In focus

15 November 2017|In focus

UN Climate Change Conference: Island states can also do something to mitigate the effects of climate change

Photo: UHH/Schöttmer

This year Fiji presided over the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 23). The island nation is already struggling with the effects of climate change: for example, 45 villages have had to be resettled due to rising sea levels. Prof. Dr. Beate Ratter researches the ways island nations adapt to climate...

14 November 2017|In focus

UN Climate Change Conference: Lower emissions on our roads and fields more effective than phasing out coal

Photo: UHH/RRZ/MCC/Mentz

Delegates from all over the world have convened in Bonn to agree on common goals to combat climate change and to develop a system that allows us to measure the contributions made by individual states. Once upon a time, Germany was regarded internationally as a leader in combating climate change. Now...

7 November 2017|In focus

UN Climate Change Conference has started: “It won’t work without tangible sanctions”

Photo: Franziska Glück

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) began Monday in Bonn. Thousands of delegates from over 170 countries will negotiate climate goals at the 23rd annual conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conference runs until 17 November, marking the first...

25 September 2017|In focus

Political scientist Prof. Kai-Uwe Schnapp on the 2017 German federal elections

Photo: UHH/Schell

Germany has voted. The Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) have lost voters while the Alternative for Germany (AFD) has become the third-strongest fraction the German Parliament. Political scientist Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schnapp takes a critical look at the results of the 2017 German...

21 September 2017|Research

How digital currency changes the financial sector

Photo: Public Domain

Digital or "crypto" currencies are becoming more popular and have become a significant economic factor worth billions in trade. There is more than meets the eye, however, when it comes to Bitcoins and other currencies: an infrastructure that will fundamentally alter finance. Researchers at...

19 September 2017|In focus

The other side of mainstream: "alternative media" reporting

Kommunikationswissenschaftlerin Natascha Buhl

Photo: UHH/Kranz

The TV news program ZAPP broadcast by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk has started an experiment: the "Filter Zapper." Until the federal election on 24 September, ZAPP will operate two different newsfeeds. The first shows reports from the so-called "classical media," the other from the so-called...

6 September 2017|Research

How stressed are Hamburg's trees?

Biologe Dr. Christoph Reisdorff beschäftigt sich die Arbeitsgruppe „Ökophysiologie und Stress“ an der Universität Hamburg mit der Anpassungsfähigkeit von Pflanzen auf unterschiedliche Umweltbedingungen.

Photo: UHH/Schöttmer

Hamburg has about 540 km² of flora and fauna, making it Germany's greenest city. In addition to 600,000 trees in the city's parks, there are about 250,000 trees lining the city center's streets. Biologist Dr. Christoph Reisdorff and his research team are looking at plant adaptability in various...

1 August 2017|Research

A trial that left traces

Prof. Dr. Florian Jeßberger, Leiter des Forschungs- und Dokumentationsprojekts „Der Stammheim-Prozess“.

Photo: privat

The Stammheim Red Army Faction trial from May 1975 to April 1977 is a seminal event in German history. Lawyers, judges, defendants, and defense attorneys engaged in a war of words, defendants went on hunger strike, there was a wiretapping scandal as well as accusations that defendants had been held...

24 July 2017|Research

Royal visit: William and Kate meet Universität Hamburg students

SICSS-Studierende mit dem Prinzenpaar und Hamburgs Erstem Bürgermeister Olaf Scholz

Photo: Roland Magunia / Senatskanzlei Hamb

The British heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Kate visited Hamburg last Friday and expressed their interest in marine and ocean research. At the International Maritime Museum they met young researchers from Hamburg, Bremen, and Kiel. Two students from the SICSS graduate school at...

20 July 2017|In focus

Energy conference in northern Germany—three questions for Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran

Photo: UHH/CEN/D. Ausserhofer

Are wind turbines a blessing or a curse? And how to adjust infrastructure to accommodate growing renewable energy sources? These are a few of the questions about developing renewable energy that the conference Energielandschaften Norddeutschland addressed on 17 July, which took place for the second...

11 July 2017|Research

Sea levels and climate change—conference in New York, research in Hamburg

Photo: istock/moorefam

Global warming leads to rising sea levels, but how much varies from coast to coast. This will be true in the future, as well, requiring measures specific to the region. Researchers from all over the world will be meeting in New York through 14 July to discussing the most urgent issues. [Read on in...

2 June 2017|In focus

What does the USA's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord mean for the climate? Four questions for Prof. Dr. Detlef Stammer

Photo: UHH/CEN, D. Ausserhofer

US president Donald Trump announced yesterday that the USA will withdraw from the Paris cimate accord. Trump claims that the accord is unfair and punishes the USA. He wants instead to negotiate a new accord, a move that has already been rejected by several European heads of government. What does the...

23 May 2017|In focus

World Turtle Day: CeNak researcher explains why so many tortoise species are endangered

Photo: UHH/Dingler

Unfortunately, 234 of 341 tortoise species are on the international list of endangered species. Dr. Jakob Hallermann from CeNak explains what most threatens our slow-moving contemporaries and which species are most often confiscated by customs. [Read on in German]

16 May 2017|In focus

GDPR—strong data protection will give a competitive edge

Jan Philipp Albrecht, MdEP, spricht an der Uni Hamburg über die Datenschuzgrundverordnung

Photo: UHH/Kranz

Contrary to previously thought, strong data protection may be a competitive advantage in the future. This is what the Euro-MP Jan Philipp Albrecht said at a panel discussion at Universität Hamburg. [Read on in German]

8 May 2017|In focus

Emmanuel Macron is the next president of France. Interview with expert Dr. Sébastien Rival

Photo: UHH/Dingler

Almost 66% of French voters elected the independent candidate Emmanuel Macron as the country's next president in the second round of the presidential election on 7 May. His opponent Marine le Pen, leader of the anti-EU Front National party, took just over 34% of ballots. France has thus chosen a...