Research News and Press Releases

On July 8th and 9th, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön hosted a workshop on evolutionary single-cell biology. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig participated in this two-day exchange. more

As part of this year's "Rent-a-Scientist" program by the Kiel Region, Christine Pfeifle and Kristian Ullrich from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (MPI) visited various schools to engage students with exciting scientific topics. Christine Pfeifle provided insights into the secret life of mice at two elementary schools, while Kristian Ullrich spoke to a 10th-grade class at the Kronshagen Gymnasium about the significance of networks in biology and social media. more

Professor Arne Traulsen takes over as Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology for the next three years from 1 July 2024. He succeeds Professor Paul B. Rainey as part of the rotation principle that applies at the Institute. The Institute will continue to be managed by the joint Board of Directors, which currently consists of Arne Traulsen and Paul Rainey. Each Director is a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and heads one of the Institute's departments. The Directors alternate in the office of Managing Director for three years. more

Former and current members share research results and professional experiences
  more

Direct reciprocity facilitates cooperation in repeated social interactions. Traditional models suggest that individuals learn to adopt conditionally cooperative strategies if they have multiple encounters with their partner. However, most existing models make rather strong assumptions about how individuals decide to keep or change their strategies. They assume individuals make these decisions based on a strategy’s average performance. This in turn suggests that individuals would remember their exact payoffs against everyone else. In a recent publication, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, the School of Data Science and Society, and the Department of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examine the effects of realistic memory constraints. They find that cooperation can evolve even with minimal memory capacities. more

Since June 1, 2024, Dr. Nathalie Feiner has been heading the first Lise Meitner Group at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön. With her research group focusing on Evolutionary Diversification and Innovation, Dr. Feiner assumes her position to pursue new research approaches in evolution and developmental biology. more

In his research, Dr Mario Santer has made important progress in understanding the population genetics of bacteria. He has now been honoured with the prestigious Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society for his doctoral thesis. Dr Santer's work, which was carried out in the research group of Dr Hildegard Uecker, is dedicated to the genetic adaptation of bacterial populations to new environments and thus also contributes to the understanding of the evolution of antibiotic resistance. more