Research magazine

How does the human memory work and, when someone gets Alzheimer’s, what happens in their brain? Research at Heidelberg University has been – and still is – involved in decoding such questions. The 24th edition of the research magazine RUPERTO CAROLA highlights the issues Heidelberg academics are currently exploring on the topic of FORGETTING & REMEMBERING. Alongside fresh findings from medicine, neurophysiology and psychology it deals, for instance, with the culture of remembrance, the forgotten origin of the Earth’s rocks, secrets from long past ages stored in geoarchives, a “Mameluke Wikipedia” from medieval Cairo or novel “memory materials” for storing information.

Issue 24 • August 2024

The question of right and wrong has preoccupied humankind since time immemorial – and the contributions to the 23rd edition of the research magazine RUPERTO CAROLA on the focal theme RIGHT & WRONG illustrate the complex forms this question can take. They range from the oldest known forgery of human history to problems of the present such as fake news, conspiracy theories and the argument about “right” and “wrong” words. Besides contributions from, inter alia, philosophical, theological and medical ethics, the issue of artificial intelligence arises as well – thematically and also in the design of the magazine.

Issue 23 • March 2024

What appears to be strength in one context can become weakness in others – and vice versa. However, for many life processes, and also in human coexistence, an interplay of strong and weak elements is necessary. What that means in different academic contexts is illustrated in the 22nd edition of the research magazine RUPERTO CAROLA on the focal theme WEAK & STRONG. The contributions deal, inter alia, with weak and strong states and democracies, molecular balancing acts that create artificial life, or gender stereotypes and their impacts.

Issue 22 · August 2023

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”, said Seneca. Entitled BEGINNING & END, the 21st edition of the RUPERTO CAROLA research journal reveals which questions may kick off a research project, the broad array of results it may yield, and much more: the topics cover the entire spectrum from the beginning to the end of life itself, including reproductive medicine and palliative care, disappearing glaciers, languages on the verge of extinction, chronic pain, initials in medieval manuscripts and the life and death of galaxies.

Issue 21 · March 2023

The 20th edition of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” with its central theme of SOFT & HARD traces an arc from malaria research, which looks back on a long, successful history at Heidelberg University, to the research at the newly founded Faculty of Engineering Sciences. This anniversary edition contains articles by 18 academics on their research, covering topics such as personal development in adulthood, the acceptance of compromise in politics, the dual character of literary experience, new biomaterials for joint regeneration or mutual dependencies between hardware and software.

Issue 20 · July 2022

“In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.” These are the opening words of the biblical narrative of the creation of the world in seven days – yet what was there before? Taking up the theme of SPACE & TIME leads not only back to the Old Testament but also into the depths of the cosmos, into complex biological processes, modern sporting contests or Einstein’s theory of relativity. In the 19th edition of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola”, 21 academics from Heidelberg University present their research on the topic, spanning fields such as classical archaeology, economic and social geography, psychiatric epidemiology, late medieval history and theoretical computer science.

Issue 19 · February 2022

Whether it is about the psychological effects of social distancing, breaking up a deathly molecular complex in the human body, social self-empowerment or antigypsy stereotypes – the topic UNITE & DIVIDE plays a role in many scientific contexts. In the 18th edition of the “Ruperto Carola” research magazine, 24 academics from Heidelberg University examine the issue from neurological, molecular-biological, physical, theological and other specialist perspectives and find answers to intriguing and highly relevant questions.

Issue 18 · July 2021

Individuals, like groups and nations, can be linked by friendship or enmity. In nature, completely different organisms coexist peacefully and to their mutual benefit – or destroy each other. In the human body, cells can degenerate, turn malignant and become our enemy – only to be attacked by hostile killer cells that then help the body heal itself. Between the two poles FRIEND & FOE there are many shades and variants – 24 scientists and scholars at Heidelberg University investigate these differing facets in the 17th edition of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola”.

Issue 17 · February 2021

Humans cannot imagine their daily life without machines – and both are interlinked in many different ways. For example, the human body is familiar with both “protein factories” and “soft machines”, while machines are now equipped with artificial intelligence and can match themselves with humans at all possible levels, even including language. Where do machines and humans differ, where do they both learn from one another and how can they complement each other? The answers are found in 16 articles by 24 Heidelberg University scholars in the research magazine “Ruperto Carola”, with its focal theme of MACHINE & MAN.

Issue 16 • July 2020

What is ultimately stronger – nature or culture? What are the ethical and legal considerations around molecular biological tools like the CRISPR/Cas gene editing scissors that allow us to cut, modify, and paste DNA? How did changes in the climate and environment influence sociocultural development in the early phases of human history? Can lifelike material systems be created on the basis of engineering principles? In their presentations, 23 scientists from wide-ranging fields – from medicine, molecular biology, environmental physics, geology, and mathematics to the philosphophy of law, sinology, and mediaeval studies – will address these and other questions.

Issue 15 • December 2019

More than one hundred years ago Albert Einstein revolutionised science with his theories of general and special relativity. The insights these theories unveiled are among the topics covered in the ABSOLUTE & RELATIVE issue of the research magazine "Ruperto Carola". The diametrical pairing in the title also generally reflects one of the basic tenets of science which thrives from a change in perspective. When things are called into question and viewed from another angle, new findings and discoveries can emerge. Is there anything that is truly permanent, or is everything in fact relative? The sixteen articles from twenty-two Heidelberg University scientists address this basic question along with other aspects of the topic.

Issue 14 • June 2019

What are the impacts of climate change and how should science, politics, and society deal with them? What is "Cold War 2.0" about in Ukraine? How can the history of glaciers be deciphered? What problems arise in connection with "hot chemistry"? And how can music express cold and heat? These and other exciting questions are addressed by twenty-three scientists from Heidelberg University in a total of sixteen articles in the HOT & COLD issue of the research magazine "Ruperto Carola".

Issue 13 • December 2018

More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and the United Nations predicts that by 2050 the figure will be two thirds. Increasing urbanisation is also triggering a momentous change far beyond the metropolises. This leads to the fundamental question of where and how we want to live in the future. The current research magazine "Ruperto Carola" with its focus on CITY & COUNTRY provides food for thought on this topic – with contributions by twenty-three scientists from Heidelberg University.

Issue 12 · July 2018

In all areas of life, we face the challenge of having to distinguish between reality and appearance, between fact, error, and lie. Science, too, is tasked with getting to the bottom of things, to separate – from a wealth of apparent options – the facts and findings from what is false, illusory, and deceptive. The different facets of distinguishing what is real from what is illusion are explored by twenty-one scientists from Heidelberg University in the APPEARANCE & REALITY issue of "Ruperto Carola".

Issue 11 · December 2017

In May 1900 the gates of Heidelberg University opened for the first time to four women who wanted to enrol for a course of study at Ruperto Carola. Today, women are integral to the fabric of the university. Nevertheless, the questions of similarities and differences between women and men have not lost their relevance – neither in the academic context nor on the levels of sexuality, partnership, and society. We therefore dedicate the current issue of our research magazine to the topic of WOMAN & MAN.

Issue 10 · July 2017

What happens at the end of life? How can this phase be shaped and to what extent should the decision to terminate one’s life prematurely be part of a self-determined existence? Dealing with the topic of dying is the focus of an article published in the current issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” entitled STOP & GO. Twenty-two scientists from Heidelberg University show how these two states – standstill and movement – have an effect in a variety of contexts.

Issue 9 · December 2016

In the "International Year of Global Understanding", the issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” of Heidelberg University is dedicated to a highly topical complex of issues that moves politics and the public around the globe – the interrelationships between NORTH & SOUTH. In their contributions, twenty scientists address global issues and challenges such as the refugee crisis, climate change, and asymmetric relations between the countries of the Global South and the Global North.

Issue 8 · July 2016

To conclude the International Year of Light, the current issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” of Heidelberg University is devoted to SHADOW & LIGHT. In their articles, twenty-two Heidelberg scientists show how profoundly light influences all areas of our existence and the sciences – as the source of all life and knowledge as well as a driver of technology and innovation.

Issue 7 · December 2015

The sixth issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” is dedicated to HEALTH & DISEASE. With the two medical faculties in Heidelberg and Mannheim as well as numerous scientific institutions in medicine and life sciences, the university brings to bear a wealth of competence on this topic. In a total of sixteen articles, the authors approach the central questions of health and disease.

Issue 6 · June 2015

The November 2014 issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” addresses OUTSIDE & INSIDE – a thematic field with many dimensions: spatial, social, and systemic. For example, the authors examine questions of identity formation and how our ego is constituted in relation to the world. In addition, they deal with the social and political dynamics of integration and exclusion and with the connection between language and migration.

Issue 5 · November 2014

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of war in 1914. The anniversary brings the horrors of the First World War, the “primal catastrophe” of the twentieth century, back to the fore. Heidelberg University therefore dedicates the current issue of its research magazine “Ruperto Carola” to the topic of WAR & PEACE. Twenty-one Heidelberg scientists from all disciplines present their research projects.

Issue 4 · May 2014

One of our innermost needs is to structure the world and to carve a path through the jungle of information, knowledge, and ignorance. Curiosity is also the driving force for researchers from all disciplines. For them, identifying patterns, structures, and order in chaos is a fundamental motivator, as shown in the sixteen articles of the ORDER & CHAOS issue of “Ruperto Carola”.

Issue 3 · November 2013

What remains of us after death? How does our idea of the hereafter shape our behaviour in this world? What concepts of the afterworld do other cultures conceive? And what inhabits the almost infinite vastness of the cosmos? The HEAVEN & HELL issue of the research magazine “Ruperto Carola” deals with the “really big questions” about where the human race, the world, and the environment come from and where they are going.

Issue 2 · May 2013

Twenty-three Heidelberg researchers present different scientific aspects of the title topic OLD & YOUNG across disciplines and subjects. Their articles illustrate how research and work on this major social issue are approached in many different ways at Heidelberg University.

Issue 1 · October 2012