The latest from science and research, and news in brief about events and campus life at Goethe University

Approximately 40,000 letters from Martin Buber’s correspondence with his contemporaries exist, but to this day, they have hardly been accessible. A funding commitment from the federal and state governments should…

In order for the SARS-CoV2 virus to enter host cells, its “spike” protein has to be cleaved by the cell’s own enzymes – proteases. The protease inhibitor aprotinin can prevent…

For the first time, an international research alliance has observed the RNA folding structures of the SARS-CoV2 genome with which the virus controls the infection process. Since these structures are…

Catalysts with a metal-nitrogen bond can transfer nitrogen to organic molecules. In this process short-lived molecular species are formed, whose properties critically determine the course of the reaction and product…

Cells of higher organisms use cell organelles to separate metabolic processes from each other. This is how cell respiration takes place in the mitochondria, the cell’s power plants. They can…

Neanderthals behaved not so differently from us in raising their children, whose pace of growth was similar to Homo sapiens. Thanks to the combination of geochemical and histological analyses of…

With the onset of the current pandemic, our lives have become more digital and more mediatized than ever before. But how can we understand this transformation, and how can we…

Two young chemists at Goethe University want to develop highly effective vaccines using the carrier protein dodecin. To develop their idea into a product, the young scientists are receiving funding…

In the global race to measure ever shorter time spans, physicists from Goethe University Frankfurt have now taken the lead: together with colleagues at the accelerator facility DESY in Hamburg…

About ten percent of Parkinson’s cases can be ascribed to mutations in the LRRK2 gene. Five research teams from the University of California in San Diego, Goethe University Frankfurt and…

Atmospheric researchers from Goethe University have demonstrated that air purifiers with a class H13 filter (HEPA) can lower aerosol concentration in a classroom by 90 percent within 30 minutes. Because…

Today the Online Summer School “Topology and Interactions in Optical Lattices” is starting at the Institute for Theoretical Physics. It is organized by the Research Unit FOR 2414 of the…

Geoscientists from Goethe University have found the largest extraterrestrial diamonds ever discovered – a few tenths of a millimetre in size nevertheless – inside meteorites. Together with an international team…

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt and the university of Würzburg have developed a new compound for treating cancer. It destroys a protein that triggers its development. The villain in this…

Walter Benjamin’s collection of children’s books is to be saved for posterity. The national government, the Federal State of Hesse and the Department for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Research…

Physicists at Goethe University lead one of the technical refurbishments of “ALICE” for researching quark-gluon plasma The ALICE experiment at the particle accelerator CERN in Geneva has the aim of…

So-called “bioplastics” are marketed as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional, petroleum-based plastics. They can be made from renewable feedstock, might be bio-degradable or even both. The question is however…

Zaire ebolavirus is among the deadliest of all known Ebola viruses for humans and is most likely transmitted by various species of bats. Models recently developed by scientists of the…

Until now the Nebra sky disk was deemed to be from the Early Bronze Age and therefore the world’s oldest depiction of the cosmos. Archaeologists from Goethe University Frankfurt and…

When the body can no longer compensate the gradual failure of the liver caused by liver cirrhosis, there is a high risk of acute decompensated liver cirrhosis. In some patients…

Since the beginning of the pandemic, research groups have been working on methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 viruses in wastewater to be used to monitor the degree of COVID-19 transmission among…

In cooperation with East Yangon University in Myanmar and the Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt are exploring whether the dangerous Russell’s viper can…

CARE (Corona Accelerated R&D in Europe), supported by Europe’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), is the largest undertaking of its kind dedicated to discovering and developing urgently needed treatment options for…

Corals and cave carbonates are important archives of past climate. This is because the composition of these carbonate deposits can reveal the temperatures that prevailed at the Earth’s surface at…

Researchers from Goethe University have found what is perhaps the oldest enzyme in cellular respiration. They have now been able to isolate an extremely fragile protein complex called “Rnf” from…

The Institute of Medical Virology at Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences (UK) have identified that a glycoprotein known as transferrin may critically…

When the SARS-CoV-2 virus penetrates human cells, it lets the human host cell produce proteins for it. One of these viral proteins, called PLpro, is essential for the replication and…

The hurricanes in the Caribbean became more frequent and their force varied noticeably around the same time that classical Mayan culture in Central America suffered its final demise: We can…

An interdisciplinary team from Frankfurt and Jena has developed a kind of bait with which to fish protein complexes out of mixtures. Thanks to this “bait”, the desired protein is…

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common kind of cancer in children. T-ALL, a subtype that resembles T-lymphocytes, can be treated successfully with the drug nelarabine. The drug has…

Because the tsetse fly can transmit sleeping sickness, it is commonly combatted with insecticides or caught in traps. Bioscientists at Goethe University have now developed a method for producing the…

Can class differences come about endogenously, i.e. independent of birth and education? Professor Claudius Gros from the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Goethe University pursued this issue in a game…

Light exerts a certain amount of pressure onto a body: sun sails could thus power space probes in the future. However, when light particles (photons) hit an individual molecule and…

Goethe University physicists develop free covid-19 analysis website to compare the number of cases and deaths by country There is no lack of data on global corona developments. But if…

An infection with Chagas disease is only possible in Latin America since the insect species that spread the disease only occur there. Scientists at Goethe University and the Senckenberg Society…

For more than 100 years, we have been using X-rays to look inside matter, and progressing to ever smaller structures – from crystals to nanoparticles. Now, within the framework of…

Almost twenty years after deciphering the human genome, our understanding of human disease is still far from complete. One of the most powerful and versatile tools to better understand biology…

Speaking requires both sides of the brain. Each hemisphere takes over a part of the complex task of forming sounds, modulating the voice and monitoring what has been said. However,…

A newly developed video technique has allowed scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt at the Bee Research Institute of the Polytechnical Society to record the complete development of a honey bee…

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only affecting almost every aspect of our daily lives, but also the environment. A German team including atmosphere researchers around Prof. Joachim Curtius (Goethe University…

When winter smog takes over Asian mega-cities, more particulate matter is measured in the streets than expected. An international team, including researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt, as well as the…

A team of biochemists and virologists at Goethe University and the Frankfurt University Hospital were able to observe how human cells change upon infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19…

Global health concerns us all. So does scientific progress, yet less immediate. The current worldwide corona pandemic has a tremendous impact on all aspects of our lives. Life scientists, social…

Bacteria of the species Thermus thermophilus possess two types of extensions on their surface (pili) for the purpose of motion and for capturing and absorbing DNA from their environment. This…

According to modern particle physics, matter produced when neutron stars merge is so dense that it could exist in a state of dissolved elementary particles. This state of matter, called…

When we look at the same object in quick succession, our second glance always reflects a slightly falsified image of the object. Guided by various object characteristics such as motion…

Light can be used to knock electrons out of atoms, with light particles and electrons bouncing off each other like two billiard balls – Compton scattering. Why electrons can even…

Goethe University and University Hospital Frankfurt donation barometer increases to 1.35 million euros – smallest individual donation of 2 cents from “payback points” FRANKFURT. Numerous larger and smaller individual donations…

The governmental decision on when to loosen social distancing measures should not only depend on the latest number of cases. A joint study in theoretical physics, economics and medicine at…

The target is € 5 million and € 1 million have already been firmly pledged: The donation appeal launched just a few days ago by Goethe University and University Hospital…

Researchers at the German Red Cross Blood Donor Service in Frankfurt headed by Professor Erhard Seifried, and the Institute for Medical Virology at the University Hospital Frankfurt at Goethe University…

Microbiologists at Goethe University Frankfurt have discovered how the bacterium Acetobacterium woodii uses hydrogen in a kind of cycle to conserve energy. The bacterum lives in an environment without oxygen,…

They are young and well-trained – but a fourth of sport science students suffers from pain in combination with psychosocial stresses. This was revealed in a study that originated at…

On March 25, the “International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge 2020” (LAK20) will be carried out from Frankfurt am Main as a complete online format. Responding rapidly to the…

Goethe University and University Hospital Frankfurt ask for funding for research, equipment and patient care At least five million euros – this is the sum that Goethe University and the…

Rhythmic neural signals determine the sounds that bats make. A particular neuronal circuit in the brains of bats controls their vocalisations. This was recently discovered by biologists at Goethe University…

The formation of gametes and the first cell divisions of the fertilized egg in mammals are prone to errors. Sometimes the wrong number of chromosomes is passed on to the…

Attack or peacekeeping? Immune cells answer this question countless times a day. If they regularly missed the mark, it would have serious consequences for human health. The regulatory T cells…

Strengthening basic research in African countries – this is the goal of the new postgraduate academy in the Mali city of Bamako – in particular in the humanities and social…

Pet owners have been sure of this for long time, and scientific research provides confirmation: animals, too, have personalities. A study originating at Goethe University documents that even with regard…

PROXIDRUGS, the regional network led by Goethe University, aims at developing active molecules for selective intervention, opening new therapeutic avenues. Within the “Clusters4Future” ideas competition, the Federal Ministry of Education…

Patenting and commercialization crown ten years’ development work based on the “Green IT” approach of Professor Volker Lindenstruth of Goethe University and the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research…

Plants use their roots to search for water. While the main root digs downwards, a large number of fine lateral roots explore the soil on all sides. As researchers from…

„TruMotion“ is the chosen name. Motion and exchange are at the heart of the alliance between the Goethe University and the universities in Lodz, Lyon, Milan and Thessaloniki, which was…

FRANKFURT. Even more detailed insights into the cell will be possible in future with the help of a new development in which Goethe University was involved: Together with scientists from…

According to the two main producers – China and India – the release of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 into the atmosphere should have almost completely stopped by 2017. However,…

Whether a sick cell dies, divides, or travels through the body is regulated by a sophisticated interplay of signal molecules and receptors on the cell membrane. One of the most…

Cows can adapt themselves to a fluctuating sodium content in their feed. How they do that was so far a secret. Researchers from Goethe University have now discovered a bacterium…

Determining the structure of large biomolecules is critical to many innovations in the fields of health, environment and sustainable technologies. Because structural research requires expensive equipment such as NMR spectrometers,…

Dr Tobias Freimüller, Deputy Director of the Fritz Bauer Institute at Goethe University has been awarded the 2019 Rosl and Paul Arnsberg Prize from the Polytechnic Foundation of Frankfurt am…

In an extensive project, archaeologists at Goethe University processed and digitally recorded Roman artefacts from Stockstadt am Main (Bavaria). The work lays the groundwork for future research and a new…

When cells are stressed, they initiate a complex and precisely regulated response to prevent permanent damage. One of the immediate reactions to stress signals is a reduction of protein synthesis…

Early career researcher Stephanie Döpper awarded funding by Gerda Henkel Foundation to study abandoned mud-brick settlements in Oman Goethe University is sending researchers to Oman: As the Gerda Henkel Foundation…

Prolongation of Collaborative Research Centre on selective autophagy led by Goethe University. Four years ago, Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1177 on selective autophagy was established under the leadership of Goethe…

The European research project “Working, Yet Poor“ (WorkYP) was recently awarded 3.2 million euros for three years by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme. The project will investigate the social and…

Recent studies have found a high genetic similarity of the psychiatric diseases schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, whose disease-specific changes in brain cells show an overlap of more than 70 percent.…

Scientists from Goethe University and Senckenberg Society for Nature Research are developing maps on the Zika virus infection risk The spread of infectious diseases such as Zika depends on many…

Study at Goethe University shows: ECB communication strongly affects financial markets Eight times a year, the European Central Bank (ECB) sets the key interest rate and announces it through press…

A new genetic engineering tool will contribute to simplifying microbial metabolite research How do microbes evolve and how do they interact with their environment? How are the necessary metabolite compounds…

Brain imaging study investigates why cognitive abilities differ between individuals The interconnections and communication between different regions of the human brain influence our behaviour in many ways. This is also…

For his outstanding contributions in the field of astrophysics, Luciano Rezzolla, Professor for Astrophysics at Goethe University, will be appointed Andrews Professor of Astronomy at Trinity College in Dublin. Previously…

Miniscule effect measured with new super COLTRIMS apparatus Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for explaining the photoelectric effect: in its most intuitive form, a single atom is irradiated with…

The PlastX research group, including Goethe University scientist Lisa Zimmermann, detects thousands of chemicals in plastic products—three out of four products contain harmful substances. Plastic products are ubiquitous. Although considered indispensable…

The nervous system of the threadworm C. elegans is simple at first sight: it consists of 302 neurons, some of which, however, have several functions. The neuron “RIS”, known as…

On its mission “SouthTRAC”, the German research aircraft HALO will investigate the southern atmosphere and its effects on climate change in September and November 2019. Researchers from Goethe University will…

Professor Luciano Rezzolla and his team, together with 347 researchers from the worldwide Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, have been awarded the Breakthrough Prize 2020 in recognition of their ground-breaking achievements…

The 1920s were the golden age of quantum mechanics. Brilliant theoreticians and young, innovative thinkers poured the theory into its modern mathematical form. Their predictions inspired new experiments. At the…

Cultural processes are increasingly short-lived, showing in addition a growing tendency toward self-organisation. As a result, success is now governed by a universal law. This was discovered by the physicists…

Joachim Curtius has been professor for experimental atmospheric research at Goethe University since 2007, and heads the Institute for Atmosphere and Environment. The renowned researcher is among the most-cited scientists…

Frankfurt researchers have explained the mechanism of regulator SidJ in detail / Accelerated publication in Nature In order to control cellular processes and thwart the immune system, the bacterium Legionella…

The non-invasive measurement of blood flow to the heart using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is on par with cardiac catheterization. This was the result of an international study published in…

Unlike flawless gems, fibrous diamonds often contain small saline inclusions. These give hints to scientists about the conditions under which diamonds are formed deep in the Earth’s mantle. A research…

Jürgen Habermas celebrates his 90th birthday on 18 June 2019. Members of Goethe University warmly congratulate the world famous philosopher, who taught and carried out research at the university in…

The famous philosopher returns to Goethe University on the occasion of his 90th birthday to talk about the relationship between morality and ethics Jürgen Habermas is the most important contemporary…

Microorganisms often assemble natural products similar to product assembly lines. Certain enzymes, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), play a key role in this process. Biotechnologists at Goethe University have now succeeded…

Professor Robert Tampé, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University, has been elected to the European Organization for Molecular Biology, EMBO. The specialist in immune research thus ranks…

On the occasion of the doctoral awards ceremony of the Faculty of Law at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Baker McKenzie presented the prize for two outstanding dissertations in the field of…

Researchers at Goethe University launch a website on the status of women working in economic research institutions in Europe A website presenting the results from a web-based tracking tool about…

A great honour for Jürgen Habermas: in the year of his 90th birthday, Cambridge University Press has published an extensive lexicon about the philosopher and sociologist who was a professor…

Goethe University and TU Munich have jointly obtained a new Collaborative Research Centre (Sonderforschungsbereich – SFB), which will receive approximately € 11 million in funding from the German Research Foundation…

Goethe University researchers create postgraduate academy in Bamako (Mali) – almost € 1 million in funding from the Gerda Henkel Stiftung FRANKFURT. Researchers from Goethe University and the University of…

EU-Project BRIGHTER sets its sights on 3D bioprinting systems with light sheet lithography The production of artificial organs is a hot research topic. In the near future, artificial organs will…

Study proves effectiveness of new psychotherapy / publication in JAMA Psychiatry FRANKFURT. There have not been many scientifically evaluated therapies for teens and young adults who have suffered physical or…

How did post-war non-fiction films – newsreels and documentaries – represent wartime deconstruction and reconstruction efforts? How did these films trigger public debate and influence the formation of European post-war…

Professor Ivan Dikic, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry II, has been elected to the venerable American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Birgitta Wolff, Goethe University President, congratulated the physician…

Researchers from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), one of whom is Goethe University astrophysicist Luciano Rezzolla, announced a breakthrough today in several coordinated international press conferences: they have successfully captured…

Bacteria can protect themselves from the attack of free radicals using specific natural products in their membranes. The biosynthesis of one of the most common protective pigments that could also…

Springer Nature published its first machine-generated book, compiled using an algorithm developed by researchers from Goethe University. This collaboration broke new ground with the first machine-generated book to be published…

Albumin in high doses improves cardiac function and reduces inflammation Decompensated cirrhosis is a chronic disease linked to numerous complications in its final stage. Professor Jonel Trebicka from Goethe University…

Three ERC Advanced Investigator Grants from the European Research Council, amounting to € 7.7 million in total, will go to researchers at Goethe University in Frankfurt. The sociologist Professor Markus…

Direct coupling of two molecules of nitrogen: chemists from Würzburg and Frankfurt have achieved what was thought to be impossible. This new reaction is reported in Science magazine and opens…

  Bacteria produce a cocktail of various bioactive natural products in order to survive in hostile environments with competing (micro)organisms. In the current issue of Nature Chemical Biology, researchers at…

CRISPR/Cas enables the targeted deactivation of genes by cutting DNA at pre-determined sites. This is accomplished by providing the Cas enzyme with a genetic zip code. Using an entire library…

  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia are two completely different diseases, but apparently they have a common molecular basis. Two proteins land in the wrong place and accumulate as…

  Misfolded proteins are a disaster for the cell. They don’t do their job and become simply protein waste. Franz-Ulrich Hartl and Arthur L. Horwich have shown that the cell…

  Heavy elements are produced during stellar explosion or on the surfaces of neutron stars through the capture of hydrogen nuclei (protons). This occurs at extremely high temperatures, but at…

  Seven of the ten most frequent medications contain chiral agents. These are molecules that occur in right- or left-handed forms. During chemical synthesis both forms usually occur in equal…

  The Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) at Goethe University has a strong international profile. It has now been named one of the top ten LL.M programmes in the…

European citizens working constructively together to create a peaceful and successful Europe – that’s the fundamental thought behind the “European Universities” concept proposed by France’s president Emmanual Macron in September…

Professor Ferdinand Gerlach, Director of the Institute of General Practice at Goethe University, has received the Alfons and Gertrude Kassel Foundation’s Public Service Fellowship Award for his outstanding work as…

An extensive research project on cybersecurity and data protection in Europe will be launched this week. Goethe University Frankfurt has assumed the leadership and co-ordination of the 43 total consortium…

A third of all patients in general practice suffer from multiple diseases. These patients are usually treated by various medical specialists who often do not adequately coordinate their prescriptions. The…

On 16th February 1919, Franz Rosenzweig completed his book “The Star of Redemption.” In commemoration of this event, a large conference entitled “Back to Redemption: Franz Rosenzweig’s Star 1919-2019“ is…

The option to measure the gravitational waves of two merging neutron stars has offered the chance  to answer some of the fundamental questions about the structure of matter. At the…

Amphipods of the species Gammarus roeselii guard their chosen mates, often carrying them with them for days and defending them against potential rivals. This behaviour requires a lot of time…

Should regulations for environmental protection be valid beyond our solar system? Currently, extra-terrestrial forms of life are only deemed worth protecting if they can be scientifically investigated. But what about…

Archaeologists from Goethe University will be returning to the Urals for further research work. In collaboration with researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Russian colleagues, they want to find…

Insulators that are conducting at their edges hold promise for interesting technological applications. However, until now their characteristics have not been fully understood. Physicists at Goethe University have now modelled…

Diamonds are messengers from Earth’s interior. A portion of the rare gem, which is very small but important for researchers, contains inclusions from the earth’s lower mantle. One of the…

To eat what grows locally – today’s dietary trend was every day’s practice for prehistoric humans. Studying fossil tooth enamel, German researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt  and the Senckenberg research…

Goethe University has joined ranks with universities in Milan, Lyon and Birmingham to form an alliance of European universities for more intensive cooperation in the future. In February they will…

The African Studies Rhine-Main initiative of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Goethe University Frankfurt launches its first joint research project on „Africans in the Rhine-Main region: an African linguistic…

Economist Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln awarded € 1.6 million ERC Consolidator Grant. Why do some groups behave differently in the labour market than others? What determines labour market success? And which effect…

Along with a warming climate and intensified human activities, recent water storage in global landlocked basins has undergone a widespread decline. A new study reveals this decline has aggravated local…

Every year, a list is published of the top one percent of researchers worldwide, based on the frequency with which their work is cited by other scientists according to data…

A team of scientists, led by Dr Sietske Batenburg at the University of Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences, in close collaboration with Goethe University and other German and UK institutions,…

For decades it was assumed that protein channels and protein pumps fulfilled completely different functions and worked independently of each other. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt and University Groningen have…

 How predictive are animal models for the human body? Which human organs can be recreated in vitro? How can personalized medicine benefit from patient-specific organ systems in the future? These…

“Wasps are important ecological regulators,” states biologist Bruno Streit, senior professor for Ecology and Evolution at Goethe University, “but who thinks of that when they are crawling over your plum…

The observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii is world-famous. Less well-known is the fact that the Hawaiian Islands are home to one of the leading institutes for cosmochemistry, the Institute for…

In order to simulate double neutron star systems, the Frankfurt physicist Professor Luciano Rezzolla will be allotted 102 million CPU hours on the supercomputer “superMUC” at the Leibniz computing centre…

Whether defective cells in the body will live or die is determined by a sophisticated control system. Death receptors play important roles in this system and translate information from outside…

How does our nervous system motivate us to get off the sofa and walk to the fridge, or even to the supermarket, to get food? A research team led by…

Once an SPD voter, always an SPD voter? This kind of consistency in voting behaviour is long gone. But what does the decreasing alignment of voters with political parties mean…

Patients with rare diseases often go through a long history of suffering before finally receiving an accurate diagnosis. One reason for this is that the patient information necessary for research…

FRANKFURT. Robert Tampé, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University, has received € 1.5 million from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a Reinhart Koselleck project. Through this…

One of the outstanding mysteries of the cerebral cortex is how individual neurons develop the proper synaptic connections to form large-scale, distributed networks. Now, an international team of scientists including…

3D structure of an NRPS docking domain pair. The docking domains of NRPS B (green) connects to the fitting docking domain of NRPS C (magenta) via a β-leaflet. Microorganisms often…

Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, will hold the Visiting Professorship of Financial History at Goethe University Frankfurt’s House of Finance next year. The professorship is endowed by Metzler Bank…

With their joint application for an excellence cluster, Goethe University Frankfurt and Justus-Liebig-University Giessen asserted themselves successfully against strong competition. The German Research Foundation announced on 27th September, that the…

Following ten years at the renowned University of California San Diego (UCSD), cardiovascular researcher Dr. Nuno Guimarães Camboa is coming to Goethe University. He was lured by the DZHK (German…

A new supercomputer, on course to set new standards in the field of green IT, is currently being developed at Goethe University under the leadership of Professor Volker Lindenstruth (professorship…

The geoscientist Frank Brenker and his team will be among the first scientists to examine material from the asteroid Ryugu. It is currently being orbited by the Japanese aerospace agency…

Systemic inflammatory diseases, such as lupus, often cause cardiac damage that goes undetected. An international research team headed by the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging at the University…

Körber Foundation’s German Thesis Award for comparison of poverty trends in Germany and the United Kingdom. In Germany, the risk of poverty has increased since the 1990s while in Great…

The University of Jos will offer a master’s degree in film archiving and film culture modelled on Goethe University programme. A Frankfurt master programme serves as an international prototype: With…

Function and homeostasis of the brain relies on communication between the complex network of cells, which compose this organ. Consequently, development of the different groups of cells in the brain…

Are people with more money and education dominating and less warm? A social-psychological study at Goethe University scrutinizes stereotypes. How is our behavior influenced by our social class? Sociology has…

Once again, researchers at Goethe University were successful in the competition for the prestigious starting grants from the European Research Council (ERC): Dr Christian Münch from the Institute of Biochemistry…

Climate researcher Joachim Curtius from the Goethe University on the effects of this record-breaking summer, their human influence, and the outlook for the future In view of the extreme drought…

Hereditary angioedema is a chronic disorder that can sometimes be life-threatening. Now, a new drug therapy has been successfully tested in an international study headed by the University Hospital Frankfurt.…

Range of applications for silicones on the increase thanks to modular, combinable building blocks. Silicones are synthetic materials used in a broad range of applications. Thanks to the stability of…

National and regional governments pledge total of around € 97 million for LOEWE Centre “Frankfurt Cancer Institute”. Goethe University has a new LOEWE Centre under its belt – together with…

Comparison of billions of theoretical models with gravitational waves results in the answer to an old riddle How large is a neutron star? Previous estimates varied from eight to sixteen…

It is quite obvious that inflation may affect individuals differently. However, the extent to which the rate of inflation in the EU’s Member States disadvantages poorer individuals has now been…

Even in adult brains, new neurons are generated throughout a lifetime. In a publication in the scientific journal PNAS, a research group led by Goethe University describes plastic changes of…

The theoretical physicist Hannah Petersen has been awarded the Zimanyi Medal of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The award is in honor of her work on relativistic heavy ion collisions.…

Even after the direct measurement of their gravitational waves, there are still mysteries surrounding black holes. What happens when two black holes merge, or when stars collide with a black…

The successful master scholarship “Goethe Goes Global“ is expanding its scope this year: whereas previously applications were only possible for 20 programs, now almost 80 programs are eligible – in…

Frankfurt scientists reveal atomic details for one of Legionella’s enzymatic weapons and develop first inhibitor. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major medical problem worldwide, impacting both human health and economic…

Not everyone person who has a “cancer gene” will inevitably develop this disease in their lifetime. Thanks to a new area of research called epigenetics, we now know that many…

Due to global trade and tourism, mosquitoes – transmitters of dangerous infectious diseases – have spread to almost every part of the world. Moreover, climate change promotes the spread of…

Following the Paris Climate Agreement, Germany and France created the program “Make Our Planet Great Again,“ to promote climate change research. One of 13 researchers selected by an expert jury…

Since first being awarded in 1901, most Nobel Prizes for science have gone to the USA, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. An empirical study by Professor Claudius Gros from…

How new blood vessels form in mammals, for example during development or after injury, was so far not known exactly. Scientists at the Goethe University have now been able to…

What difference does it make to the Earth’s water resources if we can limit global warming to 1.5°C instead of 2°C? A research group led by Goethe University Frankfurt has…

Harold James, Princeton University, will hold the Visiting Professorship of Financial History at Goethe University Frankfurt’s House of Finance this year. The professorship is endowed by Metzler Bank and Friedrich…

One of the most significant impairments of the quality of life after a chemotherapy is infertility. Researchers of the Goethe University and the University Tor Vergata in Rome have now…

Astrophysicists at Goethe University Frankfurt answer this question by computing images of feeding non-Einsteinian black holes: At present it is hard to tell them apart from standard black holes. One…

Two Advanced Grants of the European Research Council (ERC) have been awarded to researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt. The sociologist Professor Thomas Lemke is researching the social impacts of cryobiology,…

In the pre-industrial age, twilight was a dangerous time for humans since they were at risk of encountering nocturnal predators. Anyone still able to recognise things despite the weak light…

For the first time, scientists of the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, Goethe University and the University of Lund in Sweden have deciphered the complete genome of the…

Transgenic organisms, e.g. animals or plants into which a foreign gene has been introduced, are powerful tools that can be used to analyse biological processes or to mimic human diseases.…

Fat cells, or adipocytes, regulate body temperature and energy consumption but they can also cause illness. The prizewinner is studying how different fat cells develop, how they work, and how…

Anthony Cerami and David Wallach have – in their own individual way and independently of one other – decoded the significance of TNF, helping make the neutralization of TNF one…

From 1964 to 1968, the General Students’ Committee (AStA) of the Frankfurt Goethe University ran a gallery in the student building on the Bockenheim campus. Called the “Studiogalerie”, this establishment…

Cases of multi-resistant bacteria in hospitals have increased dramatically in recent years and the health system faces tremendous problems as a result. Alongside “old acquaintances”, such as Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)…

Goethe University Frankfurt can boast another EU-funded research project: With the appointment of Yee Lee Shing as Chair of Developmental Psychology her PIVOTAL research project has accompanied her to Frankfurt.…

More and more applications (apps) for smartphones are available that are able to access personal data without the user’s knowledge. Researchers at the Goethe University Frankfurt have now developed an…

January 2018 saw the launch at Goethe University Frankfurt of a further Koselleck project funded by the German Research Foundation. The project, headed by professor and linguist Thomas Ede Zimmermann,…

Mutations in the p63 protein lead to a number of disorders, but none is as severe as the AEC syndrome. Scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt in collaboration with a research…

On average, mammals move only half to one third of the distance in human-modified landscapes than they do in the wild. These findings have been published today by an international…

Since their discovery in the 1960s, scientists have sought to answer an important question: How massive can neutron stars actually become? By contrast to black holes, these stars cannot gain…

Goethe University Frankfurt can continue its study of the Nok Culture. The German Research Foundation has recently approved the funding application submitted by Professor Peter Breunig, Professor of African Archaeology,…

The initiators behind two projects at Goethe University Frankfurt have every reason to be pleased: Their new research groups will benefit from German Research Foundation funds totalling € 1.9 million.…

Economist with a broad range of interests Economist Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, Professor of Macroeconomics and Development at Goethe University Frankfurt, has been awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2018 worth €…

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt unveil the secret of the Blue Hole stalactite In 1970, a team led by French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau recovered an unusual stalactite from the…

Microorganisms often produce natural products in a step-by-step manner similar to an assembly line. Examples of such enzymes are non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now…

Our environment is composed according to certain rules and characteristics which are so obvious to us that we are scarcely aware of them. Professor Melissa Lê-Hoa Võ, psychologist at Goethe…

By no means are only elderly people at risk from heart diseases. Physically active individuals can also be affected, for example if a seemingly harmless flu bug spreads to the…

Differences in intelligence have so far mostly been attributed to differences in specific brain regions. However, are smart people’s brains also wired differently to those of less intelligent persons? A…

With a miniaturised space probe capable of being accelerated to a quarter of the speed of light we could reach Alpha Centauri, our nearest star, in about 20 or up…

Misfolded proteins cause many diseases including neurodegenerative conditions and cancer. To protect themselves from protein misfolding, cells have developed sophisticated quality control mechanisms. How these function in the case of…

Social media have become an indispensable part of our everyday life. We use them constantly to screen the latest news and share pre-selected information. The cells in our body do…

A team of Frankfurt-based archaeologists has returned from the Iraqi-Kurdish province of Sulaymaniyah with new findings. The discovery of a loom from the 5th to 6th century AD in particular…

The surface of every cell contains receptors that react to external signals similar to a “gate”. In this way, the cells of the innate immune system can differentiate between friend…

Science publication describes quality control of antigens. The immune system monitors the health status of the cells in our bodies by examining a kind of molecular passport. Sometimes cells present…

Goethe University’s Museum Giersch shows pictures of a nearly forgotten artist couple. The visual artist Eric Isenburger (1902–1994) and his wife and muse, expressionist dancer Jula Isenburger, née Elenbogen (1908–2000),…

Research unit validates upgraded models in second funding period. Gravity waves form in the atmosphere as a result of destabilizing processes, for example at weather fronts, during storms or when…

Artificial transporter enzyme complexes improve sugar utilization in baker’s yeast. Making valuable products, such as fuels, synthetic materials or pharmaceuticals, from renewable raw materials is to date not efficient enough…

Konstantinos Stellos awarded ERC Starting Grant. Atherosclerosis, the most frequent cause of death in the western world, usually starts with an inflammation of arterial endothelial cells, a process that affects…

The role of faulty RNA molecules will be analyzed by Goethe University’s Prof. Rolf Marschalek / Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) will fund the project with 1.25 million Euro. According to the…

SMART study reveals changes in brain metabolism. Numerous studies have shown that physical exercise seems beneficial in the prevention of cognitive impairment and dementia in old age. Now researchers at…

A group of scientists has put together the puzzle pieces of a riboswitch-based regulatory process in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis The survival of the cell is – apart from other…

Machos are only welcome when female mosquitofish are in a group In evolution, a high sex drive does not always pay off. Female mosquitofish swim away from over-impetuous lovers because…

The European Union is funding three new projects – Innovative Training Networks (ITN) within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Programme – for structured doctoral training at Goethe University Frankfurt. Such projects are…

New Emmy Noether Independent Junior Research Group at the Faculty of Law examines EU solidarity conflicts A new Emmy Noether Independent Junior Research Group has started work at the Faculty…

Anesthetics cause certain areas of the brain to generate less information. To date, researchers assumed that anesthetics interrupt signal transmission between different areas of the brain and that is why…

German Research Foundation approves Collaborative Research Centre on the topic of matter under extreme conditions in cooperation with the universities in Darmstadt and Bielefeld / CRC in medicine extended The…

Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have successfully combined two very advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques Is it possible to watch at the level of single cells how fish embryos become trout,…

State of Hesse grants funds of about € 525,000 for research against forgetting. Boris Rhein, Minister for Science and the Arts, today introduced the holder of Germany’s first chair for…

A team around Ivan Dikic and Mike Heilemann discovers an inflammatory signaling platform which may lead to novel antibiotic therapies With drug resistance being on the rise worldwide, bacterial infections…

Light-inducible microRNA inhibitors used for the first time as local therapeutic agents. MicroRNAs are interesting target structures for new therapeutic agents. They can be blocked through synthetic antimiRs. However, to…

Screening process for lead structures with optimized efficiencies Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are promising candidates for flexible flat displays. By means of a screening process developed by chemists at Goethe…

Proposal by young geoscientists and physicists shortlisted. Their own experiment on the International Space Station (ISS) is the dream of many young early career researchers. For some geosciences and physics…

Goethe University Frankfurt secures two ERC Advanced Investigator Grants / € 2.5 million each for five years Two ERC Advanced Investigator Grants of the European Research Council to the amount…

Event Horizon Telescope: Goethe University is participating via the ERC-project Black Hole Cam. As part of the collaboration „BlackHoleCam“ the research group of Prof. Luciano Rezzolla of Goethe University Frankfurt…

Ubiquitin is a small protein that can be linked to other cellular proteins, thereby controlling and modulating their functions. The attachment occurs in many different forms, either as single molecule…

The young researcher has been awarded for his contribution to a gene therapy approach to treat retinitis pigmentosa and for the development of artificial neuronal circuits. Retinitis pigmentosa is an…

Scientists looking for new tumor viruses have to keep an eye out for the virus genes rather than the viral particles. This year’s winners of the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig…

Short-chain fatty acids are high-value constituents of cosmetics, active pharmaceutical ingredients, antimicrobial substances, aromas or soap. To date, it has only been possible to extract them from crude oil by…

Walking or jogging helps patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer to cope better with the side effects of chemotherapy. This has now been shown by a study conducted by Katrin Stücher…

Researchers often observe inadequate parenting, a negative emotional climate and household chaos in families of children with ADHD. A research group at Goethe University Frankfurt and the universities of Bremen,…

The 1950s represented an era of new beginnings. Abstraction dominated the art of the young Federal Republic of Germany. Featuring 74 works by 20 artists, Giersch Museum’s new exhibition is…

Proteins are the building blocks of all cells. They are made from messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, which are copied from DNA in the nuclei of cells. All cells, including brain…

The Archive Centre of the Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library has been able to expand its collection of material on critical theory thanks to the bequest of philosopher Hermann Schweppenhäuser…

Because it is impossible to predict which acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients will benefit, all patients are routinely treated with chemotherapy although only some will respond to the treatment. Researchers…

Boris Rhein, Hessen’s Minister for Science and the Arts, announced on the 16th of December that historian Professor Dr. Sybille Steinbacher had been called to the first chair for Holocaust…

Whether water freezes to ice, iron is demagnetized or a material becomes superconducting – for physicists there is always a phase transition behind it. They endeavour to understand these different…

Nature often produces a whole weaponry of active ingredients to ensure it is well prepared for any scenario that might occur. Pharmacists and medical experts have meanwhile learnt from this,…

Helium atoms are loners. Only if they are cooled down to an extremely low temperature do they form a very weakly bound molecule. In so doing, they can keep a…

The attachment of ubiquitin was long considered as giving the „kiss of death“, labelling superfluous proteins for disposal within a cell. However, by now it has been well established that…

Study by PwC and Goethe University Frankfurt reveals: In Dax and MDax-listed companies, bonuses are decoupled from corporate success after payout. To date, the bonuses paid out to executive board…

The first Research Training Group ever with a focus on film studies will be established in the course of the coming year at Goethe University Frankfurt. This was announced by…

Translation of the genetic code in proteins is a central process in life and takes place in the ribosome, a giant molecule consisting of two subunits. This is where long…

Regulatory authorities around the world can in future instruct manufacturers of chemicals and drugs to check their products for harmful effects on reproduction by means of a new test with…

Invention by Professor Horst Schmidt-Böcking (Goethe University Frankfurt) and his colleague Dr. Gerhard Luther (Saarland University) is the basis for a novel marine pumped storage system developed by the Fraunhofer…

When new particles develop in the atmosphere, this influences cloud formation and with that the climate too. Since a few years, these complex processes have been reproduced in a large…

Microbes are already used on a wide scale for the production of fuels and base chemicals, but for this most of them have to be “fed” with sugar. However, since…

Professor Maria Roser Valenti has been elected as a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in the „Division of Computational Physics“. She was awarded this high distinction for her…

Hydrogen (H2) is an extremely simple molecule and yet a valuable raw material which as a result of the development of sophisticated catalysts is becoming more and more important. In…

“Economics” by Paul A. Samuelson, co-authored by William D. Nordhaus since 1985, has shaped „mainstream economics“ for more than half a century. We provide the first quantitative analysis of how…

The Anthropocene is the era of pervasive human impact on the planet. Atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations that exceed Holocene peak levels, techno-fossils frozen in Greenland ice sheets, and…

“A total of € 330 million from the third round of the university investment programme HEUREKA will go to universities in Frankfurt. This provides them with planning security, a long-term…

Due the changed pandemic situation, the city of Frankfurt decreed through a change on 27 October 2020 to the general ruling that beginning immediately a mandate to wear a mouth-and-nose…

More in-person events, especially for the introductory and conclusion phases, for laboratory work, rehearsals and discourse In-person operations at Hessian Universities will be extended with caution during the Winter 2020/2021…

The JQ Young Academy is looking for new fellows to the annual theme 2021 „Tenets, Variations, Transformations“. We invite all early-career researchers of the Goethe University and our strategic partners of…

Insurance 2030: Towards SustainabilityIs Regulation Pushing the Change or Is Insurance Taking the Lead? The International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR) of the Goethe University organises four digital policy forums…

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues, The first weeks of the lecture period in this summer semester have shown that we have come to terms with the suspension of in-person…

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Students, The first weeks of the lecture period in this summer semester are now behind us and have shown that we have come to terms with…

Dear Students, A warm welcome to the 2020 summer semester – an exceptional semester! The Covid-19 pandemic and the social distancing it has brought with it also mean that the…

Dear Students, Dear Professors and Instructors, Dear University Employees, The unusual circumstances in which we currently find ourselves due to the spread of the coronavirus pose unique challenges for our…

To the professors and instructorsat Goethe University Frankfurt am Main  Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues, The spread of the coronavirus and the social distancing it brings with it also mean…

27 March 2020 4:00 p.m. : The English version of Goethe University’s website on the limitation of the coronavirus has been updated. „Advisory services“, „Information and advising for students in…

Update: 23 March 2020, 7:30 p.m. Dear University Members,Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, On 22 March, the federal and state governments together decreed further measures (e.g., contact ban) restricting public life…

Dear Goethe Community Members,Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, For weeks now at Goethe University, we are no longer in “normal operation”, nor are we in “core operation”. Normal university life has…

Issued: 16 March 2020, 17.45 p.m. Dear students,  As I announced in my previous communication, I would now like to inform you about how upcoming exams will be handled. In…

Issued: 16 March 2020, 14.35 p.m. Dear Goethe University Members,   To do its part in limiting the spread of the coronavirus, Goethe University will switch to a different mode…

In response to the occurrence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), Goethe University’s Executive Board has created a crisis unit. The crisis unit is in charge of coordinating what at present…

As a result of the spreading of the coronavirus, in the last days our fellow Chinese citizens are evidently increasingly the target of insulting behaviour here in Germany too. The…

Are you a postdoctoral researcher at Goethe University? Are you looking for more information about research support after your PhD? Would you like to get in contact with fellow postdocs?…

The theoretical astrophysicist Luciano Rezzolla will receive the Frankfurt Physics Science Prize for his outstanding scientific work. The prize will be awarded in an academic ceremony with State Secretary Ayse…

Goethe University’s Focus Line A|B supports early career researchers up to six years after completion of their PhD who are currently preparing an independent grant proposal. The aim is to…

A symposium entitled “Texts of the Heisei Era – Readings of Contemporary Japanese Literature” organised by Japanese Studies at Goethe University will take place on 6 and 7 June 2019.…

For 2019–2020, the JQ Young Academy – an interdisciplinary academy at the Goethe University – defined a new research theme to address current issues in sciences, arts, and humanities: Tenets,…

The Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology at Goethe University Frankfurt owns the world’s most important collection of painted copies of prehistoric rock art. Along with a fascinating archive…

The executive boards of Hessen’s universities welcome agreements and provisions on research and teaching in the new state government’s coalition contract. The coalition contract was a main topic during the…

The Aventis Foundation is offering an award for talented post-doctoral candidates this year to support innovative approaches in the life sciences. Postdoctoral candidates in the field of life sciences who…

The university associations Russell Group and German U15 represent research-intensive universities in the UK and Germany, respectively. On Monday, 14th January, they signed a declaration pledging their commitment for their…

Professor Ferdinand M. Gerlach, Director of the Institute of General Practice at Goethe University, has again been appointed to the German Council of Health Advisors. The general practitioner has been…

Ultimately, a video conference is no substitute for meeting in person: For a Vice President of Internationalisation, visiting current or future partner universities is basically part of the job description.…

Riedberg Campus continues to grow. Hessian Minister of Higher Education, Research and the Arts Boris Rhein and Professor Birgitta Wolff, Goethe University President, together presented the winner of the architect…

The Institute for England and America Studies at Goethe University is hosting an international conference with the title „The Return of the Aesthetic in American Studies“. Speakers will examine the…

The “Haus der Stille“ (House of Silence) opened on 5th October 2010 on the Westend Campus, creating a multi-faith prayer room for meditation and reflection for students, employees and others…

Can doctors’ theses be interesting, topical and generally understandable? In colourful, playfully designed rooms, fourteen doctoral students and two postdocs from the fields of archeology and cultural anthropology – all…

27 individuals distinguished: in cooperation with the graduate school HGS-HIRe, Stiftung Giersch presented the Giersch Excellence Awards and Giersch Excellence Grants to early career researchers from the universities in Darmstadt…

The General Assembly of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) has elected Professor Birgitta Wolff as new member to the HRK Executive Board. Wolff will be in charge of “Research and…

Ultimately, a video conference is no substitute for meeting in person: For a Vice President of Internationalisation, visiting current or future partner universities is basically part of the job description.…

“Germany the way I see it: Different and beautiful“ – this was the motto of the photography competition organised by the Goethe Welcome Centre for international doctoral candidates for the…

The year 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the famous Marburg new Kantian thinker Hermann Cohen. In 2019, 100 years will have passed since the posthumous publication…

For the second time since 2017, the RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching will fund initiatives by teachers at the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) to promote the qualitative development of studying and…

This winter semester’s lecture series by the Excellence Cluster “The Formation of Normative Orders“ is entitled: “The End of Pacification? The Transformation of Political Violence in the 21st Century”. The…

The research group “Foundations of Law and Finance”, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) with approx. 3.1m euro, will formally begin with a kick-off event on 1st November. Two keynote…

The new building on the Westend Campus will house the Faculty of Linguistics, Culture and Arts, the last of the social science and humanistic disciplines yet to be relocated from…