The University of Göttingen is an internationally renowned research university. Founded in 1737 in the Age of Enlightenment, the University is committed to the values of social responsibility of science, democracy, tolerance and justice. It offers a comprehensive range of subjects across 13 faculties: in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and medicine. With about 28,000 students and more than 210 degree programmes, the University is one of the largest in Germany.
New press releases

Out of the Excellence Strategy competition
The University of Göttingen has been turned down for the Excellence Strategy of the German national and state governments: funding for the Multiscale Bioimaging (MBExC) Cluster of Excellence will not be extended. The application for MBExC was the last one from the University of Göttingen in the current round of the competition.
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Tapping into the World’s largest gold reserves
Earth’s largest gold reserves are not kept inside Fort Knox, the United States Bullion Depository. In fact, they are hidden much deeper in the ground than one would expect. More than 99.999% of Earth’s stores of gold and other precious metals lie buried under 3,000 km of solid rock, locked away within the Earth’s metallic core and far beyond the reaches of humankind. Researchers have found traces of the precious metal Ruthenium in volcanic rocksthat must ultimately have come from the Earth’s core.
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A new complexity in protein chemistry
Proteins are among the most studied molecules in biology, yet new research from the University of Göttingen shows they can still hold surprising secrets. Researchers have discovered previously undetected chemical bonds within archived protein structures, revealing an unexpected complexity in protein chemistry. These newly identified linkages broaden our understanding of how proteins respond to oxidative stress, where harmful molecules build up and can damage proteins.
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A head and a hundred tails: how a branching worm manages reproductive complexity
Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean’s most bizzare animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a truly extraordinary way. This worm grows multiple body branches within a host sponge, each tail capable of producing separate living reproductive units called “stolons”. How does a single animal coordinate sexual reproduction across so many branches?
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International cooperation needed for healthy sustainable diets
Growing emphasis on self-reliance and trade barriers could impair the ability of people to consume healthy and sustainable diets around the world. Research teams from the University of Göttingen and the University of Edinburgh investigated the extent to which 186 countries can feed their own populations solely through domestic production. The study was published in the journal Nature Food.
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New EU Return Directive contradicts research findings
The European Commission presented an initial draft of a new EU Return Directive to the European Parliament. In essence, the proposed policies follow the tightening and restrictions that Germany has already practised in recent years to return non-EU nationals. According to researchers, these policies are inefficient and achieve the opposite of what they promise. To contribute to an objective and informed debate, researchers published a fact-check, drawing from previous research findings.
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