Each year, Goethe University’s Faculty of Law recognizes exceptional academic achievement through a number of prestigious awards. The 2026 Baker McKenzie Award, presented by the renowned law firm of the same name, will go to Dr. Alexander Heger and Dr. Felix-Julius Konow for their outstanding doctoral dissertations in business law.

For decades, physicians and scientists thought metformin, the leading Type 2 diabetes medication taken by millions worldwide, mainly targets the liver to suppress glucose production. But a new Northwestern University study in mice has found this “wonder drug” instead focuses primarily on the gut, acting to prevent glucose levels rising in the blood by driving glucose utilization inside cells lining the intestine. 

The study found metformin slows mitochondrial energy production in gut cells, forcing the intestine to metabolize extra sugar. 

The findings also reveal unexpected parallels with berberine, a popular plant-derived, over-the-counter supplement often used to control blood sugar. Berberine has recently gained attention on social media as “nature’s Ozempic,” though experts caution that evidence is still limited, and it should not be used as a substitute for approved medications. The study found berberine appears to engage the same pathway as metformin in the intestine. 

“Metformin has decades of clinical evidence behind it, whereas supplements like berberine are far less rigorously tested,” Chandel said. “If you're going to use berberine, you may as well use the real deal.”

Japan is often described as a highly secular country, yet millions who identify as “nonreligious,” participate in Shinto and Buddhist rituals. To shed light on this paradox, researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative survey, examining religious identity, ritual participation, and beliefs simultaneously. Their findings reveal that religiosity in Japan is rooted in cultural habits and inherited traditions, and that small changes in question wording can dramatically shift the estimates of how religious the population.