Acrylamide is produced during the preparation of certain foods such as french fries and is considered as probably carcinogenic to humans. However, its levels have been reduced with the help of food chemistry.
© DAVID/stock.adobe.com
05.10.2022 in Science, Context

Nature isn’t always on our side

For many people, food and chemicals just don’t belong together. But does a long list of ingredients and additives mean that our food is unnatural or even unhealthy? Professor Daniel Wefers, a food chemist from the University of Halle, advocates a more pragmatic view of things. Read more

The Handel monument on the market square in Halle
© Katharina Nitschke
16.08.2021 in Science, Context

Genius? Plagiarist? Or both?

Georg Friedrich Handel based his compositions on the works of other artists more than almost any other musician of his era. Although such practices are often rejected as “plagiarism” or “forgery” in the modern world, they should be studied carefully in Handel’s case. The musicologist Professor Wolfgang Hirschmann reviews the research carried out so far. Read more

The WHO Headquarter in Geneva
© WHO/P. Virot
10.03.2021 in Science, Context

Global crises require global solutions

The World Health Organisation (WHO) was originally founded to assess global health risks. However, during the Corona pandemic, the WHO’s influence has declined significantly and nation states have taken over emergency management. Dr Jonathan Everts, a professor of human geography, puts this fact into perspective. Read more

Were Adam and Eve – depicted here on a Roman wall painting – man and woman? In Hebrew and Aramaic scripture, cultural models of gender roles and sexuality are much more complex than commonly assumed.
© Stig Alenas/stock.adobe.com
02.10.2020 in Science, Context

Gender issues in the Bible

When it comes to sexuality and gender roles, a fair share of people refer to the Holy Scripture. However, biblical scholar Professor Stefan Schorch says no clear answers are to be found in the Old or New Testament – and he explains why they shouldn’t be expected. Read more

Jürgen Fuchs (right) – here in a meeting with civil rights activists Christian Kunert, Gerulf Pannach and Wolf Biermann (left to right) in West Berlin – was subjected to the Stasi’s psychological methods.
© Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft/Johanna Elbauer/RHG_Fo_HAB_17672
11.03.2020 in Science, Context

Psychology for the Stasi

The internal security service of the former German Democratic Republic (Stasi) used highly targeted psychological methods to discredit dissident citizens and break their resistance. In the 1970s, the Stasi even introduced “operative psychology” as a subject at its university in Potsdam-Golm. Professor Uwe Wolfradt explains how psychology was misused by the Stasi and how it affected its victims. Read more

Academics working as taxi drivers is a common cliché, but it is only a rare occurrence.
© stock.adobe.com / Tobias Arhelger
23.09.2019 in Science, Context

Context: Are there too many academics?

It is frequently said that universities must orientate their courses towards the labour market – or else risk of a wave of unemployment. Professor Manfred Stock, educational sociologist, explains why this is wrong and how universities even adapt the labour market to themselves. Read more

prefabricated buildings in Cologne Meschenich
© etfoto / Fotolia
11.04.2019 in Science, Context

What is the east?

The question of the east, of what is specifically East German is discussed in politics and the feature articles of national daily newspapers. What should be explained and why? The religious scholar Professor Daniel Cyranka puts the topic into context. Read more

The epigenomes of twins Mark and Scott Kelly were examined during the NASA Twins Study.
© NASA/Robert Markowitz
15.10.2018 in Science, Research, Context

Epigenetics

Epigenetics is an emerging branch of biological research. Its findings will help us understand how information outside DNA can be passed on from cell to cell throughout a person’s life and partially even inherited from generation to generation. Bioinformatician Professor Ivo Grosse explains what epigenetic modifications are all about and how they can be affected by environmental factors. Read more

For the purposes of his research, Ralph Ludwig (left) meets frequently with leading academics in the Creole Movement, such as Hector Poullet.
© Florence Bruneau-Ludwig
25.04.2018 in Context, Science

Language contact

Languages are constantly evolving. Whenever two languages come into contact, they interact with one another. In some cases, such interaction results in entirely new languages, so-called creole languages. Professor of Romance linguistics Ralph Ludwig explains how and why these languages are a subject of research, and what we can learn from them. Read more