Research

Ten years ago, a team of astrophysicists led by researchers at FAU discovered an inconspicuous star in our galaxy, US 708, that turned out to be moving incredibly fast. Based on new observations that the FAU team were involved in, the cause of its extreme speed has now been identified.

After an evaluation by an international committee of experts, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved further funding for the CEDER research centre for inflammatory bowel disease at FAU.

Medical researchers at FAU have recently discovered a molecular mechanism which could hold the key to new treatments for fibrosis.

They have become part of our daily lives almost without us noticing – nanoparticles are responsible for unique properties in cosmetics, food and medication, but also in catalysts. Until recently researchers were only able to use theoretical modelling to show whether and how the internal structure of a liquid changes at the surface of a nanoparticle. Physicists at FAU have now been able to prove this in an experiment for the first time.

What should production processes look like in order to integrate systems which transmit data using light into existing components in the best possible way? This is the main research question that a newly established DFG Research Unit will be investigating. Researchers at FAU will play a key role in the Research Unit.

Since 2011, the Australian Dr. Clancy James has worked as a scientist in the projects ANTARES and KM3NeT at the Erlangen Center for Astroparticle Physics (ECAP). He is chair of the ANTARES Publications Committee and the future head of the Simulations Follow-Up Experimental Unit KM3NeT. In addition to his own research, Clancy James is a supervisor for doctoral candidates and students at the ECAP.

Neurosurgeons at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen have discovered a new function of a cancer drug. The active agent sunitinib has so far been used to treat gastrointestinal connective tissue tumours, known as gastrointestinal carcinoma, and advanced renal carcinoma. The doctors found that the drug is also effective against brain tumours.

With instruments such as financial equalisation schemes or subsidies for investments politicians seek to create equal living conditions across the regions. But are these measures effective? Are they accepted by the population? Researchers at FAU and Philipps-Universität Marburg have been examining these questions in a project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

As many as four young researchers at FAU have succeeded in securing research funding in one of the toughest European selection processes