News 2013


December 2013

Talk by Prof. Stephan Ludwig within MGSE lecture series

18.12.2013: Prof. Stephan Ludwig (Institute of Molecular Virology) presented a talk entitled "The evolution of viruses" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

MGSE student meeting in the IEB

17.12.2013: The MGSE students met for a Christmassy “Glühwein” in the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

12.12.2013: This week the first part of the eleventh chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Expansion and Contraction of Organelle Genomes", was discussed.

Talk by Prof. Ulrich Dobrindt within MGSE lecture series

11.12.2013: Prof. Ulrich Dobrindt (Microbial Genome Plasticity, Institute of Hygiene) presented a talk entitled "Evolution and adaptation in bacteria" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

Talk by Prof. Hans-Dieter Görtz within MGSE lecture series

04.12.2013: Prof. Hans-Dieter Görtz (associated with the Evolutionary Cell Biology group of Dr. Francesco Catania at the IEB) presented a talk entitled "Symbiosis and the evolution of cells" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

03.12.2013: The MGSE student meeting took place in the Kavaliershäuschen.


November 2013

Talk by Prof. Erich Bornberg-Bauer within MGSE lecture series

27.11.2013: Prof. Erich Bornberg-Bauer (Evolutionary Bioinformatics, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "How did proteins come around?" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

26.11.2013: During the last MGSE student meeting Prof. Arne Mooers from the Simon Fraser University in Canada visited to discuss his paper "The global diversity of birds in space and time" (Jetz et al., Nature) with the MGSE students.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

21.11.2013: This week the tenth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Transcript Production", was discussed.

Talk by Prof. Jürgen Brosius within MGSE lecture series

20.11.2013: Prof. Jürgen Brosius (Institute of Experimental Pathology) presented a talk entitled "The RNA world" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

Talk by Prof. Niko Strobach within MGSE lecture series

13.11.2013: Prof. Niko Strobach (Philosophisches Seminar) presented a talk entitled "Is all our species talk completely wrong?" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

07.11.2013: This week the second part of the ninth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genes in Pieces", was discussed.

Talk by Prof. Ulrich Krohs within MGSE lecture series

06.11.2013: Prof. Ulrich Krohs (Philosophisches Seminar) presented a talk entitled "Evolution and intelligent design. How to refute arguments" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.


October 2013

Talk by Prof. Harald Strauß within MGSE lecture series

30.10.2013: Prof. Harald Strauß (Institute of Historical and Regional Geology, Faculty of Geosciences) presented a talk entitled "Peering into the cradle of life" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the lecture hall of the IEB.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

24.10.2013: This week the first part of the ninth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genes in Pieces", was discussed.

MGSE lecture series started with talk by Prof. Joachim Kurtz

23 October 2013: Prof. Joachim Kurtz (Institute of Evolution and Biodiversity) started the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen with a talk entitled "A brief history of evolutionary theories".

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

10.10.2013: This week the second part of the eighth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genomic Expansion by Gene Duplication", was discussed.


September 2013

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

26.09.2013: This week the first part of the eighth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genomic Expansion by Gene Duplication", was discussed.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

10.09.2013:Gildas Lepennetier presented his PhD-project on how the variability of introns can impact gene expression and splicing efficiency, using a bioinformatical approach.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

05.09.2013: This week the second part of the seventh chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Mobile genetic elements", was discussed.


August 2013

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

27.08.2013: Tobias Tiedtke presented his PhD-project on the adaptive significance of behavioural and endocrine changes in response to the social environment in male guinea pigs.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

22.08.2013: This week the first part of the seventh chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Mobile genetic elements", was discussed.

Lecture of Prof. Fujishima in the Kavaliershäuschen

19.08.2013: Prof. Masahiro Fujishima (Yamaguchi University, Japan) visited the MGSE Ombudsperson Prof. Hans-Dieter Görtz in Münster to obtain samples from the "Schlossgraben". In the course of his stay, he held a lecture on "Endosymbiosis - A primary force in eukaryotic cell evolution".

Picture on the right: MGSE Junior Group Leader Francesco Catania, guest Masahiro Fujishima, MGSE Ombudsperson Hans-Dieter Görtz

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

13.08.2013: Megan Kutzer presented her PhD-project on how immune priming affects resistance and tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

08.08.2013: This week the sixth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "The nucleotide composition landscape", was discussed.

Deputy Speaker of the MGSE elected

05.08.2013: The MGSE Steering Committee elected Monika Stoll to be Deputy Speaker of the MGSE.


July 2013

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

30.07.2013: Liliya Doronina presented a talk about arctic foxes on Mednyi Island (the Commander Islands, North Pacific), which have been totally isolated there for several thousands of years.

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

25.07.2013: This week the fifth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Three Keys to Chromosomal Integrity", was discussed.

General Assembly of all MGSE members in the Kavaliershäuschen

17.07.2013: Topics: - General update - New members of the MGSE - Invitation of fellows - Discussion and adoption of the MGSE Statute - Election of the MGSE Steering Committee - Election of the MGSE Ombudsperson We are happy to announce the results of the elections during the General Assembly of all MGSE members: MGSE Steering Committee Joachim Kurtz, Monika Stoll, Johannes Kerp, Norbert Sachser, and Ulrich Krohs have been elected as representatives of the MGSE PIs. Joachim Kurtz has been chosen to act as the speaker of the MGSE. Angela Noll and Gildas Lepennetier have been elected as representatives of the MGSE Graduate students. The deputies are Francesco Catania, Erich Bornberg-Bauer, Harald Strauß, Michael Quante, Wojtek Makalowski, Patricia Kearney, and Diana Ferro. MGSE Ombudsperson Hans-Dieter Görtz has been elected as the Ombudsperson of the MGSE. Congratulations!

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

16.07.2013: Diana Ferro presented her PhD-project on the evolutionary significance of DNA splicing, using the ciliate Paramecium as a model species.

Presentation of MGSE at the opening of the "WWU Graduate Centre"

15.07.2013: During the opening of the "WWU Graduate Centre" several members of the MGSE met in the foyer of the "Münster Schloss" to represent the MGSE. Among others, the NRW Science Minister Svenja Schulze stopped by for a short conversation with the MGSE speaker Joachim Kurtz.

For more information about the opening of the "WWU Graduate Centre" see:
[Press release of the WWU]
[Press release of the Westfälische Nachrichten]
[WWU Graduate Centre]

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

11.07.2013: This week the fourth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Why Population Size Matters", was discussed.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

02.07.2013: Stefanie Henze presented her PhD-project on the impact of nutrient availability on genome composition, using Escherichia coli as a model species.


June 2013

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

27.06.2013: This week the third chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "The Human Genome", was discussed.

18.06.2013: Barbecue near the “Schlossgräfte”

The MGSE Graduate students, Coordinator, and Scientific Project Manager met at the IEB for a barbecue. They were joined by the IEB guest Rania Nakad (Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Kiel) and some members of the Animal Evolutionary Ecology group.

3rd annual MGSE Symposium

12. and 13.06.2013: About 70 participants from the fields Biology, Medicine, Geosciences, and Philosophy met in the Kavaliershäuschen, where talks and posters dealing with the topics “Evolution of Disease” and “Biology meets Geology” were presented. Furthermore, four public lectures were given in the lecture hall “Badestraße” by Sarah Teichmann (EMBL-EBI and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge), Ulrich Krohs (Department of Philosophy, Münster), Ulrich Dobrindt (Institute of Hygiene, Münster), and Thomas Bosch (Zoological Institute, Kiel).
[more information]

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

06.06.2013: This week the second chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genome Size and Organismal Complexity", was discussed.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

04.06.2013:Angela Noll presented a talk about the "Atacama humanoid", the skeletal remains of a 15 cm human found in a deserted town in the Atacama Desert.


May 2013

MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen

23.05.2013: The first meeting of the MGSE Book Club, organized by Francesco Catania, took place in the Kavaliershäuschen. The Book Club deals with "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.) and this week the first chapter "The Origins of Eukaryotes" was discussed.

Photoshoot for the MGSE website

23.05.2013: The MGSE Graduate students, Coordinator, Junior Group Leader, and Scientific Project Manager met at the Kavaliershäuschen to take new pictures for the website.

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

21.05.2013: Patricia Kearney presented her PhD-project on the ontogeny of the Early Devonian Rhynie chert plants.

Meeting of the MGSE steering committee in the Kavaliershäuschen

17.05.2013: Topics: - Statute of the MGSE - General assembly of all members - Invitation of fellows

New publication of an MGSE PI

10.05.2013: New publication of an MGSE PI on the emergence of individuality in Science.
[WWU press release]

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

08.05.2013: Hanna Ruhmann presented her PhD-project on sexual conflict and male female coevolution, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model species. Introduction of seven new Graduate students

New PIs and new graduate students joined the MGSE

07.05.2013: We are happy to announce that Claudia Fricke, Sylvia Kaiser, and Arndt Telschow have joined the MGSE as PIs.
Furthermore, seven new Graduate Students have been included into the MGSE: Liliya Doronina, Diana Ferro, Stefanie Henze, Patricia Kearney, Megan Kutzer, Hanna Ruhmann, and Tobias Tiedtke.
A warm welcome to all our new members!


April 2013

New publication of an MGSE PhD student

30.04.2013: New publication of an MGSE PhD student places tarsiers closer to humans.
[press] [paper]

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

24.04.2013: Manuel Talarico presented his PhD-project on the question, whether personality correlates with immune competence, using the three-spined stickleback as a model organism.

Visit by Prof. Robyn Hudson

15.04.2013: Prof. Robyn Hudson of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México visited the MGSE. [publications]

MGSE PI meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

11.04.2014: Topics: - Recent developments, Introduction of the new Scientific Project Manager - Invitation of fellows - Inclusion of new MGSE members - MGSE symposium

MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen

10.04.2013: Introduction of the new Scientific Project Manager Rebecca Heiming

New Scientific Project Manager for the MGSE

01.04.2013: A warm welcome to our new Scientific Project Manager Rebecca Heiming!


February 2013

New graduate student joined the MGSE

01.02.2013: A warm welcome to the new graduate student Manuel Talarico!


January 2013

Santander supports Evolution Think Tank

31.01.2013: Santander Univsities supports the Evolution Think Tank (ETT)
[more information]

Lecture of Prof. Thomas Junker

30.01.2013: Lecture of Prof. Thomas Junker, Faculty of Biology, University of Tübingen Title of the talk: Evolution and the meaning of life
9-10am, Lecture Hall in the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity

Lecture of Prof. Pierre-Henri Gouyon

23.01.2013: Lecture of Prof. Pierre-Henri Gouyon (professor at Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, l’AgroParisTech and Sciences Po [Paris]) Title of the talk: Biodiversity, Genetics and Society
9-10am, Lecture Hall in the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity