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?
The Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture and the Volkswagen Foundation are jointly seeking scientists who want to set up their own AI research group. Deadline: summer 2026
Gender-specific personalised medicine: when viruses awaken the hormones
What lessons can be learned from COVID-19 for future pandemics? Researcher Gülşah Gabriel and her team are opening the door to personalised medicine – and are investigating for the first time how drugs that intervene in hormone metabolism could in future be used to prevent severe viral progression.
Why does neurodegeneration research need new impetus - and how can interdisciplinarity help to achieve a breakthrough? Our Program Directors Dr Theresa Kratzsch and Dr Franziska Rönicke explain the vision behind the new 'NEXT – Rethink Neurodegeneration!' call.
Interdisciplinary research teams investigating the fundamental mechanisms of dementia-causing neurodegeneration are invited to apply up until 28 August 2025.
Research for democracy: funding programme for cooperation projects
How do democracies change in the face of global challenges? And what can science contribute to their resilience? Researchers and stakeholders outside of academia are to develop answers in cooperation projects funded by the Volkswagen Foundation for up to five years. Nora Kottmann and Cora Schaffert-Ziegenbalg present the programme.
Wolfram Pernice is researching how computers based on neural networks could in future compute even faster and more efficiently – using light instead of electronics. And real nerves instead of optical fibres.
Marine scientist Dr Christina Roggatz from the University of Bremen is leading her own team for the first time – and through her work wants to arrive at a better understanding of climate change. Here she gives us an insight into her everyday life as leader of a junior research group.
