The 44th Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology on “Measuring Development and Evolution of Form” was held at the KLI from September 16 to 19, 2025, and was organized by Philipp Gunz (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig), Philipp Mitteröcker (University of Vienna and KLI), and Katrin Schäfer (University of Vienna). The workshop brought together experts in morphometrics, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and related fields to discuss conceptual and methodological advances in measuring biological form, as well as its developmental and evolutionary dynamics.

The 43rd Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology, “The Waddingtonian Landscape: Rediscovering Conrad Hal Waddington's Legacies in Biology and Beyond” (June 17–20, 2025), was devoted to the life and work of the British polymath Conrad Hal Waddington on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his passing (1975–2025). Organized by Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda (KU Leuven) and Francisco Vergara-Silva (National Autonomous University of Mexico), the workshop brought together philosophers of biology, evolutionary biologists, theoretical biologists, social scientists, historians of science, and historians of architecture from diverse backgrounds to offer the first interdisciplinary, critical reappraisal of Waddington’s lifelong work.

The 42nd Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology was held at the KLI from 8th to 11th October 2024. The topic for this edition, organised by Joeri Witteveen and Federica Bocchi of the University of Copenhagen, was "Aims, Norms, and Values in Scientific Classification for Biodiversity Conservation". The workshop brought together 14 scholars from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Spain, South Africa, UK, and USA, spanning the biological sciences, social sciences and humanities, and working on aspects of classification and categorization in taxonomy, biodiversity science and conservation biology. The workshop was co-funded by the KLI and the research project “Tackling the Conservationist’s Dilemma,” sponsored by the Independent Research Fund, Denmark. (Click on title to read more.)

The 41st Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology, with the theme Sociocultural EvoDevo: Cultural Neurobiological Inheritance Systems (CNIS) was held at the KLI, Klosterneuburg Austria, from 18-21 June 2024. This workshop was organised by Isabella Sarto-Jackson (KLI) and Daniel O. Larson (California State University). It brought together world-renowned scholars from multiple fields including neurobiology, anthropology, evolutionary developmental biology, social psychology and human development.

Raf Jansen documents the working group's five-day stay at the KLI in pictures.

Six years ago, we lost Werner Callebaut, philosopher of the life sciences and long-serving scientific director of the KLI. In his memory, we laid out an exhibition of his vast literary collection.

Virtual KLI Colloquium: Martin KUSCH (University of Vienna), 16 June 2020, 5.00 pm. [br] To join our online colloquium please register with Zoom. [br] Deadline for the registration: 3 pm on the day of the talk—no admission in the room after 5:05 pm!

The Vienna Science Studies Lab recently held its third meeting at the KLI, discussing Max Liboiron's "Pollution is Colonialism".

Thomas HANSEN (University of Oslo), 2025-11-20 15:00 (CET). Please join our colloquium via Zoom!

Guido Caniglia and Marina Knickel in the KLI team are excited to continue their work in the recently launched EU Horizon project PLUS Change. This project will develop strategies and decision-making processes to transform land use by prioritizing societal well-being, climate goals, and biodiversity conservation. (Click on title to read more)

The KLI team engaged in the Horizon Europe project PLUS Change – Marina Knickel, Guido Caniglia and Nora Hein – have developed an Ethics Handbook that provides guidance on dealing with ethical issues of equity and justice in land use research and practice. The main goal of the Handbook is to support actors in land use decision-making to prevent the exacerbation of social and environmental injustices that arise from uneven access to resources and decision-making power.

Four relevant actions should be taken into account to protect and conserve wildlife in this pandemic era.

Each winter, the KLI organizes a two-part professional development workshop for our fellows to get to know each other-- both as people and as researchers.

The KLI Mendel Symposium, Mendel's Legacy in Science and Society, will be held from Oct 13th to 14th, 2022.

Mihaela PAVLICEV (University of Vienna), Laura NUÑO DE LA ROSA (Complutense University of Madrid), & Arantza ETXEBERRÍA AGIRIANO (University of the Basque Country), 24 June 2021, 3.00 pm. To join our colloquium please register with Zoom.

Laura Nuño de la Rosa, Mihaela Pavlicev and Arantza Etxeberria propose a solution to the individuality of pregnancy.

KLI Colloquium on Thursday 25 January 2018, 3.00 pm at the KLI. Speaker: Bernhard Hadolt (University of Vienna)

KLI fellow Marco P. Vianna Franco and coauthor Antoine Missemer blog about their new book, A History of Ecological Economic Thought, in the Chroniques de l'anthropocène.

A new study by KLI Fellow Roberto Cazzolla Gatti (et al.) reveals how prolonged exposure to air pollution (especially to fine particles) has contributed to SARS-CoV-2 mortality and infections in Italy

KLI Colloquium: Günter WAGNER (Yale University), Monday 19 November, 3.00 pm