The terms FORGETTING & REMEMBERING represent a field of research in which scientists of Heidelberg University have been, and continue to be, delivering fundamental insights: these include the discovery of the key gene at the root of Alzheimer’s disease as well as pivotal research into the molecular and neural mechanisms of specific memory performance. This 24th edition of RUPERTO CAROLA offers a glimpse of current Heidelberg research in the fields of neurophysiology, psychology and medicine that deals with memory-related processes in the brain, but also with our immune system, whose functioning crucially depends on its ability to remember and forget.

The two terms also play an important role in other research across the faculties of our comprehensive university: the authors presenting their work in this edition investigate such topics as cultures of remembrance and historical narratives of European nations, dripstones and meteorites that carry the memory of natural events tens of thousands of years in the past and of the very birth of our planet, or novel “memory materials” for information storage. I wish you a stimulating reading experience, with many new insights that will hopefully not be soon forgotten!

Prof. Dr Frauke Melchior
Rector of Heidelberg University

Issue 24 · August 2024