Research MagazineWhy Strong and Weak Elements are Necessary for Many Life Processes
Press Release No. 95/2023
21 August 2023
Latest edition of research magazine RUPERTO CAROLA with contributions on thematic pair WEAK & STRONG
Particularly in academic circles, “strong” and “weak” are regarded as relative, not absolute terms: what is considered a strength in one context or system may become a weakness in another, and vice versa. And repeatedly we see that many individually weak structures can, when combined, develop great strength. The latest edition of RUPERTO CAROLA, the research magazine published by Heidelberg University, deals with the thematically paired concepts WEAK & STRONG. In their contributions, 19 Heidelberg researchers show that for many processes in life, and also for coexistence, an interplay of strong and weak elements is necessary in order to achieve the right balance, successes or the desired resilience.
In this 22nd edition, legal scholars, political scientists and economists explain the difference between a strong state and a weak state. They analyse the strengths and weaknesses of modern democracies and why it is so difficult to predict whether inflation will stay strong or weaken over long-term forecast horizons. Contributions from the fields of synthetic biology or molecular biomechanics highlight why a balance of strong and weak is important for creating artificial life, or why chemical rupture sites can strengthen a material, instead of weakening it. The authors of the WEAK & STRONG edition also give insights into their work, for instance, in the field of gender research, experimental cardiology, sinology, education studies and computer engineering.
The RUPERTO CAROLA research magazine appears twice a year, mainly in German with English abstracts, and addresses all members of the university, its partners in academia, politics, business and society, and, in particular, alumni, friends and an interested public in Germany and abroad. The magazine is available from the Communications and Marketing department of Heidelberg University (Alte Universität, Grabengasse 1, phone +49 6221 / 54-2311). All editions are also accessible online via the open access publisher Heidelberg University Publishing (heiUP).