Research

Academic freedom is a universal right and fundamental for high-quality higher education, innovation and social progress. However, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where academic freedom is subject to restrictions. Germany is in a very good position compared to the rest of the world. This is the conclusion reached by the Academic Freedom Index 2020.

The DFG has awarded young researcher Dr. Silvia Budday from the Chair of Applied Mechanics at FAU the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize – the most prestigious research award for early career researchers in Germany.

Rare earth elements are the gold of the 21st century: rare and highly prized all over the world. Geologists and materials scientists at FAU have now found a new way of finding new and previously unknown deposits of rare earths or rare earth metals worldwide.

Team of researchers at Erlangen investigating new diagnostic methods to show whether patients have a food intolerance

Our DNA is so tightly packed that it fits into the nucleus of every cell. Our genetic library is the source of products such as RNA and proteins. The first step in the production process is called transcription. The process behind how the areas in the nucleus where transcription occurs are created was not fully understood until recently.

Why are the red, yellow, and blue colours used in the world’s oldest knotted-pile carpet still so vivid and bright, even after almost two and a half thousand years? Researchers at FAU have now been able to uncover the secrets behind the so-called Pazyryk carpet using high-resolution x-ray fluorescence microscopy. Their findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.

How should an intelligent assistance system be designed so that as many people as possible use it to improve their health on a daily basis? The collaborative project ‘Erweiterte Gesundheitsintelligenz für persönliche Verhaltensstrategien im Alltag’ (Eghi) (Advanced intelligence in healthcare for personal behavioural strategies in everyday life) which has now started under the leadership of FAU is focusing on this question.

Which language patterns are most common in conspiracy theories about coronavirus? Two linguists at FAU are investigating this question in more detail. The Volkswagen Foundation is providing 120,000 euros in funding for their project ‘Tracking the infodemic: Conspiracy theories in the corona crisis’.

How were scientific findings about the coronavirus communicated, and how has this changed over the course of time? Researchers at the Center for Applied Philosophy of Science and Key Qualifications at FAU hope to find answers in a project. The Volkswagen Foundation is providing 120,000 euros in funding for the project over a period of one and a half years as part of the ‘Corona Crisis and Beyond’ initiative.