Study at Bielefeld University published in ‘Nature Communications’

Their fur was used as a raw material for coats; their fat was used for oil lamps and cosmetics: right up to the end of the nineteenth century, millions of seals were being hunted and killed every year worldwide.  The consequences of this episode of commercial hunting for today’s seal populations is the subject of a study published today (16.11.2018) in ‘Nature Communications’. Population geneticists at Bielefeld University and the British Antarctic Survey have found that eleven seal species only narrowly escaped extinction. The scientists managed to include nearly all of the species alive today in their research. The study nevertheless reveals that most species survived the heyday of seal hunting in sufficient numbers to retain most of their genetic diversity.

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The Cluster of Excellence CITEC and eight partners from four continents are working together as part of the international technology network “InterACT”

Bielefeld University and its Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) have joined the InterACT network. The partners in this network are dedicated to researching and developing technologies that will enhance global communication and cooperation. A total of nine universities and institutes from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America belong to this network. In addition to Bielefeld University, new members of the network also include Stanford University (USA) and the Queensland University of Technology (Australia). The network is being coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
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Joint development of information services planned for life sciences

For some time now ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences and de.NBI - German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure have been planning a strategic and content-related cooperation in various areas of the life sciences. The office of the de.NBI network is located at the Center for Biotechnology at Bielefeld University. ZB MED and Bielefeld University have now signed a cooperation agreement cementing their future collaboration. The objective is to work together to provide complementary information services for the life sciences. To this end, the joint appointment of a W3 professorship is envisaged, among other things.[Weiterlesen]

Conference of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1288 ‘Practices of Comparing’

When cultures meet, situations of contact are often overwhelming. How do people order the unknown cultural phenomena they encounter? Researchers at Bielefeld University assume that comparisons with the familiar play an important role in this process. They are verifying this assumption by looking at the history of European Expansion and colonization, and they will be discussing this question with international researchers at the conference ‘Contact – Conquest – Colonization: Practices of Comparing between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, from Antiquity to the Present.’ The conference will be held from the 11th to the 13th of October at Bielefeld University and is being organized by the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1288 ‘Practices of Comparing’.    [Weiterlesen]

Friendly robot being developed in new project

How can robots enrich people’s private lives? A research team is investigating this question in the context of the VIVA project, in which the researchers aim to develop a strongly expressive social robot that is perceived as trustworthy and friendly. Researchers from Bielefeld University’s Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), the University of Augsburg, and the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld are working together on this project with three companies from the IT sector. From 19–21 September, a kick-off conference will be held in the CITEC Building, where project members will come together to discuss the research work ahead.[Weiterlesen]

“Science Robotics” journal: Study by CITEC researcher and international colleagues

Can robots induce the same social influence and peer pressure as humans do? A new study shows that children adopt a false claim when this is expressed by a group of robots. Conducted by computer scientist Anna-Lisa Vollmer of the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) at Bielefeld University as well as her colleagues from Plymouth University (United Kingdom), the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Berlin) and Ghent University (Belgium), this study appeared on Wednesday (15.08.2018) in the scientific journal “Science Robotics.”
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ERC Starting Grant for Professor Dr Minh Nguyen

How much welfare and social assistance do the millions of migrant workers in China’s and Vietnam’s global factories receive? What does this tell us about the welfare systems of these rapidly developing nations? The Bielefeld scientist Minh Nguyen has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her social anthropological research on Eastern and Southern Asia at the Faculty of Sociology. These grants aim to promote excellent and promising young academics. Minh Nguyen’s research will receive a total of approximately 1.5 million euros funding over a period of five years. She is the third researcher at Bielefeld University to receive one of these major EU prizes to promote science.[Weiterlesen]

‘research_tv’ presents Bielefeld research on Nobel Prize topic

On Sunday (10.12.2017), the Americans Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for their research on the biological clock. They discovered the molecular mechanisms controlling biological rhythms. A new ‘research_tv’ report describes how scientists at Bielefeld are also advancing research on the biological clock. The biochemist Professor Dr. Dorothee Staiger from Bielefeld University explains what the three Nobel Prize winners have achieved and reports on the discoveries her research team has made together with collaborators.[Weiterlesen]

Sweating it out for science – while sitting – at Bielefeld University

Getting fit and athletic – while sitting? Researchers at the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) of Bielefeld University are developing an active chair as part of the KogniHome research project. At first glance, the chair looks just like another other reclining chair with a footrest you would find in a living room in front of the TV. But upon closer inspection, the chair is actually connected to a virtual avatar and has all manner of technical refinements.   [Weiterlesen]

Team of Bielefeld victorious in the RoboCup finale

For the first time, the team from the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) at Bielefeld University has won RoboCup, the robotics world championship. The Team of Bielefeld secured its victory in the household service league RoboCup@Home on Sunday, 3 July. The CITEC team competed with the service robots Floka and Tobi, who were assisted by Amiro mini robots. During the competition, which took place from 30 June – 4 July 2016, the Bielefeld team triumphed over its 23 opponents. RoboCup is the world’s leading – and largest – competition for intelligent robots.[Weiterlesen]