uni.news

» Published on 12. Mai 2017

Study on blue tits: Smell first, and then beg

International research project headed by Bielefeld behavioural biologists

Nestling blue tits can discriminate between the smell of other nestlings and adapt their begging behaviour accordingly. This is the outcome of the latest study by Dr. Barbara Caspers and Dr. Peter Korsten from Bielefeld University to be published today on the xxth of yyy in the journal ‘Functional Ecology’. The behavioural biologist Caspers is currently studying odour discrimination in various animals as a ‘Freigeist’ fellow sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation in her project ‘Der Geruch der Verwandtschaft – wie entsteht er, wie riecht er’ [The smell of kinship – how does it develop, what does it smell like].

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» Published on 24. April 2017

Chip-based nanoscopy: Microscopy in HD quality

New invention at Bielefeld University and the University of Tromsø (Norway)

Physicists at Bielefeld University and tThe Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø have developed a photonic chip that makes it possible to carry out superresolution light microscopy, also called ‘nanoscopy’, with conventional microscopes. In nanoscopy, the position of single fluorescent molecules can be determined with a precision of just a few nanometres, that is, to a millionth of a millimetre. This information can be used to produce images with a resolution of about 20 to 30 nanometres, and thereby ten times that of conventional light microscopy. Until now, this method has required the use of expensive special instruments. Bielefeld University and the University of Tromsø have filed a patent for this new ‘chip-based nanoscopy’ procedure. On the 24th of April 2017 the researchers will be publishing the accompanying study in the journal ‘Nature Photonics’.

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» Published on 18. April 2017

New doctoral students at the BGHS

Young academics from all over the world starting work on their dissertations

This summer semester, the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS) will be welcoming 17 new doctoral students. Six of them – three women and three men – are being funded by the BGHS. They were awarded their scholarships after a multi-stage international selection procedure.

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» Published on 13. April 2017

Smart Glasses Replace Construction Manual for Bird House

New development from CITEC researchers at Bielefeld University

Instead of having to tediously search for the right part with one hand and flip through the pages of the instruction manual with the other hand, the smart glasses from the Adamaas system display what step comes next directly in the user’s field of vision. This works for both operating a coffee machine and assembling a bird house. Professor Dr. Thomas Schack, Dr. Kai Essig, and Dr. Matthias Schröder further developed the smart glasses at Bielefeld University’s Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC). Using “computer vision”, the system can autonomously recognize objects and steps of an activity, and based on this, the glasses show appropriate step-by-step support directly in the display of the glasses. The Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, Federal Ministry of Education and Research) is providing the project with 1.2 million Euro in funding. A film about Adamaas can now be viewed online.

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» Published on 13. April 2017

Why Audiences Love – but Quickly Forget – Cartoon Characters

Researchers at Cluster of Excellence CITEC analyze brain waves

Just how cartoonish can a character in a movie or video game look so that the audience relates to him? Researchers at Bielefeld University’s Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) investigated this question, analyzing how the brain responds differently to photo-realistic and more stylized characters. Their work resulted in the following finding: cartoon characters can elicit the same emotions as human actors, but they don’t do not stay in the viewer’s memory as long. Along with their teams, psychology Professor Dr. Johanna Kißler and computer science Professor Dr. Mario Botsch presented their study on Thursday, 23 March 2017 in “Scientific Reports,” a journal published by the Nature Publishing Group.

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» Published on 7. April 2017

Bielefeld is one of the best young universities

International THE ranking of universities aged 50 years or under: Number 22 worldwide, Number 4 in Germany

For the sixth time in a row, Bielefeld University has been ranked as one of the best young universities in the world. In the ‘Young University Rankings’, published on Wednesday (5th of April 2017), Bielefeld University is ranked twenty-second; among German universities, it is fourth. Compared to last year, this is an improvement of one place in each ranking. The ‘Young University Rankings’, formerly called the ‘150 Under 50’, is viewed as an internationally influential university ranking carried out by the British academic magazine ‘Times Higher Education’ (THE). Following this year’s ranking, the Rektor of Bielefeld University, Professor Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Sagerer, gave an interview to the THE.

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» Published on 6. April 2017

From genetic analyses of tumours to regenerative medicine

Five medical research projects to be launched at Bielefeld University

Bielefeld University is strengthening its cooperations in medical research. In five new projects, scientists at the university are cooperating with the University hospitals of the Ruhr University of Bochum in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region. The projects are being funded by Bielefeld University’s Forschungsfonds Medizin, and the first will start this April. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia set up the fund in July 2016. Topics covered by the new cooperations range from heart and cancer research to regenerative medicine.

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» Published on 1. März 2017

Nanoinjection increases survival rate of cells

Physicists at Bielefeld University develop new methods for microscopic research

How do tumours grow? And how do bacteria transform harmless substances into medical agents? When biophysicists want to understand what is happening in living cells, they have to introduce fluorescent probes  or other foreign molecules. There are several ways to overcome the cell wall without causing the cell permanent harm. Physicists at Bielefeld University have developed a particularly gentle method for this: nanoinjection. In a new study to be found in ‘Scientific Reports’ published by ‘Nature’, they show that with this method, nine out of ten cells survive being injected with foreign molecules.

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» Published on 1. März 2017

New Merian Centre not just on but also in Latin America

Bielefeld University and University of Kassel head major academic policy project with up to 20 million Euros of funding

A new research centre with its headquarters in Guadalajara, Mexico will be studying how Latin American societies solve crises. Bielefeld University and the University of Kassel are setting up the second Merian Centre in the world in cooperation with the University of Hannover and the University of Jena. The University of Guadalajara’s inspiration when founding the institute comes from Bielefeld University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF). The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will be funding each Merian Centre for up to twelve years with up to 20 million Euros. This makes it the most highly funded research project on Latin America currently being sponsored by Germany.

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» Published on 27. Februar 2017

How extremists use the social media

Bielefeld University’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence (IKG) to head new research partnership

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the X-SONAR research partnership to analyse extremist activities in social networks. This new research partnership is being coordinated by Bielefeld University’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict (IKG). With a grant of  3 million Euros, the partnership will not only be carrying out basic research on how radical extremist groups communicate with, recruit, and mobilize people in virtual reality but also analysing possible forms of prevention and intervention.

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