Researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn have succeeded in dramatically rejuvenating human cells in a test tube. To do so, they directly reprogrammed red blood cell precursors into stem cells from which neurons can be derived. During this process, the molecular clocks that indicate a cell’s age were reset. For example, blood cells from an 80-year-old were transformed into stem cells with a molecular age of less than 20 years. Since this rejuvenation process occurred very slowly, it is well-suited for a more detailed investigation of the underlying mechanisms. The results have been published in the journal Aging Cell.

According to international studies, taking Acetylsalicylic acid daily can protect people with Lynch syndrome from developing colorectal cancer – even at low doses. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the Center for Integrated Oncology (CIO) Bonn, in collaboration with the self-help organization SemiColon, have now found that these scientific findings have so far been insufficiently incorporated into clinical practice. The results of the LYNX study have now been published as a letter in the journal *The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology*.

How can artificial intelligence help diagnose and treat patients with brain tumors? This is the question that researchers are tackling in a Europe-wide collaborative project involving the University of Bonn and the Neuroradiology Clinic at the University Hospital Bonn. The European Innovation Council (EIC) is funding the “EUcanAI” project to the tune of some €3.9 million over the next four years.

For the first time, scientists from the Institute of Physics at the University of Bonn, as well as from the Faculty of Medicine and the University Hospital Bonn, gathered for the Medicine-Physics Symposium. In the IMPULSE building, they presented ongoing projects and explored where the expertise of both disciplines could complement each other effectively.

Imagine if the key to broad-spectrum anti-viral therapy was hidden deep inside one of our 20,000 genes. That’s what Professor Jonathan Schmid-Burgk at the University of Bonn in Germany is on a mission to find. 

Microplastics appear capable of significantly impairing the function of phagocytes in the liver, at least in mice. In turn, this disrupts the metabolism of this vital organ and increases the build-up of fat inside it. These are the key findings from a joint German-Austrian study led by the University of Bonn, details of which have now been published in the journal “Nature Metabolism.”

How can cities along rivers and coastlines be designed to promote the health of the people who live there? The new DFG Research Training Group “Urban Future – Managing Transformations for Better Health in Blue Cities” (RTG 3204/1) is exploring this question. Starting immediately, early-career researchers from a wide range of disciplines can apply for ten doctoral positions.

Professor Ilona C. Grunwald Kadow from the University of Bonn has been appointed Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar (MPINB). Over the next five years, she will establish a research group investigating how interactions between the brain and the body influence behavior. The appointment will further strengthen cooperation between the two Bonn-based institutions.