Research

The Shanghai subject ranking 2024 has been published, and FAU is listed among the 100 most prestigious universities in the world in four subjects. In Germany, FAU even managed to jump into the top 10 in seventeen subjects.

Since 2020, very many people across the globe have been vaccinated against Covid-19, but the exact structure of this vaccine has remained largely unknown until now. Prof. Dr. Tobias Unruh from the Chair of Crystallography at FAU and his team are now taking a closer look. The results of their complex analyses differ at times considerably from previous expectations. Active substances and pharmaceutical excipients incorporated in these mRNA vaccines appear not to be solid, as was previously suspected, but instead consist of numerous liquid nano droplets.

Oracles, prayers, dance – what do these topics have in common? That is what the researchers from the KFG “Alternative rationalities and esoteric practices from a global perspective” hope to answer. In this interview, the group's speaker Prof. Dr. Michael Lackner discusses the term esoteric, explains their objectives and challenges and shares his own personal highlights.

Dr. Petra Schmidl from FAU has received one of the most prestigious grants from the European Research Council (ERC) together with researchers from Belgium, Italy and the USA: a Synergy Grant worth 10 million euros, with almost 2.3 million going to FAU in the next six years. The researchers are investigating historical sources on occult sciences in Islamicate cultures.

Using a new measuring method, FAU researchers have been able to determine that immune cells also exert traction on surrounding tissue in order to pull themselves through particularly tight pores.

Vast quantities of information can be gained from blood samples today using modern testing methods. The process for evaluating this hoard of data is equally complex as is the ability to draw reliable conclusions from it to diagnose diseases.

The process of food intake appears to be organized at the cellular level like a relay race: during eating, the baton is passed between different teams of neurons until we have consumed the appropriate amount of energy. This is the conclusion of a recent study by FAU researchers.

Prof. Dr. Jana Hutter and Prof. Dr. Philipp Pelz and have been awarded the coveted ERC Starting Grant for their work on improving imaging processes in medicine and material sciences.

Functional carbon particles can transform sunlight into energy and extract hydrogen from water. FAU chemist Prof. Dr. Dirk M. Guldi is researching the carbon dots, amongst others with the help of AI.

Man-made climate change knows no limits. In future, the AGELESS consortium will investigate how marine life in our oceans affected by climate change can be protected beyond national areas of jurisdiction.