29. April 2025
Environmental Chemistry

The invisible health concern of indoor climbing

Indoor climbing is a popular and healthy workout. However, a new study found concerning levels of potentially harmful chemicals in the air of bouldering gyms. The source: climbing shoes. In the video, environmental scientists Anya Sherman and Thilo Hofmann explain their results.
29. April 2025
Guest article by
Thomas Juffmann
Rudolphina Experts: Quantum research

Microscopy in the age of quantum physics

As part of the current semester question, Thomas Juffmann, head of the Quantum Optics and Microscopy research group at the University of Vienna, explains how quantum physics has contributed to the development of modern microscopes with atomic resolution and how it could further improve them in the future.
23. April 2025
A look into the past

Can we learn from history?

Democracies are in crisis, wars are raging and the right-wing AfD party recently became the second-strongest party in Germany. Shouldn't we know better? We ask historian Walter Pohl why we hardly learn from history.
16. April 2025
Research in the world's remote corners

Do Arctic roads lead to war or peace?

Peter Schweitzer came to the far north to study the Arctic’s transport infrastructure, but what he found was an increased number of militarised zones. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has left scars far beyond Europe, including the Arctic. We meet the anthropologist back in his office at the University of Vienna during a stop between travels.
14. April 2025
Quantum physics

When there is no reality without observation

Quantum research is not just changing our technological reality, but also our conception of reality itself. Časlav Brukner, quantum physicist at the University of Vienna, explains why we simply cannot speak of an existing reality prior to observation. What does this bizarre outcome mean for the nature of physical reality? Philosopher Anne Sophie Meincke offers some clues.
8. April 2025
Migration flows in the post-war period

Migration and new beginnings: The history of displaced persons in Austria

The decade following the end of the Second World War is characterised by major migration movements, both in Europe and worldwide. Contemporary historian Kerstin von Lingen uses methods of digital humanities to visualise these global migration flows and discover interesting patterns in the process.
2. April 2025
100 years of quantum research at the University of Vienna

The entanglement of physics and philosophy

The most successful theory of the present day, quantum physics is everywhere. To mark the 100th anniversary of this discipline, Rudolphina looks back at how researchers at the University of Vienna have shaped quantum research over the years – and continue to do so today.
26. March 2025
War against Ukraine

"Austria underestimates the danger if Ukraine loses the war"

What if there is dictated peace on Russia's terms? Historian Philipp Ther is worried about the parallels in history to the current situation in Ukraine and analyses the image of Russia in Austria and Eastern Europe.
19. March 2025
Semester question

New game, new rules: How does quantum research change our reality?

In the bizarre quantum world, different rules seem to apply than those in everyday life. Yet, we make use of its curious tricks every day – whenever we glance at our smartphone, scan items at the self-check-out till at the supermarket or use GPS for navigation. What will be possible once the last unsolved riddles of quantum mechanics are solved?
18. March 2025
Guest article by
Sonia Kleindorfer
Rudolphina Experts: Fieldwork at the Galápagos

The comeback of rare species: Floreana's ecological restoration

The Floreana Island Restoration Project currently is the largest and most ambitious restoration initiative in the Galápagos archipelago. Follow the exciting fieldwork of behavioural biologist Sonia Kleindorfer and her team as they monitor and protect the diverse wildlife of Floreana Island.
5. March 2025
Rudolphina Reads

Reading Climate Fiction with Tatiana Konrad

More than storytelling: Tatiana Konrad, a cultural studies scholar, examines the history of "climate change fiction" and its power to make possible futures more tangible. For newcomers to the genre, she also recommends must-read cli-fi by Margaret Atwood and Paolo Bacigalupi.
19. February 2025
Happy 200th birthday, Johann Strauss II!

Waltzing with Strauss

In 2025, Vienna will celebrate the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II. University of Vienna musicologist Michele Calella and theatre studies scholar Anke Charton discuss the socio-cultural context of Strauss the Younger’s life and work. Quintessentially Viennese, his musical legacy continues to shape the City of Music to this day.
4. February 2025
Health without obstacles

How inclusive is our healthcare system really?

People with intellectual disabilities are legally entitled to the same healthcare as everyone else. In reality, however, inclusion hinges on the commitment of individuals in the healthcare system, says health psychologist Elisabeth Zeilinger.
29. January 2025
Food Chemistry

Contaminants in our food: What are the health effects?

Pesticides, contaminated food or packaging chemicals – various foreign substances often land on our plates. In the video, food chemist Benedikt Warth from the University of Vienna explains how this affects our health and how we can reduce the impact of these compounds going forward.
22. January 2025
Gender medicine

Women’s pain: An ignored reality in medicine

From drug development to diagnostics and pain management: Medicine has long catered to the needs of the ‘middle-aged Caucasian man’. How aware is medical research today of gender-based inequality? We asked pain researcher Manuela Schmidt and medical ethicist Magdalena Eitenberger.
15. January 2025
Individualised diagnostics, therapy and prevention

Why medicine is becoming more and more personalised

No two people are the same. It is therefore no surprise that patients with comparable symptoms may respond differently to the same treatment. The aim of personalised medicine is to increasingly tailor treatments to patients' needs. Rudolphina delves into this topic together with Barbara Prainsack, Professor at the Department of Political Science and Vice President of the Austrian platform for personalised medicine.
12. December 2024
Guest article by
Jörg Menche
Rudolphina Experts: Health equity and artificial intelligence

Is health a matter of negotiation?

In this expert article, Jörg Menche from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Network Medicine at the University of Vienna sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in dealing with rare diseases. He explains how his research also provides new insights into more common diseases, and shows the role of technologies such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality in making health fairer.
3. December 2024
Presenting… Social Scientist Elif Gül

Rethinking fairness in birth care

Childbirth is often associated with joy, family, and new beginnings, but what happens if things do not go as planned? In fact, for many birthing persons, the experience can involve moments of harm, neglect, or outright violence. In the video, Elif Gül asks how fair childbirth really is.