In March 2026, the current research at the SoN was literally in the spotlight. A team from WDR visited to learn firsthand about the latest approaches to researching sperm motility. Thanks to cryo-electron microscopy, cells can be visualized down to their atomic structure. This approach is used by the research group at the SoN, led by Christos Gatsogiannis, in cooperation with Timo Strünker from the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, among other things, to advance the search for new contraceptives.
The report, which aired on March 18, 2026, on the local news program "Lokalzeit Münsterland," is now also available online.
SoN PIs and students participated in the kick-off meeting of CoMBiS, a program for collaborative research and exchange on the interface of carbon-based materials and biology. The program was initiated by Prof. Kenichiro Itami at RIKEN in Tokyo and includes SoN and other international partners. CoMBiS is funded by the ASPIRE program of the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) and will enable research visits of early career researchers in the next five years.
The Hector Fellow Academy has awarded Junior Professor Robert Hein (Institute of Organic Chemistry) from the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Münster with the Research Career Development Award. The award includes a five-year membership in the Academy. It recognizes outstanding scientific achievements and supports early-career researchers in the long-term development of their research.
For 66 years now, only women have been taking contraceptives – the "pill." There is no equivalent for men. Now, the research consortium Contraception.MS aims to investigate new approaches to non-hormonal contraceptive methods for both sexes. The Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is providing three million euros for this purpose. With the funding commitment, the team of experts from Münster and Hamburg explains the focus of their work.
