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The "Royal Society of Chemistry" has elected Prof. Andrea Rentmeister as a Fellow. It thus honours the chemist's achievements in the field of biomolecular labelling chemistry.

The "3T" project (“Tierschutz, Tierwohl und Tierethik” – in English: animal protection, animal welfare and animal ethics) combines basic research and practical research, networks relevant research activities at Münster University and raises public awareness of animal rights by means of knowledge transfer. It is one of eleven "Topical Programs” promoted by the University of Münster.

This second part of a series about laboratories at Münster University takes us inside the Institute of Forensic Medicine – to be precise, inside the Department of Forensic Molecular Biology. The team carries out parentage testing, for example paternity tests, and analyses forensic evidence from crime scenes – also known as DNA traces – for judicial and law enforcement authorities.

In this dossier over the past six months, the Communications and Press Office at the University has shed light on the issue of sustainability, and its many facets, and on the challenges it entails. To round off the series, we look further afield, beyond Münster University.

Prof. Norbert Sachser takes it with humour when he is called the "guinea pig expert" – even if it means forgetting that Sachser’s research involves around 30 animal species. The university newspaper "wissen|leben" dedicated a portrait to the internationally renowned senior professor.

Stefanie Bobe wants to dive deeper into medicine looking at the biomedical basis for improved diagnostic and therapeutic options. Therefore, she did an additional, science-oriented Master's degree in experimental medicine parallel to her medical studies and became part of an interdisciplinary research team.

Microscopy is an essential tool in many fields of science and medicine, but many have limited access to this technology. Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Münster managed to builld a high-resolution microscope using nothing more than LEGO and affordable parts from a mobile phone. Then they showed that children could significantly increase their understanding of microscopy by making it.

What is research like when there are hardly any sources? This is what Alexander Zahrer discusses in this video. He is a research associate at the Department of Linguistics, and in his PhD thesis he is attempting to document “Muyu”, a language in New Guinea which is close to extinction. To this end he has often travelled to the rainforest and has live with the locals – also learning Indonesian for his project.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has succeeded in depositing nitrogen-containing organic molecules as a highly ordered layer on silicon. This opens up new perspectives for the development of more powerful semiconductor materials, which can be used, for example, in computers, photovoltaics or sensor technology.

Current research shows that environmental pollution is a phenomenon found not only in modern times. Archaeologists and geologists from the Universities of Münster, Aarhus, St. Andrews and Stirling have now discovered that, over the centuries, numerous small quantities of contaminants have collected in the soil around medium-sized towns in the ancient world.

The Botanical Garden is a popular attraction in Münster, and at the same time it contributes to sustainability at the University of Münster – not only by offering guided tours which deal with issues such as climate change, but also because of the diversity of its plant life and its location in the centre of the city.

A fresh air event of a special kind took place yesterday (Wednesday, 16 June): Staff from the Universities of Münster and Radboud set out to meet at the German-Dutch border. As part of the Erasmus project "Team Travel", they showed that staff mobility is also possible in COVID-19 pandemic, and in the spirit of "green mobility" to boot.