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.

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.

What are the basic principles of life? Seven research groups seeking answers to this question will receive around 9.8 million euro from the Volkswagen Foundation. Their scientific projects focus among others on embryonic development, nerve cell activities and the conversion of CO2 into organic compounds.

At a selection conference held in Cameroon, seven early career researchers were able to score success with their project ideas submitted under a call for proposals titled "Resources, their Dynamics, and Sustainability".

How may individualization find its way into care of patients with infectious diseases? This topic was discussed during the international Herrenhausen Symposium in Hanover on June 21 to 23, 2018.

Finite resources, social inequality, climate change, terrorism – the world is facing major challenges. The UN's "Sustainable Development Goals" are a contribution towards overcoming these threats. The Volkswagen Foundation, together with partner foundations in Europe, wants to underscore the role played by the sciences in reaching the SDG targets by offering a new funding scheme. Initially, support is given to international research projects on social inequality. Cooperative teams can be funded with up to 1.5 million Euro; deadline for applications is October 30, 2018.