uni.news

» Published on 11. Juni 2012

Researchers discover hereditary enzyme deficiency

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).  

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» Published on 11. Juni 2012

Heisenberg fellowship for the physicist Dr. Andrey Turchanin

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.

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» Published on 4. Juni 2012

Bielefeld: Among the best young universities in the world

Results of the Times Higher Education Rankings

An international ranking by Times Higher Education (THE) set out to identify the ‘rising stars of the global academy’ and found Bielefeld University. The ‘100 under 50’ rankings list universities throughout the world that are less than 50 years old. Bielefeld University, founded in 1969, gained 42nd place, profiting particularly from the work of its scholars being cited so frequently.

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» Published on 25. Mai 2012

A mating dance with Popeye arms

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.

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» Published on 23. Mai 2012

Bielefeld students present their short film at Cannes

Blue Identity – filming the refugee problem in Germany

The prospective media researcher Emrah Turan and the linguistics student Kristin Nahrmann have produced a short film Nasnameyek Hêşîn (The Blue Identity, Der Blaue Pass) on the status of refugees in Germany directed by Mümin Baris. The film has now been accepted for the Short Film Corner in Cannes, and will be shown to a large audience of film experts on 16 May. Both students have been active in the film industry since 2011.

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» Published on 23. Mai 2012

University expanding its international alumni relations work

Russian alumni of Bielefeld University meet up in St Petersburg

St Petersburg in spring. Ice floes are still floating on the Neva, but the spring sunshine is beginning to spread its warmth. As part of the German Week in St Petersburg, Bielefeld University sent out its first ever invitation to its foreign alumni, inviting them to a meeting at Saint Petersburg State University’s Centre for German and European Studies (ZDES). Dr. Thomas Lüttenberg, Head of the International Office, informed former students about current developments at Bielefeld University. The Bielefeld alumni also included Dr Michael Kleineberg, who is currently supervising the DAAD Information Centre in St Petersburg. In his welcoming speech, Professor Nikolai Skvorzov, Vice-President of Saint Petersburg State University, emphasized the great importance of academic ties with Bielefeld.

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» Published on 23. Mai 2012

Bielefeld University popular with researchers from abroad

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.

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» Published on 3. April 2012

The library of the future

10th Bielefeld Conference: International meeting for librarians

A library as just a collection of books is a thing of the past. Information is increasingly being stored and presented digitally – either as a multimedia product, an online catalogue, or in a data cloud. The need for new information structures is more urgent than ever before. The 10th International Bielefeld Conference 2012 will be presenting visions of such future structures. Hosted by Bielefeld University library, librarians from Europe and beyond will be gathering from the 24th to the 26th of April at the Stadthalle in Bielefeld to discuss ‘Shaping Future INFO-Structures. Feeding Data, Designing Information Services and Constructing ICT-Infrastructure for a Digital Natives World’. Conference languages are English and German.

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» Published on 29. März 2012

Dorm dictionary as app

Free programme for iPhones and Android smartphones

The illustrated trilingual dorm dictionary is now available as an app. Students attending the ‘Vorsicht Mobile Marketing!‘ course at Bielefeld University have developed a digital version of the dictionary for smartphones and tablets. Called ‘idormdict‘ (International Dorm Dictionary for students), the programme is designed to help international students find their way through daily dorm life – just like the printed version that has been distributed to more than 60,000 students in several regional and one transregional editions. The new app runs on iPhones, Android smartphones, and tablets such as iPads. You can now download this short programme free of charge from the Internet under www.idormdict.de

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» Published on 6. März 2012

More spiritual than religious

Researchers at Bielefeld University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga release the initial results of an online surve

'I am more spiritual than religious' - half of the respondents agreed with this statement, regardless of whether they belonged to a church or not. This is one of the findings from an intercultural study by Bielefeld University and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA. The research project aims to explain what people understand by the terms spirituality and religiosity, how this understanding relates to their personality and biography, and what it means for their lives. The project is running until the end of 2012. One part of the project is an online survey of a total of 1,886 participants in Germany and the USA. Initial analyses of this survey are now available, and one finding has surprised the researchers: an amazingly large number of people who do not belong to a religious community, including many who see themselves as atheists, describe themselves as spiritual.

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