Newsroom

Story 25 March 2019

Like Pavlov’s Famous Dog?

Researchers in Tubingen are attempting to find out whether plants show comparable reflexes – and can therefore be regarded as capable of learning.

Story 01 March 2019

Using Light to Steer Microparticles Through Liquids

"Like a license to tinker around": Freigeist Fellow Juliane Simmchen explores how to move the tiniest particles in liquids. One goal: to remove pollutants from water or to specifically target the transportation of drugs through the body.

Story 24 January 2019

And the other way around? Global health upside down!

Story 15 August 2018

Like Winning the Lottery

About a chemist from Syria, who fled his country in search of peace – and found a little piece of home at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: A true story with an almost perfect happy ending.

Story 09 August 2018

The Dark Sides of Open Science

Have calls for transparency in science gone too far? German science expert Stefan Hornbostel argues that some transparency is good for science – but too much can backfire, reducing the efficiency and quality of research and eroding public trust.

Story 22 May 2018

Give Chance a Chance

For the first time, the lot luck decides in the funding initiative "Experiment!" on the eligibility of project applications. With this procedure, the Volkswagen Foundation enters new territory in the funding landscape.

Portrait eines Mannes
Story 09 July 2025

How does working with AI impact on research?

As a tool of science, artificial intelligence entails numerous risks, opportunities, and ambivalences. These need to be identified and classified. However, there is no revolution in sight, according to Jens Schröter.

Illustration: Reproduktion von Reichtum
Story 14 May 2025

Politics and wealth: a lopsided alliance?

A small, rich minority is becoming increasingly wealthy. Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer ask: How does politics contribute to growing economic inequality – and whose interests do MPs actually represent?