Good Research Practice

In order to assume its responsibilities in research, teaching and the promotion of young academics, the University of Osnabrück takes precautions to deal with cases of scientific misconduct. The University of Osnabrück welcomes the publication of the DFG's Code for Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice. The aim of the implementation of the Code is to anchor a culture of scientific integrity at the University of Osnabrück, which not only brings cases of violations of good research practice to attention, but places the professional ethos of the researchers in its center.

First advice in cases of potential scientific misconduct can be gained at ZePrOs.

Profile lines

In the context of its future concept UOS 2020, academics at Osnabrück University have identified six profile lines for joint, interdisciplinary research projects.

AI Campus

Supporting technological change through research and the human touch: The AI Campus at Osnabrück University is the result of several years of profile building in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It combines the intensively researched but at the same time application-oriented subjects of Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Information Systems and Mathematics research teams, and is supported by two out of the six interdisciplinary profile lines at the University (»Cognition« and »Digital Society«).

Apparently, opposites attract in bacteria as well – Ecologists at Osnabrück University identify a new rule on how bacterial communities form.

The fact that different bacterial strains interact with each other and exchange substances is essential, for example, for the production of yogurt or in maintaining our healthy intestinal flora. But how do bacteria choose their interaction partners? The research group of ecologist Prof. Dr. Christian Kost at Osnabrück University has now investigated this question using the example of amino acids, which are exchanged between two bacterial strains. Together with colleagues from Kiel University, the study was published in the journal Current Biology. The findings contribute significantly to a better understanding of the factors that determine the formation of a microbiome.

Clever and Smart: Ravens are on par with Great Apes in cognitive performance

It is common knowledge that corvids are extremely clever. However, to date, researchers have mainly investigated single cognitive tasks at a time and little is known about their cognitive development on the whole. A new study at Osnabrück University and Max Planck Institute for Ornithology has allowed for new insights into the cognitive capacities of corvids by comparing the physical and social abilities of common ravens with those of chimpanzees and orang utans. The study’s findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports under the title “Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills”.