Different mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana

Evolution

Without evolution there is no life

"Nothing in biology makes sense except when viewed in the light of evolution." This is the famous title of a 1973 article by Theodosius Dobzhansky, in which the Russian-American evolutionary biologist describes evolution as the means by which God created life on earth. But what exactly is evolution?

Malaria parasite takes its time

The pathogens want to benefit as long as possible from the food supply that life in the vector mosquitoes offers them more

Sex or regeneration

Planarians that reproduce sexually cannot regenerate injured or missing body parts more

The evolution of complex grammars

A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments more

Memory, forgetting, and social learning

Simulation model shows how groups can keep important information around within and across generations more

Feral genius

American mink regrow their brains in a rare reversal of the domestication process more

Playing hide and seek in the centromere

Tug-of-war between selfish gene and cellular clean-up mechanism generates genetic diversity
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Two bacterial partners supply auger beetles with vital nutrients for the synthesis of a sturdy exoskeleton more

The blind matchmaker

Reconstructed protein sequences in cyanobacteria reveal that protein interactions can evolve without direct selection pressure more

Surprising similarities in stone tools of early humans and monkeys

Accidentally produced stone fragments made by macaques resemble some of the earliest hominin stone artifacts more

Reconstruction of a hunter-gatherer associated with the Gravettian culture (32,000-24,000 years ago), inspired by the archaeological findings at the Arene Candide site (Italy).

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years more

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Malaria parasite takes its time

The pathogens want to benefit as long as possible from the food supply that life in the vector mosquitoes offers them more

Sex or regeneration

Planarians that reproduce sexually cannot regenerate injured or missing body parts more

The evolution of complex grammars

A new study shows that changes in grammatical complexity are not shaped by social environments more

Feral genius

American mink regrow their brains in a rare reversal of the domestication process more

Reconstruction of a hunter-gatherer associated with the Gravettian culture (32,000-24,000 years ago), inspired by the archaeological findings at the Arene Candide site (Italy).

Large-scale genomic analysis documents the migrations of Ice Age hunter-gatherers over a period of 30,000 years more

A wooden nest-box with two birds sitting at the entrance, looking at each other.

Daurian redstarts move closer to humans to protect their nests from brood parasitism more

The dark cost of being toxic

Sequestration of plant toxins by monarch butterflies leads to reduced warning signal conspicuousness more

Chloroplast from the father

Under cold conditions, not only the mother plant but also the father plant can pass on its chloroplasts to the offspring more

Heavy infestation by waterhemp strongly reduces corn growth (right rows) compared to corn plants that do not have to compete with waterhemp (left rows)

How intensive agriculture turned a wild plant into a pervasive weed more

The Mona Lisa effect: Eyespots deter predators that approach from different directions

Experiments with chicken chicks and artificial peacock butterflies prove that predators are intimidated by eyespots more

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Detlef Weigel

An interview with Detlef Weigel about his discovery that cells prevent particularly important genes from mutating more

Scientific highlights 2020

Many publications by Max Planck scientists in 2020 were of great social relevance or met with a great media response. We have selected 13 articles to present you with an overview of some noteworthy research of the year more

A Stickleback - Full of Worms

Around 40 percent of all species on Earth are parasitic – apparently a highly successful way of life. Even a fish such as the three-spined stickleback is plagued by up to 25 different parasites. more

Genes as parasites

Scientists analyse, how jumping genes can be copied in the DNA more

From fish to mammal heart

Fish hearts are genetically divided more

Defence at almost any price

The efforts of bacteria in their defence against predators is so great that they can barely invest resources in offspring more

Researchers sequence a new Neandertal genome

The genome of a European Neandertal allows more Neandertal DNA to be identified in present-day people more

How easily we tan is influenced by Neandertal DNA

Neandertal DNA influences variation in skin tone and hair colour in people living today more

First large-scale ancient genomes study from sub-Saharan African skeletons lifts veil on prehistoric populations

Genetic analyses uncover lost human populations and surprising relationships, revealing a complex history of population movements in ancient Africa more

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