News 2014
December 2014
Talk by Prof. Kai Müller within MGSE lecture series
17.12.2014: Prof. Kai Müller (Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "Solving Darwin's 'abominable mystery' - Angiosperm diversification through time" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting
16.12.2014: The MGSE students visited the "Giebelhüüskesmarkt" against the backdrop of the Überwasserkirche and enjoyed some "Glühwein".
MGSE celebrates first graduate
11.12.2014: We are happy to announce that Mona Riemenschneider successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled "On the evolution of modularity in gene regulatory networks affecting complex diseases", supervised by Prof. Monika Stoll in the Genetic Epidemiology group. Mona is the first PhD student to graduate from the MGSE doctoral program and has already continued with a postdoctoral position in the Bioinformatics group at the Straubing Center of Science. We offer Mona our warmest congratulations and wish her well in her future career!
Talk by Jun. Prof. Arndt Telschow within MGSE lecture series
10.12.2014: Jun. Prof. Arndt Telschow (Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "Evolutionary games and biological markets" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
Talk by PD Alexander Mellmann within MGSE lecture series
03.12.2014: PD Alexander Mellmann (Institute of Hygiene) presented a talk entitled "Evolution of bacterial pathogens" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the lecture hall of the IEB.
MGSE student meeting
02.12.2014: The new MGSE students Tabea Kischka, Lars Langhanki, Matthias Schreiner, and Lena Strauß presented their PhD-projects, followed by a social "get-together" to welcome the newcomers.
November 2014
Public lecture by new ETT-Fellow
27.11.2014: Prof. Lindsay Matthews introduced himself to the MGSE with a lecture a lecture entitled “Adaptive developmental plasticity and quality of life for animals in man-made environments: a conceptual analysis” in the Kavaliershäuschen. Afterwards the participants of the lecture joined for a social get-together with some drinks and pretzels to welcome the new fellow and discuss his research.
Talk by Prof. Niko Strobach within MGSE lecture series
26.11.2014: Prof. Niko Strobach (Department of Philosophy) presented a talk entitled "Life in Aristotelian and in modern biology – a structural comparison" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
New graduate student joined the MGSE
24.11.2014: We are happy to announce that Matthias Schreiner has joined the MGSE as a graduate student. A warm welcome to our new member!
Talk by Dr. Juanma Vaquerizas within MGSE lecture series
19.11.2014: Dr. Juanma Vaquerizas (Regulatory Genomics, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine) presented a talk entitled "Epigenetics and Evolution" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting
18.11.2014: The MGSE students met in the "F24" for some food and drinks.
Talk by Jun. Prof. Claudia Acquisti within MGSE lecture series
12.11.2014: Jun. Prof. Claudia Acquisti (Evolutionary Functional Genomics, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "Environmental genomics: a revolution in evolution?" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
Talk by Prof. Wojciech Makalowski within MGSE lecture series
05.11.2014: Prof. Wojciech Makalowski (Bioinformatics, Institute of Bioinformatics) presented a talk entitled "Intelligent Design Ideology: Should We care?" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting
04.11.2014: The MGSE students met Dr. Dirk Wewers, curator of the Allwetterzoo Münster, to discuss about a possible career in a non-scientific environment after the PhD.
October 2014
Lecture by Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson
30.10.2014: Prof. Sir Patrick Bateson (Emeritus Professor of Ethology, Madingley, Cambridge) gave a
lecture on “Plasticity and the Adaptive Predictive Response” in the Kavaliershäuschen.
New graduate students joined the MGSE
29.10.2014: We are happy to announce that two new Graduate Students have been included into the MGSE: Lars Langhanki and Lena Strauß. A warm welcome to our new members!
For more information on the new members please click here.
Talk by Prof. Hans Kerp within MGSE lecture series
29.10.2014: Prof. Hans Kerp (Paleobotany, Institute of Geology and Palaeontology) presented a talk entitled "The Evolution of the Geological Timescale" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the lecture hall of the IEB.
Talk by Prof. Joachim Kurtz within MGSE lecture series
22.10.2014: Prof. Joachim Kurtz (Animal Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "A brief history of evolutionary theories" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting
21.10.2014: The MGSE students met in the pool-hall at the Aegidiimarkt to play some rounds of pool.
MGSE student meeting
07.10.2014: The new MGSE students Susanne Sangenstedt, Niklas Kästner, and Kristina Wensing presented their PhD-projects, followed by a social "get-together" to welcome the newcomers.
September 2014
Six public lectures within the "German Congress for Philosohy"
29.09. - 02.10.2014: Within the next days the University of Münster will host one of the most important meetings of national and international philosophers: The "XXIII. Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie" of the "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Philosophie (DGPhil)". This meeting was organized by the MGSE PI Prof. Michael Quante and will include six public lectures (in German). For more information please see the WWU press release.
[WWU press release]
MGSE student meeting
23.09.2014: The MGSE students met in the Museum of Natural History in Münster to visit the exhibition "Sex & Evolution".
MGSE student meeting
09.09.2014: The MGSE students met in the Department of Behavioural Biology. Tobias Tiedtke, Susanne Sangenstedt, Neele Meyer, and Niklas Kästner gave a tour through the lab and animal housing facilities and talked about the ongoing research with domestic guinea pigs, wild cavies, and mice.
MGSE student meeting
02.09.2014: The MGSE students met in the "Cavete" for some food and drinks.
August 2014
New PIs and new graduate students joined the MGSE
14.08.2014: We are happy to announce that Sebastian Leidel, Guiscard Seebohm, and Juanma Vaquerizas have joined the MGSE as PIs.
Furthermore, three new Graduate Students have been included into the MGSE: Tabea Höhmann, Niklas Kästner, and Kristina Wensing.
A warm welcome to all our new members!
For more information on the new members please click here.
MGSE student meeting
12.08.2014: The MGSE students met in the Kavaliershäuschen to discuss possibilities for the "life after the PhD".
Lecture by ETT-Fellow Prof. Lindsay Matthews
05.08.2014: Prof. Lindsay Matthews (University of Auckland, New Zealand) gave a talk on his research of the "quality of life" in the Department of Behavioural Biology.
July 2014
MGSE student meeting
29.07.2014: The MGSE students met in the Kavaliershäuschen for a barbecue.
New ETT-Fellow: Lindsay Matthews
16.07.2014: Prof. Lindsay Matthews (University of Auckland, New Zealand) is visiting the Department of Behavioural Biology from mid June to mid September 2014 and will stay as an ETT-Fellow of the Münster Graduate School of Evolution (MGSE).
He will give a talk on his research of the "quality of life" on Tuesday, 05.08.2014, at 10:15 in the Department of Behavioural Biology. All members of the MGSE are welcome to join!
[More information]
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
15.07.2014: During the MGSE student meeting the graduate students discussed the future content and organization of their meeting within a "Knowledge Café".
Talk by Prof. Dobrindt within MGSE lecture series
10.07.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", Prof. Ulrich Dobrindt gave a talk about "Insights into evolution, adaptation and virulence of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli.".
Fourth annual MGSE Symposium
30.06. - 01.07.2014: The 4th MGSE comprised talks and poster presentations by MGSE doctoral students as well as contributions from scientists of the MGSE research groups and invited speakers. Keynote lectures were given by Franjo Weissing (Univerity of Groningen), Michael Lässig (University of Cologne), and Jürgen Gadau (Arizona State University, ETT-Fellow of the MGSE).
[More information]
June 2014
Dr. Oliver Piskurek visited the MGSE
17.06.2014: Dr. Oliver Piskurek (University of Göttingen) visited the MGSE and gave a talk on “Poxviruses as possible vectors for horizontal transfer of retroposons from reptiles to mammals: a finding that boosted the interest in horizontal transfer studies of retroelements.” during the IEB seminar. Afterwards, Oliver Piskurek joined the MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen to discuss his research.
Talk by Prof. Makalowski within MGSE lecture series
12.06.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", Prof. Wojciech Makalowski gave a talk about "Natural history of transposable elements.".
Workshop on Multilevel Selection
04. – 05.06.2014: Graduate Students, Postdocs and PIs of the MGSE and affiliated institutes met in the Kavaliershäuschen to discuss about “Units of Selection and Individuality”. The workshop comprised a “Knowledge Café”, a “Zukunftswerkstatt”, and three public lectures by Tim Linksvayer (University of Pennsylvania, USA), Seth Bordenstein (Vanderbilt University, USA), and Jürgen Gadau (Arizona State University, ETT-Fellow of the MGSE), who also attended the following discussion. On Wednesday evening the participants of the workshop joined for a social dinner in the botanical garden.
[More information]
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
03.06.2014: During the MGSE student meeting the graduate students discussed the organization of the upcoming MGSE Symposium.
New graduate student joined the MGSE
02.06.2014: We are happy to announce that Susanne Sangenstedt has joined the MGSE as a graduate student. A warm welcome to our new member!
May 2014
Prof. Loriano Ballarin visited the MGSE
27.05.2014: Prof. Loriano Ballarin visited the MGSE and gave a talk on “Immune responses in chordate invertebrates” during the IEB seminar. Afterwards, Prof. Ballarin discussed his research with graduate students of the MGSE.
ETT-Fellow Jürgen Gadau arrived in Münster
26.05.2014: Prof. Jürgen Gadau (School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, USA) will stay in Münster from mid May to mid August as an ETT-Fellow of the MGSE. The interdisciplinary ETT (Evolution Think Tank) is financially supported by "Santander Universities". Within the framework of the ETT, internationally outstanding scientists are invited to Münster for stays of 1 - 6 months in order to interact with doctoral students and PIs of the MGSE.
Prof. Jürgen Gadau will be actively involved in the MGSE Workshop on "Multilevel Selection" in June. His research focuses on speciation, species differences, and adaptation in solitary and social Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps).
Talk by Prof. Krohs within MGSE lecture series
22.05.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", Prof. Ulrich Krohs gave a talk about "Evolutionary explanation: structure and conceptual pitfalls.".
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
20.05.2014: During the last MGSE student meeting Prof. Jürgen Gadau from the Arizona State University (ETT-Fellow of the MGSE) visited to present his work, meet the students for his coming fellowship and discuss different possibilities to be updated in science. Furthermore, a minireview by Ballarin L. (2012) (Ascidian cytotoxic cells: state of the art and research perspectives. ISJ 9, 1-6) was discussed.
Talk by Dr. Catania within MGSE lecture series
15.05.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", Dr. Francesco Catania gave a talk about "What shapes gene evolution in eukaryotes?".
Talk by PD Schmitz within MGSE lecture series
08.05.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", PD Jürgen Schmitz gave a talk about "Molecular evolution and genome analyses in vertebrates".
MGSE student meeting in the F24
06.05.2014: The MGSE graduate students met in the F24 for some food and drinks.
April 2014
Talk by Dr. Fricke within MGSE lecture series
24.04.2014: Within the lecture series "Evolution across fields", Dr. Claudia Fricke gave a talk about "Sexual conflict - what is it and why should we care?".
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
22.04.2014: During the MGSE student meeting the students discussed a paper by Seth Bordenstein, one of the guests at the upcoming MGSE workshop on "Multilevel Selection": Brucker, R.M. & Bordenstein, S.R. (2013) The Hologenomic Basis of Speciation: Gut Bacteria Cause Hybrid Lethality in the Genus Nasonia. Science 341, 667-669.
Talk by Jun. Prof. Telschow within MGSE lecture series
17.04.2014: Within the new lecture series "Evolution across fields", Jun. Prof. Arndt Telschow gave a talk about "The role of Wolbachia in eukaryotic evolution, speciation, and pest control.".
Prof. Strauß started new MGSE lecture series
10.04.2014: During the new lecture series "Evolution across fields", PIs of the MGSE will present their current research in the Kavaliershäuschen.
Prof. Harald Strauß (Institute of Historical and Regional Geology, Faculty of Geosciences) started the series with his talk "Reading the rocky record of evolution: geochemical imprints of life.".
Four DAAD PhD-stipends for the MGSE
The DAAD granted the MGSE four stipends for international PhD-students in 2015 and 2016.
Principal investigators of the MGSE can now suggest PhD-projects for the potential scholarship holders. The PhD-projects will be announced on the MGSE website together with a call for applications in mid June.
MGSE student meeting at the Kavaliershäuschen
08.04.2014: During the MGSE student meeting Diana Ferroand Patricia Kearney presented two short talks about "Models in evolutionary marine biology" and "Feeding biomechanics in Acanthostega across the fish - tetrapod transition".
March 2014
Photoshoot and MGSE student meeting at the Kavaliershäuschen
25.03.2014: The MGSE Graduate students, Speaker, Junior Group Leader, and Coordinator met at the Kavaliershäuschen to take new pictures for the website. During the subsequent MGSE student meeting the the following paper was discussed: Andics et. al. (2014) Voice-sensitive regions in the dog and human brain.
New graduate student joined the MGSE
24.03.2014: We are happy to announce that Florian Grziwotz has joined the MGSE as a graduate student. A warm welcome to our new member!
Manipulation of behaviour by parasites - article in the "Zeit"
Prof. Joachim Kurtz (Speaker of the MGSE) contributed to the article " Neuroparasiten: Wenn aus Tieren Zombies werden" in the "Zeit" (in German).
[Read the article]
Interview with Prof. Norbert Sachser in the "Laborjournal"
The "Laborjournal" published an interview with the MGSE PI Norbert Sachser about genes, the environment, and behaviour (in German).
[Read the article]
MGSE student meeting in the F24
11.03.2014: The MGSE graduate students met in the F24 for some food and drinks to welcome the new MGSE members Rasha Aboelsoud, Frederik Franke, and Kevin Knoblich.
February 2014
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
25.02.2014: During the MGSE student meeting Neele Meyer and Megan Kutzer gave two short presentations on “Mirror neurons - why I feel what you feel” and “Host population persistence in the face of introduced vector-borne diseases: Hawaii amakihi and avian malaria”.
MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen
20.02.2014: This week the thirteenth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Genomefart", was discussed.
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
11.02.2014: During the MGSE student meeting the following paper was discussed: McLean, C. Y. et al. (2011) Human-specific loss of regulatory DNA and the evolution of human-specific traits. Nature 471, 216-219.
New graduate students joined the MGSE
06.02.2014: We are happy to announce that three new graduate students have joined the MGSE: Rasha Aboelsoud, Frederik Franke, and Kevin Knoblich.
A warm welcome to our new members!
January 2014
Philosophy-award for PI of the MGSE
30.01.2014: MGSE PI Prof. Michael Quante received a philosophy-award by the "Max Uwe Redler Stiftung".
[WWU press release]
MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen
30.01.2014: This week the twelfth chapter of "The Origins of Genome Architecture" (2007 by Lynch, M.), dealing with "Sex Chromosomes", was discussed.
Talk by Prof. Ludwig Siep within MGSE lecture series
29.01.2014: Prof. Ludwig Siep (Department of Philosophy) presented a talk entitled “Evolution and ethics” within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
28.01.2014: The MGSE student meeting took place in the Kavaliershäuschen. The students watched the talk by Sheref Mansy at TEDxUniTn about "Imitating Cellular Life" and subsequently discussed about the definition of life.
Talk by Prof. Norbert Sachser
23.01.2014: Prof. Norbert Sachser gave a talk on “Paradigmenwechsel in der Verhaltensbiologie: Über das Denken, Fühlen und Verhalten der Tiere“ within the lecture series "Tiere in den Wissenschaften".
Talk by Prof. Juliette de Meaux within MGSE lecture series
22.01.2014: Prof. Juliette de Meaux (Plant Molecular Evolution Group, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity) presented a talk entitled "Eugenics" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE Book Club in the Kavaliershäuschen
16.01.2014: This week the second 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. Norbert Sachser within MGSE lecture series
15.01.2014: Prof. Norbert Sachser (Department of Behavioural Biology) presented a talk entitled "Sociobiology" within the MGSE Lecture Series "The Growth of the Evolutionary Thought" in the Kavaliershäuschen.
MGSE student meeting in the Kavaliershäuschen
14.01.2014: During the MGSE student meeting Hanna Ruhmann and Angela Noll gave two short presentations on “Red ants with green bears” and “A mitochondrial genome sequence of a homonin from the Sima de los Huesos”.