All Research News 2007-08

Many legends center on the Queen of Saba and the Ark of the Covenant. Researchers at the University of Hamburg are now able to disclose some of the secrets. A group a scientists led by Prof. Dr. Helmut Ziegert found the Queens of Saba's palace from the 10th century B.C. in Axum-"Dungur" (Ethiopia) during a three-month field study in the spring of 2008. It is possible that the Ark of the Covenant could have been kept in the building temporarily. More...

A consortium of researchers and clinicians from the Heinrich Pette Institute and the Universities of Hamburg and Lübeck will receive around 2 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's new competition  "Innovative Therapy Methods on a Molecular and Cellular Basis" .  More...

As the periodical  "Science" in its April 4, 2008 issue reports, a research group at the University of Hamburg has succeeded in directly measuring the magnetization curves of individual atoms on a metallic base. In doing so, the foundation has been created for selecting the condition of the smallest possible bit in magnetic storage technology. As early as September of last year, Roland Wiesendanger's research group showed that magnetic writing processes are possible even in atomic dimensions. More... 

The results of the Review Board elections of the DFG are in. 14 professors from the University of Hamburg from the areas of the humanities, natural sciences, medicine and education were elected to be members of various review boards. As many as 42 candidates were recommended, which put the University of Hamburg in second place nationally. More... 

At this year's CeBIT, staff members of the Institute of Business Informatics will present the topics „Virtual Worlds in Teaching“ and „Operations Management“. Both  underline the significance of an integrative approach to research, teaching and practice. The exhibition stand is located in Hall 14, Stand G26, Post 48. More... 

In Prof. Dr. Chris Meier's working group in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hamburg a new method of producing a special group of natural substances, nucleosiddiphosphate sugars, has been developed. The new reports on the production of these sugar compounds were published in the world renowned scientific journal „Angewandte Chemie“ on February 8, 2008. More... 

Time Magazine includes international research on biological species diversity in the „Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of 2007“. The magazine is referring to findings published in May of 2007 in the scientific journal "Nature" under the direction of Prof. Dr. Angelika Brandt from the University of Hamburg. Researchers found over 700 new organisms on the ocean floor of the Weddell Sea in the Antarctic at a depth of 700-6000 meters. They included various crustaceans, carnivorous sponges and giant sea spiders.   More...

In the Department of Chemistry of the University of Hamburg excellent research is being done. That is the result of the Science Council's pilot study Research Rating Chemistry. More...

The University of Hamburg is considered to be one of the top locations for young scientists in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. That is the finding of the CHE Ranking of Excellent European Graduate Programmes in Natural Science³ (Excellence Ranking). The University of Hamburg demonstrated outstanding performance in all of the tested subjects and is in the top group among European schools of higher education for the next generation of researchers. More ...

The University of Hamburg will receive funds immediately from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to carry out the project "Women in Top-Level Research - Examining the Realization of Equal Opportunity for Men and Women in the Three Guiding Principles of the Federal and State Excellence Initiative". Almost one million euros will be made available for this comprehensive research project. It is set to run for 5 years and will begin its work in December 2007. The 17 research clusters, 18 graduate schools and 3 future concepts of the first round of the excellence initiative will be examined. More...

Climate changes play a large role in the development of the marine fish population. It is therefore important to consider the influence these changes might have on modern, ecosytem-based population management. The foundation for this is a comprehensive knowledge of how climate variability and fishery effect each other. More...

Statutes for non-profit research contracts were passed by the Academic Senate on April 19, 2007; they were made public and went into effect on June 1, 2007. Based on these statutes, the University of Hamburg is subject to reduced sales tax where research contracts are concerned. More

Hamburg and Jülich scientists can prove for the first time that right- and left-handed rotation at magnetic surfaces are not always equal at the atomic level. Determination of the direction of spin, so-called chirality, in magnetic structures was detected at the University of Hamburg with the help of spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy, and its workings were clarified by costly computer calculations made in Hamburg as well as at the Jülich Research Center. As published in the recent edition of the well-known magazine "Nature", these novel, extraordinary findings could be a significant milestone in the development of completely new types of computer systems based on "spintronics". More

Passionate about Research: The RespectResearchGroup, a group of young scientists from the University of Hamburg, has been honoured as a “Landmark” in the WLand of Ideas"for their innovative research-structure as well as -content. The award ceremony on April 20th was hosted by Stiftung Wertevolle Zukunft”. Subsequent to the official handing-over of the trophy, the RespectResearchGroup presented its projects. “Germany - Land of Ideas” is an initiative sponsored by the German government and commerce and industry. Its patron is the German President Horst Köhler. More...

The printed version of „Mitteilungen aus Wissenschaft und Forschung“ (Information from science and research) has been replaced by a continually updated online version. Get news about promotion of science, scholarship programs and awards. More...

Research Paper on: „Justification of War and Terrorism. A Comparative Case Study examining Ethical Positions based on Prescriptive Attribution Theory.“
The aim of this study is to examine the underlying ethical positions of statements that try to justify acts of war and terrorism. Similarities and differences will be analyzed within the framework of empirical ethics research. With respect to the current political situation, examples of war and terror from both Western and Arabian parties and terrorist organizations are chosen. The cases are exemplified by selected speeches and explanations from (1) the American Government justifying the military strikes in Afghanistan (2001- ) and the war in Iraq (2003- ) (2) the Red Army Faction (RAF) justifying terrorist attacks that they perpetrated in Germany between 1972 and 1984 (3) the former President of Iraq justifying the war against Iran (1980-1988), and (4) members of Al-Qaeda justifying terrorist acts between 2001 and 2004. More...

The University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), established in 1889, took over the job of educating medical students in 1919 when the university was founded and officially became the university hospital in 1934. More...

In four natural science exhibitions university institutes display their large-scale and to a large extent unique collections. The public is welcome to view these exhibitions during their opening hours. More...

Doctoral candidates can concentrate on a topic within a comprehensive body of research in our graduate colleges. Opportunities are currently available in the fields of law, chemistry, physics, medicine and education. More...

Of the eight special research areas promoted in Hamburg, seven of them were located at the University of Hamburg in 2002, making the university the most successful and significant research institution in the city and in Northern Germany. More...

The ocean as habitat, means of transportation and as a source of raw materials is already of great importance, which will increase considerably in the future. This is the reason that the Max Planck Institutes of Foreign and International Private Law, of Foreign and Public Law and International Law, of Meterorology and the University of Hamburg founded this research school together. More...