KLI Colloquium: Bartlomiej SWIATCZAK (University of Science and Technology of China), 24 May, 3.00 pm

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KLI Senior Post-Doc Fellow Anne Le Maître presented a talk about her work at the Symposium of the Network of French Researchers in Austria, held at the French Embassy in Vienna on 22 May 2025, on the occasion of the France Alumni Day. This event is organised in May and June across the world to bring together alumni of French universities, and celebrate the laureates of research fellowships and scholarships for long stays in France. In her talk, “Evolutionary biology – Evolvability of the ear in primates”, Anne explained how understanding the relationships between ear morphology and primate ecology and behaviour provides insights into more general evolutionary processes related to the capacity for adaptive evolution, namely evolvability. (Click on title to read more.)

Isabella Sarto-Jackson (KLI Executive Manger and Group Leader for Evolution of Cognition), in conversation with Magdalena Schwarz for Austrian weekly newspaper Die Furche, emphasizes the importance of social interactions and play-based learning in Kindergartens, along with the vital role of a loving family for the holistic brain development of young children. The article titled, Der Traumkindergarten“ einer Hirnforscherin’ [translated as The “Dream Kindergarten” of a Neuroscientist) was published online on 13 Oct 2025, and in print as “Meine Traum-Kindergarten” on 16 Oct 2025. (Click on title to read more.)

A recent paper in Science by Vagheesh Narasimhan and his team from the University of Texas sheds new light on the 'Obstetrical Dilemma' – the long-debated conflict regarding the optimal pelvic structure for bipedalism and successful childbirth in humans. Christina Berndt of Süddeutsche Zeitung covers this new finding, along with perspectives and insights from international researchers in the field, including Barbara Fischer and Philipp Mitteroecker of the KLI. (Click on the title to continue.)

Barbara Fischer, along with a team comprising of Lynn Chiu, Severin Bachmayer and others created a workshop titled Solving The Riddles of Inheritance, specifically designed to teach school students the different modes of inheritance as well as the interplay between genes and environment on the visible traits of an organism. With emphasis on familiarising students with scientific methods and scientific thinking, this workshop includes hands-on Art-Science Activity, Microscope Laboratory Activity, and a Science Quiz.

In an invited article for the Boku Magazine, Martin Schmid introduces his lecture “The Social Ecology of the Anthropocene”, which encourages long-term, interdisciplinary thinking by looking back into the past. With the climate crisis, the rapid loss of biodiversity and other global crises, it reveals the Anthropocene as a specific, historically unique way in which human societies relate to nature. (Click on title to read more...)

Martin Schmid, along with co-authors Gertrud Haidvogl, Severin Hohensinner published an article titled ‘Waterway, power plant chain, river landscape: A short environmental history of the Danube’ in the magazine Geographic Round-view - Issue 10/2024 (October). This article is mainly targeted at Class level 11 (until 13th School year) The article (in Deutsch) tells the environmental history of the Danube river, its genesis, its former floodplains that are now being intensively built up, and basic knowledge for more sustainable use of the river in the light of current climate change.

Ievgeniia IVANOVA (University of Stirling, UK), 2024-06-13 15:00 (CET). To join our colloquium please register with Zoom

As a young student in Russia, Alexander Oparin learned about Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. However, even though it was a convincing theory of how life on earth had evolved, it did not have anything to say about how it started.

Luisa PALLARES, 2025-04-30 15:00 (CET). Please join our colloquium via Zoom!

Virtual KLI Colloquium: Frank ZACHOS (Natural History Museum, Vienna), 2 June 2020, 5.00 pm. [br] To join our online colloquium please register with Zoom.

KLI Colloquium: Hans-Jörg RHEINBERGER (Max Planck Institute, Berlin), 30 October, 3.00 pm

KLI Colloquium: Özlem YILMAZ (KLI), 5 June, 3.00 pm

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

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 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.

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

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.