PhD Life

Blogging live: Jonas goes Down Under

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Jonas Möcking is a PhD student participating in the Bo&MeRanG project, a joint programme of the Universities Bonn and Melbourne. After two years of research in Prof Matthias Geyer’s Lab in Bonn working on the molecular basis of the inflammasome complex, he continues his studies in Melbourne with Prof Seth Masters. We accompany Jonas on his journey, which begins on Wednesday, 28th February, and his … Continue reading Blogging live: Jonas goes Down Under »

Scientific Community

“ImmunoSensation²“ – One group, one vision, and a 14-year enterprise

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Today, it’s been five years since the ImmunoSensation Cluster of Excellence as we know it was launched. Now, after many busy and successful years, its period of funding will end, and it is time to think about the future of immunology research in Bonn. Fortunately, in September 2017, the follow-up concept ImmunoSensation² was invited to submit a full application for the next funding period of … Continue reading “ImmunoSensation²“ – One group, one vision, and a 14-year enterprise »

Hard Science

Time to shine – how smiling impacts our lives

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  Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu, when someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. (Author Unknown)       Smiling – a common pattern that paves the way to laughter. There are many sayings about smiling, like “A smile says more than 1.000 words”, “You’re never fully dressed without a smile”, and “Life is short, smile while you still … Continue reading Time to shine – how smiling impacts our lives »

PhD Life

A workshop series traveling around the world

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My first encounter with the workshop series “Antigen Processing and Presentation” (APP) is quite a long time ago. It started more or less by accident. While I was looking around on the EMBO homepage for some financial support for the next conference participation, I found an immunological workshop named “Antigen Processing and Presentation” which was exactly what my research is about. This workshop series had … Continue reading A workshop series traveling around the world »

Hard Science

Living with the immune system in “auto“ mode: Coeliac disease

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Isn’t “auto” always good? Automatic parking assistant in your car, auto focus of your camera, auto heating system for your home – it just makes life so much easier! When it comes to the immune system: definitely not. In this case “auto” means “against itself”, implicating that the immune system fails to distinguish between self and foreign and damages the body’s own tissues. More than … Continue reading Living with the immune system in “auto“ mode: Coeliac disease »

Scientific Community

Welcome to the dark side: The ivory tower and its casualties

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There are numerous bloggers out there who write about science in general  (some of them you can find in our collection of links). One particular blog is run at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a similar focus on research in life sciences and the life of PhD students or young investigators as the ImmunoSensation Blog. The following article by Ayla de Paepe on … Continue reading Welcome to the dark side: The ivory tower and its casualties »

Scientific Community

DZNE – Connecting the mental health of Rhineland people with basic research

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The new DZNE building in Bonn Probably most of you know the huge new DNZE building at the south end of the UKB campus at the Venusberg in Bonn. Our group, headed by Annett Halle, moved to the DZNE, which is part of the Helmholtz Society, in January this year. At the latest, the official inauguration by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in March and … Continue reading DZNE – Connecting the mental health of Rhineland people with basic research »

Hard Science

Lonely little Lars – A polar bear’s homeland, habitat, and future

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Lately, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change took place in Bonn. Apparently, confrontation and reflection on our planet´s global warming evokes very different associations in each and every one of us. When the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP 23) was held, I thought of the little polar bear cub named Lars because I fear that many years from now children could read … Continue reading Lonely little Lars – A polar bear’s homeland, habitat, and future »

Meet the expert

Don’t judge a book by its cover – scRNA-Seq tells you a cell’s story

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The motivation of most scientists is the drive to unravel the mysteries surrounding us. Speaking from the perspective of a biomedicine student, one of the biggest mysteries in modern biology remains the smallest unit of life – a cell. Although almost three hundred years have passed since the discovery of the cell (Robert Hooke, 1665), it remains a major challenge to investigate individual cells. However, … Continue reading Don’t judge a book by its cover – scRNA-Seq tells you a cell’s story »