Newsportal

Whether people become religious or non-religious depends very much on the family. An international study by the University of Münster shows that religion is passed on to the younger generation primarily when the family cultivates a religious self-image, engages in joint religious practices such as prayer or singing, and when both parents belong to the same denomination – the most important role in religious socialization is played by mothers.

Worker ants increase their reproductive success by caring for their siblings instead of producing their own offspring. An international research team, including Dr. Lukas Schrader from the University of Münster, has now revealed the genetic basis of ant evolution.

The distribution of halogens like chlorine reveals much about the formation of the lunar crust. An international research team has now shown in laboratory experiments that rocks with surprisingly high chlorine content formed on the near-side of the Moon. The results were published in "Nature Communications."

A research team at the University of Münster has investigated for the first time how the confrontation of bacteria with hosts that have an activated innate immune system affects the evolution of bacterial virulence.

German is not without its grammatical and phonetic hurdles. To make it easier for international students, employees, researchers and guests to learn the language, there are two special programmes at the University of Münster: Under professional guidance, they sing German songs together, which helps them improve their (spoken) German.

Since 2010, the Brazil Center has been bundling collaborations between the University of Münster and Brazilian universities and funding institutions. On 23 June, it will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a ceremony in the auditorium of the Humboldthaus from 3 pm. The event offers exciting lectures, exchange of experiences and networking. Guests are welcome.

Thinking outside the box to come up with new ideas: this is helpful not only in everyday life but also in mathematical research. Collaboration between various disciplines and the combination of different methods are at the core of the work being done in the “Mathematics Münster” Cluster, which will now be receiving funding for its Excellence for a further seven years.

In 2024 energy consumption had a 30 percent share of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany, making it the biggest contributor. So it comes as no surprise that saving energy plays a key role in climate protection management at the University of Münster – both at an infrastructural level and in the area of individual behavior.

German, European and international lunar experts will be converging on the University of Münster from June 22 to 27 for the European Lunar Symposium (ELS). In an interview, Prof Harald Hiesinger from the Institute of Planetology talks about the conference, a special guest and lunar research, which is as highly topical as ever.

The Institute of Criminal Sciences invites interested parties to a public lecture entitled ‘Intersectionality at the International Criminal Court’. The speaker is Nazhat Shameem Khan, Deputy Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. The event at Münster Castle will take place on 5 June (Thursday) at 6 pm.

To analyse global competition in future battery technologies for electric vehicles, a research team from the Universities of Münster and Cambridge and the Fraunhofer FFB compared patents and innovation strategies from China, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

The decisions on the Clusters of Excellence have been announced: the “Mathematics Münster” research alliance will continue to be financed from 1 January 2026. The “Religion and Politics” Cluster, however, will not be receiving any further funding.