With the program of the CAS Research Groups, the Center for Advanced Studies supports and encourages international cooperation at LMU. Two research groups are currently working at CAS: Dieter Braun is investigating the formation of life on earth, while Oliver Primavesi is producing a new edition of Aristotle's "Metaphysics". Dieter Braun is working with his CAS research group to develop nothing less than a new picture of the origin of life. To conclude his year at CAS, he is organizing an international conference to which internationally renowned experts are invited. They are addressing questions such as how did the first genetic material develop? How can we construct a primordial cell? And which chemicals would be prerequisites for the synthesis of life on other planets? Aristotle's "Metaphysics" is one of the fundamental works of world philosophy. In their research group, Oliver Primavesi and Marwan Rashed are working on a new edition which will systematically incorporate the medieval Arabic reception for the first time, thereby contesting traditional interpretations. The project is receiving support from additional highly renowned fellows: as part of the CAS project, Alan Code and David Charles, two of the world's leading Aristotle specialists, are advising the editors and will discuss initial findings in a joint conference. more

The term microbiome denotes the community of microorganisms that interact with and populate soil, water, and host plants and animals. Little is yet known about this relatively new field of research, and scientists are only now beginning to understand the connections involved. In the next two years, the work group of the CAS research focus "Microbiomes" will discuss and exchange ideas on the various aspects and methods of microbiome research in disciplines such as biology, medicine and physics. The CAS research focus "Representing Migration" started in the winter semester 2016/17 with a highly acclaimed lecture series on the subject of "Passagen/Passages". The research focus group is now concluding its work with a bridge project between two institutes for advanced studies: in cooperation with the IAS of the Central European University in Budapest, CAS LMU is organizing a conference on the situation of waiting and its significance for the social and cultural process of migration. The event itself will also undertake a journey, taking place both at IAS CEU in Budapest and at CAS LMU in Munich. more

The Fellowship Program of CAS supports cooperation between LMU scholars and their international guests. CAS fellows enhance the work of each CAS Research Focus as well as that of the researchers in residence. Emeran Mayer is conducting research on the microbiome in humans and will report on the effects of "gut microbiome for our brain health" in a lecture on 20 June. Paul Rainey's lecture "Ecological Scaffolding and the Evolution of Individuality" will take place as part of both the CAS Research Focus "Stardust" and the CAS Research Group led by Dieter Braun, upon whose invitation he is working as a visiting fellow at CAS. Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of the Freakonomics series, is a guest as part of the Research Focus "Evidence-Based Practice", and will lecture on 28 May on the subject of "The Economic Approach to Learning from Data". Michèle Lowrie is working with Barbara Vinken on their cooperative opus magnum on civil war, while Olivier Munnich is supporting Martin Wallraff in his research on biblical paratexts. The physicists Omar Saleh (UCSB) and Tim Liedl (LMU) are conducting research together on the micromechanical characteristics of biomolecules, such as those of DNA. more