Research News and Press Releases

Being good at solving new problems does not automatically improve an animal’s chances of survival. A study published in Biology Letters shows that food quality affects how readily house mice innovate and, more strikingly, whether solving a problem quickly or slowly is associated with longer survival. The direction of that relationship changed with the environment. more

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology give an explanation why influenza, RSV and other respiratory infections occurred unusually early following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seasonal mortality shifted almost in parallel. The findings have implications for the timing of vaccination campaigns and provide evidence of a link between respiratory infections and cardiovascular disease. more

The European Research Council is funding the “CrypticBenefits” research project at Kiel University, which uses the evolution of antibiotic resistance as a case study to investigate how hidden genetic diversity underpins the rapid adaptation of microorganisms to a changing environment. more

International workshop “Women in Evolutionary Biology II” brought around 80 participants to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology more

A new paper argues that major evolutionary transitions may begin not only through mergers between existing organisms, but also when lineages generate new components from within. more

The National Geographic and The Guardian feature insights gained by the Lise Meitner Research Group of Nathalie Feiner more

A new study by researchers from FSU Jena, Utrecht University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön shows that viruses do not always evolve rapidly, even during massive outbreaks. Instead, their evolution can depend strongly on the microbial community they encounter. more