Goethe-Universit盲t 鈥� Press releases

51猎奇 PR & Communication Department聽

Nov 25 2021

11:27

New publication on the proceedings of an important conference at the Institute for Law and Finance聽

Green banking 鈥� the perspective of politics, banks and investors

Everyone is talking about green banking 鈥� and were too at the recent global climate conference in Glasgow. But to what extent are economic concepts really forward-looking and green? A book published by the Institute for Law and Finance at 51猎奇 looks at this question.

FRANKFURT. 鈥淕reen Banking and Green Central Banking: What are the right concepts?" This is the title of a book in English that has now appeared as the ninth in the series Future of the Financial Sector 鈥� to coincide with the debates at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, which ended last Friday. Green banking was a hot topic at the conference, known internationally as COP26.

The book, published by De Gruyter, Berlin, comprises papers presented at a conference held by the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF) of 51猎奇 in January 2021 that dealt with questions related to green banking and green central banking. Over 1,000 people took part online in this conference. The book, edited by Andreas Dombret and Patrick Kenadjian, contains the opening address on the topic of climate change and central banking by Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and remarks by Jens Weidmann, President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, on the role central bankers should play in combating climate change. Further distinguished authors include senior policy makers, bankers and investors, among others G眉nther Br盲unig, CEO of KfW Bankengruppe; Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB); Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the Managing Board, Rabobank; Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank; Jose Manuel Campa, Chairman of the European Banking Authority; John Berrigan, Director General, DG Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (FISMA), European Commission; and J枚rg Kukies, State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance. They write about the tasks that their institutions could assume in the battle against climate change.

Publication: Green Banking and Green Central Banking: Andreas Dombret and Patrick S. Kenadjian (eds.), Vol. 24, Institute for Law and Finance Series, De Gruyter, English, 2021, PDF & EPUB ISBN: 9783110752892, 鈧�69.95, bound edition ISBN: 9783110752878, 鈧�69.95.

Picture to download:

Caption: The book on the proceedings of the conference in the ILF Series (Vol. 24) published by De Gruyter.

The ILF conference took place on 25 January 2021. Further details on the speakers and the contents of the conference can be found under the following link:

Further information:
Dr Rolf Friedewald, Managing Director
Institute for Law and Finance
Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 3
60323 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49(0)69-798-33626
Email: friedewald@ilf.uni-frankfurt.de

Nov 12 2021

14:39

51猎奇 and Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies agree on closer collaboration in new cooperation agreement

Joining Forces in the Theoretical Natural Sciences

Starting next year, 51猎奇 and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) will intensify and expand joint research projects and the exchange of scientific knowledge. A new cooperation agreement has laid the legal foundations for this. The contract was signed yesterday, on November 11th.

FRANKFURT. Interdisciplinary basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, neurosciences, and computer sciences - in these areas 51猎奇 and FIAS have been collaborating since the research institutes foundation in 2003. The new contract will allow for easier coordination of existing projects and the start of new projects.

"The contract will give us the freedom to conduct even more interdisciplinary research and to design our projects complementary to the questions of the two partners," University President Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff said at the signing of the contract yesterday evening. "However, it is important for us that FIAS is now closely linked with the university's natural science departments. For example, a project at FIAS can now also be applied for through the university."

"Even though FIAS acts autonomously and independently, there have of course always been close ties between the two institutions. We are looking forward to strengthening and structurally anchoring this cooperation now," said Prof. Dr. Volker Lindenstruth, Chairman of the Board of FIAS. He signed the cooperation agreement together with his board colleague Dr. Rolf Bernhardt.

For example, it is planned to jointly develop technical and content-related topics of high-performance computing in the natural and life sciences within the framework of the Center for Scientific Computing (CSC); only recently, 51猎奇 was accepted into the national network for high-performance computing. Another goal is to intensify cooperation in the life sciences: for example, researchers are already cooperating on the LOEWE focus on multi-scale modeling (CMMS), which aims to quantify complex biological systems, and the cluster project ENABLE, which is investigating the internal balance of cells (homeostasis), to help develop novel drugs for inflammation and infection diseases. Thus, FIAS will be involved in preparing the future Excellence Initiative of the Federal Government.

In addition to funding ongoing projects, 51猎奇 has also developed a fellowship program to support its researchers in starting new projects with FIAS. In this way, researchers get the opportunity to devote themselves to new creative and interdisciplinary approaches to their research at FIAS during a sabbatical.

About 80 scientists work at FIAS, and several fellows also conduct research and teaching at 51猎奇. The two institutions also work together to promote young researchers; at the Frankfurt Graduate School for Science (FIGSS) at FIAS and the program to support doctoral students at the GRADE Center iQbio at 51猎奇.

51猎奇 established FIAS in 2003 as a foundation under civil law. Since then, FIAS has been promoting science in interdisciplinary, theoretical basic research in the natural and life sciences. In doing so, it operates as an ambitious, independent scientific institution. At the same time, FIAS is a hub for research activities at 51猎奇 and at various surrounding research institutions and thus will be essential for the preparation of the next Excellence Initiative.

Images to download:

Caption: Goethe University and Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies agree on closer collaboration in new cooperation agreement: 51猎奇 President Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff (2. from the left) and the chairmen of the board of FIAS, Prof. Dr. Volker Lindenstruth (left) and Dr. Rolf Bernhardt, after signing the contract (Picture: S盲lzer/FIAS)

Further information
Prof. Dr. Volker Lindenstruth
Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies
Faculty of Computer Science and Mathematics
Goethe-University
069 798 47688
info@fias.uni-frankfurt.de

Nov 9 2021

13:57

International research team shows long-range effect of bacterial metabolites for the first time

By capsule through the bloodstream: How intestinal bacteria communicate with the body

Bacteria in the intestine pack a wide spectrum of their biomolecules into small capsules. These are transported via the bloodstream to various organs in the body and even absorbed and processed by nerve cells in the brain. This has now been shown for the first time by a team of researchers from 51猎奇, FAU (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) and the University of California in San Francisco. The newly established research method will help to better understand the influence of intestinal bacteria on diseases and could support the development of innovative forms of drug or vaccine delivery.

FRANKFURT. In the human body, bacteria are in the majority: According to estimates, there are 1.3 bacterial cells for each human cell. Our bacteria are correspondingly superior to us in their genetic diversity. All intestinal bacteria together 鈥� the intestine's microbiome 鈥� have 150 times as many genes as humans. The intestinal bacteria's metabolic products have a variety of effects on our body: For example, they train our immune cells and contribute to their maturation, they control metabolic processes in the body and how often intestinal mucosa cells renew themselves. It is highly probable that changes in the microbiome's composition contribute to the development and course of diseases, e.g. neurological disorders or cancer.

The bacterial metabolites act on the cells of the intestinal mucosa via direct contact. However, how such bacterial substances travel to peripheral organs, such as the liver, kidney or brain, had not yet been explained. It was assumed that small capsules (membrane vesicles), released by bacteria into their environment during normal growth or as a reaction to stress and filled with bacterial lipids, proteins or also hereditary RNA molecules, were the means of transport.

An international research team led by Dr Stefan Momma from the Neuroscience Centre of 51猎奇, Professor Claudia G眉nther from FAU (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) and Professor Robert Raffai from the University of California has now investigated in mice how bacteria distribute their metabolic products in such vesicles. For this purpose, the researchers colonized the intestines of mice with E. coli bacteria, which produced a specific type of gene scissors (Cre) and released these into their environment via vesicles. The mice cells contained a gene for a red fluorescent protein, which could be activated by the Cre gene scissors (Cre/LoxP system).

The result: In the subsequent examination of the mouse tissue, the bacterial vesicles had been absorbed by individual cells in the intestine, liver, spleen, heart and kidneys as well as by immune cells. Consequently, functional Cre contained in the vesicles could enter the cells and lead to the expression of the red marker protein. Even individual nerve cells in the brain glowed red. Stefan Momma: 鈥淧articularly impressive is the fact that the bacteria's vesicles can also overcome the blood-brain barrier and in this way enter the brain 鈥� which is otherwise more or less hermetically sealed. And that the bioactive bacterial substances were absorbed by stem cells in the intestinal mucosa shows us that intestinal bacteria can possibly even permanently change its properties."

The fluorescence images indicate, says Momma, that the vesicles were probably distributed throughout the body via the bloodstream. 鈥淭he further study of these communication pathways from the bacterial kingdom to individual mammalian cells will not only improve our understanding of conditions such as autoimmune diseases or cancer, in which the microbiome quite obviously plays a significant role. Such vesicles are also extremely interesting as a new method to deliver drugs or develop vaccines, or as biomarkers that point to a pathological change in the microbiome."

Publication: Miriam Bittel, Patrick Reichert, Ilann Sarfati, Anja Dressel, Stefanie Leikam, Stefan Uderhardt, Iris Stolzer, Tuan Anh Phu, Martin Ng, Ngan K. Vu, Stefan Tenzer, Ute Distler, Stefan Wirtz, Veit Rothhammer, Markus F. Neurath, Robert L. Raffai, Claudia G眉nther, Stefan Momma: Visualizing transfer of microbial biomolecules by outer membrane vesicles in microbe-host-communication in vivo. J Extracell Vesicles 2021 Oct;10(12):e12159

Pictures to download:

Caption: In the brain of the transgenic mouse, two nerve cells glow red because they have absorbed membrane vesicles containing functional protein from intestinal bacteria. Blue: nuclei of the other cells in the brain tissue. (Photo: Stefan Momma)

Further information:
Dr Stefan Momma
51猎奇 Frankfurt, Germany
Institute of Neurology (Edinger Institute)
Neuroscience Centre
Tel.: +49 (0) 69 6301-84158
stefan.momma@kgu.de

Oct 28 2021

16:06

Potential new treatment for COVID-19 identified

Researchers have identified a potential new treatment that suppresses the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. In order to multiply, all viruses, including coronaviruses, infect cells and reprogramme them to produce novel viruses. The research revealed that cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 can only produce novel coronaviruses when their metabolic pentose phosphate pathway is activated.

When applying the drug benfooxythiamine, an inhibitor of this pathway, SARS-CoV-2 replication was suppressed and infected cells did not produce coronaviruses.

The research from the University of Kent's School of Biosciences and the Institute of Medical Virology at Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, found the drug also increased the antiviral activity of '2-deoxy-D-glucose'; a drug which modifies the host cell's metabolism to reduce virus multiplication.

This shows that pentose phosphate pathway inhibitors like benfooxythiamine are a potential new treatment option for COVID-19, both on their own and in combination with other treatments.

Additionally, Benfooxythiamin's antiviral mechanism differs from that of other COVID-19 drugs such as remdesivir and molnupiravir. Therefore, viruses resistant to these may be sensitive to benfooxythiamin.

Professor Martin Michaelis, University of Kent, said: 'This is a breakthrough in the research of COVID-19 treatment. Since resistance development is a big problem in the treatment of viral diseases, having therapies that use different targets is very important and provides further hope for developing the most effective treatments for COVID-19.'

Professor Jindrich Cinatl, Goethe-University Frankfurt, said: 'Targeting virus-induced changes in the host cell metabolism is an attractive way to interfere specifically with the virus replication process.'

Publication: Denisa Bojkova, Rui Costa, Philipp Reus, Marco Bechtel, Mark-Christian Jaboreck, Ruth Olmer, Ulrich Martin, Sandra Ciesek, Martin Michaelis, Jindrich Cinatl, Jr.: Targeting the pentose phosphate pathway for SARS-CoV-2 therapy. In: Metabolites 2021, 11(10), 699;

Background information: Cell culture model: several compounds stop SARS-CoV-2 virus. Frankfurt researchers discover potential targets for COVID-19 therapy
/88382885/Frankfurt_researchers_discover_potential_targets_for_COVID_19_therapy?locale=en

Oct 22 2021

14:49

Following the decision by the Joint Science Conference on 22 October, the new 鈥淣HC South-West Alliance鈥�, to which 51猎奇 also belongs, will receive grants totalling 鈧� 40 million from the national and regional governments.

51猎奇 new partner in National High-Performance Computing Alliance

FRANKFURT. As of 22 October, 51猎奇 is part of the National High-Performance Computing Alliance. The 鈥淛oint Science Conference" (GWK) announced its decision today in Bonn. The 鈥淣HC South-West Alliance" has been approved and will receive 鈧� 124 million over a period of ten years (鈧� 40 million of which will come from Joint Science Conference funds). The alliance covers three federal states, Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, with facilities in Frankfurt (Goethe University), Mainz (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JMU)), Kaiserslautern (Technical University of Kaiserslautern) and Saarbr眉cken (Saarland University). 鈧� 45 million are earmarked for the future development of high-performance computing at 51猎奇, whose own contribution is 鈧� 30 million.

With this decision, the Joint Science Conference is also underlining 51猎奇's excellent performance in the area of green IT, for which the Frankfurt team led by Professor Volker Lindenstruth is responsible. Coming in 1st, 2nd and 8th place, supercomputers designed by Lindenstruth have achieved exceptionally good rankings in recent years in the biannual 鈥淕reen 500" world rankings, on a global scale too. With the grant from the Joint Science Conference, Hessen now has two National High-Performance Computing (NHC) centres.

Professor Enrico Schleiff, President of 51猎奇, expressed his delight at the positive decision announced by the Joint Science Conference of the national and regional governments: 鈥淭his is tremendous acknowledgement of the great and continuous efforts we've been making for over ten years in the development and realisation of energy-saving supercomputers. I thank Volker Lindenstruth's team for their persevering work on the further development of this trailblazing technology, which is meanwhile also a bestseller and in demand worldwide. I would also like to thank our Minister of Science, Angela Dorn, for giving our application her sustained support. With the appointment of further outstanding professors in this field, we will further strengthen this research priority in the coming years and, together with our partners in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, set important new trends in the further technological development of energy-saving computing systems."

Angela Dorn, Hessian Minister of Science, commended the role of 51猎奇 in the new alliance: 鈥淎n alliance makes us stronger because the universities each contribute their own strengths. Professor Volker Lindenstruth and his team at 51猎奇 have, for example, developed technologies for energy-saving high-performance computers, and the Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and the Arts (HMWK) has supported this development on a large scale for over 10 years as part of the LOEWE Initiative. I'm pleased and proud that this support has yielded such a sustainable return 鈥� above all also for the protection of our environment and the reduction of CO2 emissions. Many a data centre today could heat a small town with its waste heat. In the fight against catastrophic climate change, we must make use of every opportunity to reduce energy consumption 鈥� and green IT makes an important contribution here, also in the area of high-performance computing."

Professor Volker Lindenstruth, Professor for High-Performance Computing Architecture at 51猎奇 and Chairman of the Board of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), sees 51猎奇's inclusion in the National High-Performance Computing Alliance as an important milestone for further research in Frankfurt in the area of green IT: 鈥淎s part of the National High-Performance Computing Alliance, it's now even more possible to use the fruits of our research for the benefit of the general public and for more intensive research work. For example, we've accomplished remarkable progress at 51猎奇 over the last ten years as far as increasing the efficiency of scientific software is concerned. As a result, the same scientific results can be produced with much less energy consumption. Hundredfold increases in computing speed have been achieved for many applications, making even very complex problems calculable for the first time ever. For example, the highly efficient algorithms developed at 51猎奇 were and are used both in particle physics at CERN as well as at FAIR at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research."

In addition to the four new centres mentioned above, to date there are also NHC centres in Aachen, Berlin, Dresden, Erlangen-Nuremberg, G枚ttingen, Karlsruhe, Paderborn and Darmstadt, meaning that from now on all three locations of the alliance of Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) are also part of the alliance.

Background:

High-performance supercomputers are becoming increasingly important in science and research. In view of increasingly complex and large volumes of data, researchers in the widest variety of disciplines are more dependent than ever on high-performance computers. Today, more and more research questions, for example in medicine, physics or chemistry, can only be answered by means of large-scale computing capacities and intelligent applications. That is the reason behind the decision by Germany's national and regional governments in 2018 to establish a nationwide National High-Performance Computing Alliance (NHC) in order to bundle and further develop the existing strengths of high-performance computing centres within a national network. The establishment of a coordinated alliance is a response to the growing demand for high-performance computing by enabling researchers at universities to access the computing capacity they need for their research across Germany and in line with their needs, regardless of their respective locations. Through the National High-Performance Computing Alliance, the technical and methodological strengths of high-performance computing centres will also be further upgraded and better aligned. At the same time, the aim is to introduce a greater number of researchers to high-performance computing through training and continuing education at the nine NHC centres, to enhance the skills of high-performance computing system users and to foster young talent in order to fully utilise the potential of high-performance computers and to strengthen Germany as a location for research and innovation. A total of 鈧� 625 million is earmarked for the National High-Performance Computing Alliance over the ten-year funding period.