3 / 2024 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 3
Editorial
Dear Members and Friends of the Leopoldina ,
“ Origin and beginning of life ” — Leopoldina ’ s Annual Assembly took place in September in Halle / Germany ( see p . 4 ff .). The question of how life could have originated was examined from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and at different levels . While Nobel Prize winner , Didier Queloz , who discovered the first exoplanet , and NASA ’ s former Head of Science , Thomas Zurbuchen , gave guests a glimpse into distant worlds , Georg Hochberg , winner of the “ ZukunftsWissen ” ( Future Knowledge ) young talent award , which was presented for the first time at the Annual Assembly , looked at the micro level and described how the structure and function of proteins that exist today have developed over the course of evolution .
This diversity of perspectives is complemented by the diversity of topics currently being worked on at the Leopoldina . In September , for example , the statement “ Promoting self-regulatory skills in children and adolescents ” ( see p . 8 ) was presented in Berlin – with the participation of representatives from the fields of research , education policy and schools . In October , the discussion paper
Professor ( ETHZ ) Dr Gerald Haug , President of the Leopoldina
“ Generative AI – Beyond Euphoria and Simple Solutions ” ( see p . 9 ) was published . In December , the topic
Image : David Ausserhofer | Leopoldina of cancer research will be the main focus at the presentation of the second Leopoldina Greve Prize ( see p . 12f ) at the Hamburg Town Hall . With regard to international cooperation , this autumn the main focus is on the 8th Joint Science Conference of the Berlin Process for the Western Balkans ( see p . 11 ) and the conference “ Science for Future : On the Path to Carbon Neutrality ” ( see p . 10 ) organised together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences .
The diversification of communication formats in politics and society is also encouraging . Statements are being supplemented by digital dossiers , with animations and graphics that can be used to illustrate our policy advice . In addition , symposia and press conferences are increasingly being offered in hybrid form , making them accessible to broader target groups .
I hope you find this wide-ranging issue a stimulating read !