Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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Michael Kramer, executive director of the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, shows Research Minister Dorothee Bär the new amplifiers, which are only a few centimeters in size.

New low-noise amplifiers sharpen the senses of the ALMA Radio-Observatory

December 16, 2025

Astronomy International

A collaboration between Fraunhofer and the Max Planck Society supplies the European Southern Observatory with the world's lowest-noise amplifiers more

Six ERC Consolidator Grants for Max Planck

December 09, 2025

Europe International Research Policy

Most successful German institution – ranked fifth in Europe more

Two men in suits stand in front of a banner in a bright room and shake hands at the opening of the Max Planck Center for Democracy, Security, and Human Rights.

Defending democracy without destroying it

November 11, 2025

Democracy International

New Max Planck Center brings together researchers from Freiburg and Jerusalem more

Brazilian and Argentine flags side by side

New agreements signed with Argentina and Brazil

October 24, 2025

International Research Policy

Max Planck Society deepens scientific cooperation with Latin America more

Max Planck-IAS-NTU Center

September 04, 2025

The Max Planck-IAS-NTU Center for Particle Physics, Cosmology, and Geometry brings together expertise from Germany, Taiwan, and the United States more

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Max Planck Research

Cover Max Planck Research Magazine 3/2025

MaxPlanckResearch 3/2025 Science Magazine - Focus: What is beauty?

Few topics are as controversial as the question, what is beauty. Researchers from various disciplines have found surprisingly objective answers to it. Research from the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics explains when and why music moves us. Findings from the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz show how our concept of beauty is also politically influenced and exploited. In zebra finches and ruffs, magnificent plumage does not play the role that has long been attributed to it: females choose their partners based on completely different criteria, such as song or behavior.

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