Research News and Press Releases

A mathematical model shows how ingested microorganisms can influence gut microbiome diversity. more

A theoretical study involving the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology suggests that multicellular life could become established under certain ecological conditions even if living in groups offered no immediate advantage. more

In its April issue, GEO magazine highlights Tobias Kaiser’s lunar clock research at the MPI for Evolutionary Biology in Plön. The focus is on Clunio marinus, a globally unique model system for studying biological rhythms.
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A new study on house mice shows that animal personality does not influence life history in the same way under all conditions. Instead, the link between behaviour, reproduction and survival depends strongly on the environment — especially on food quality. In lower-quality food environments, more exploratory females followed a faster pace of life, while in richer environments, stress-coping behaviour became more important. more

An interdisciplinary team of authors from Canada, Austria, the USA and Germany outlines how immuno-epidemiology and individual decision-making on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can be understood jointly in future — and which data are still missing. more

A new study shows that the hourglass model of embryonic development is visible not only at the level of whole embryos, but already within individual cell lineages. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Kiel University have demonstrated that cells from different species use particularly similar genetic programmes during the middle phase of development. This opens up a new perspective on how conserved developmental processes and species-specific differences arise. more

A perspective article in Genetics argues for an experimental paradigm change to capture complex gene effects in combination with environment and genetic background. more