jacobs University ranked an outstanding seventh place in the Germany-wide comparison.
233 million years ago, a series of massive volcanic eruptions in present-day Canada provoked a climate change. These events led to the creation of new ecosystems, such as coral reefs, and favored the rapid spread of dinosaurs. This is the conclusion drawn by an international, interdisciplinary team of scientists in a new study comprising researchers from Jacobs University Bremen and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT).
An international team of scientists, under participation of Jacobs University Bremen, has found evidence for the existence of several subsurface water bodies hidden under the south polar cap of Mars. Liquid water is the prerequisite for life. In a study now published in the journal "Nature Astronomy", the scientists report on their discovery.
Most research in the Center for Resource & Environmental Studies at Jacobs University Bremen focuses on rocks, ore deposits and various environmental systems. From this basic research the team at Jacobs University has developed a convenient application that allows the beverage industry to evaluate the quality of the water used in their products and check for the presence of microcontaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
From ecological systems it is known that events like the extinction of an entire population can come as a surprise, so that countermeasures are late. These phenomena call for explanations, in order to create a deeper understanding of their causes. What are the conditions for maintaining biodiversity as a stable state if even a relatively small fluctuation in the population size can suddenly shift the whole system into another dynamical regime, in which, for example, the diversity is drastically reduced? Fluctuations that have such a drastic effect are rare, but not too rare to actually occur.
Precious metals such as platinum, palladium, gold, rhodium or iridium can be found in a variety of everyday products, for example in catalytic converters of cars, in mobile phones and laptops as well as in solar cells. They are particularly interesting for chemists because of their low reactivity with other elements. A team of researchers, led by Professor Ulrich Kortz at Jacobs University Bremen, now wants to develop a new class of materials containing precious metals and investigate their possible applications. "These materials will be very exciting not only for catalysis, but also for quantum computers and data storage," says Prof. Kortz. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation with around 200,000 euros.
In a joint study, scientists from Jacobs University Bremen, the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and the University of Bremen have for the first time predicted the vulnerability of tropical coral reef habitats to measurable environmental factors. According to the study, 94 percent of the world's coral reef habitats must be considered endangered, whereas only six percent of the habitats can be considered as reef refugia, as largely unaffected areas. The study was recently published by the Bremen scientists in the renowned journal "Global Change Biology".
One of the world’s most renowned university rankings has again impressively confirmed the high quality of research and teaching at Jacobs University Bremen. In the World University Ranking 2021 of the British magazine "Times Higher Education" (THE), Jacobs University was placed among the 300 best universities. In terms of international orientation, it was ranked first place among German universities. More than 1,500 universities worldwide are represented in the THE Ranking this year.
A large part of the rainfall in the tropics is the result of several thunderstorm cells merging to form a large thunderstorm complex – known in technical terms as a mesoscale convective system. A new study by researchers from the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Jacobs University and the University of Copenhagen now provides further insight into the processes involved in the formation of large thunderstorm accumulations. The results of the model simulation have recently been published in the journal 'npj Climate and Atmospheric Science'.