Press releases (archive)

Contact: Sandra Jacob (e-mail: info@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de, phone: +49 (0) 341-3550 122)


2011-2012_Cameroon_Cross_River_gorilla_crew_Aimee_Megan_Ngaio_Lily_Wicket_Orbee_Kagwene_02.JPG

Detection dog efficacy for collecting faecal samples from the critically endangered Cross River gorilla for genetic censusing

The critically endangered Cross River gorilla inhabits a region of high  biodiversity on the border of Nigeria and Cameroon but has been poorly…

Read more
Hand_precision_grip_Stw418_BW_Kopie_02.jpg

Early human ancestors used their hands like modern humans

Human Evolution

Pre-Homo human ancestral species, such as Australopithecus africanus, used human-like hand postures much earlier than was previously thought

Some of…

Read more
Karte_02.jpg

Tonal languages require humidity

Languages with a wide range of tone pitches have primarily developed in regions with high levels of humidity

The weather impacts not only upon our mood…

Read more
News_Kalan_20150114-2_01.jpg

Wild chimpanzee vocalizations can convey information about food patch size

Chimpanzees modify their food calls with respect to tree size for a high valued fruit species.

The vocalization capabilities of our closest living…

Read more
image02_web_01.jpg

2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for Svante Pääbo

Sequencing of ancient DNA and genomes honoured as scientific breakthrough

One of the 2016 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences was bestowed to Max…

Read more
Belle_adult_female_foto_by_Giulia_Sirianni_Kopie_01.jpg

Cracking the case

Wild chimpanzees select nut-cracking tools taking account of up to five different factors

Are chimpanzees sensitive to the effect of an object’s…

Read more
dummyimage.png

Education and alternative protein sources may help protect biodiversity in tropical Africa

Information on socio-economic development processes and their impact on the biodiversity in tropical Africa need to be taken into consideration when…

Read more
Picture1_web_03.jpg

Don't be an outsider!

Very young children imitate their peers to fit in, while great apes tend to stick to their own preferences

Children and chimpanzees often follow the…

Read more
young_chimpmale_infigtree_web_02.jpg

The early chimp gets the fig

Wild chimpanzees plan their breakfast time, type and location

How do our close relatives, the chimpanzees, acquire sufficient food when times are lean?…

Read more
Paabo_Peristov_web_01.jpg

Earliest modern human sequenced

Researchers discover fragments of Neandertal DNA in the genome of a 45,000 year-old modern human from Siberia

A research team led by Svante Pääbo of…

Read more
dummyimage.png

"Kernel" lexicon of languages remains stable in the long run

Changes in the social environment can nevertheless speed up the development of a language's lexicon

The frequency with which we use different words…

Read more
Figure_Nigstetal05_01.jpg

Early modern human settlement in Central Europe

Human Evolution

Modern humans may have migrated into Austria around 43,500 years ago during a period with a cold steppe-like climate

A multinational team led by…

Read more
Nick_chases_Kwezi_and_Kato__2___c__L_Samuni_web_01.jpg

Chimpanzee males more likely to kill and be killed

Lethal aggression in wild chimpanzees and bonobos is better explained by adaptive strategies than human impacts.

An international team of researchers…

Read more
Bonobo_Chimp_web_02.jpg

Female bonobos start up early

Onset of puberty in female bonobos preceeds that of chimpanzees

Puberty is the threshold between childhood and adulthood. Behavior and appearance…

Read more
chimpanzeefemale_Janmaat_02.jpg

Sweet memories: What chimpanzees remember from past feeding experiences

Positive emotional experiences may trigger spontaneous prospective memory retrievals in foraging chimpanzees

An international team of researchers from…

Read more
Set_up_web_01.jpg

Dogs follow human voice direction to find hidden food

Max Planck researchers found that dogs and puppies can locate hidden food by using human voice direction referentially

Dogs and puppies are gifted at…

Read more
dummyimage.png

Albert Maucher Prize 2013

Prize winner Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons leads the working group for Luminescence Dating within the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck…

Read more
dummyimage.png

Family ties in the language jungle

Max Planck researchers reveal relationships between rare languages in the Colombian Amazon

The only linguistic data available for Carabayo, a language…

Read more
roasting_tubers_web_01.jpg

Life-style determines gut microbes

An international team of researchers has for the first time deciphered the intestinal bacteria of present- day hunter-gatherers

The gut microbiota is…

Read more
Fig.3_web_01.jpg

One of the last strongholds for Western chimpanzees

Liberia is home to the second largest chimpanzee population in West Africa

When Liberia enters the news it is usually in the context of civil war,…

Read more
dummyimage.png

Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Guinea - impact on wildlife?

A team of interdisciplinary scientists arrived in Guinea April 2nd 2014 to investigate a possible epidemic of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) amongst…

Read more
zoom_01.jpeg

The Neanderthal in us

Contemporary Europeans have as many as three times more Neanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asians and Africans

Although…

Read more
FAQ-5_02.jpg

Mixed genes

An interactive world map of human genetic history reveals likely genetic impacts of historical events

When individuals from different groups…

Read more
GanguChimpsEphremMpaka_small_01.jpg

New large population of chimpanzees discovered

Several thousand chimpanzees inhabit a remote forest area in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo

With great ape populations in fast decline,…

Read more
East_Group_TCP_grooming__c__R_Wittig_cut_01.jpg

Friend or foe

Chimpanzees keep track of other group members’ bonding partners and use this knowledge in conflict situations

To know who your opponents’ family and…

Read more
Food_sharing_in_chimpanzees__c__R_Wittig_web_02.jpg

The way to a chimpanzee's heart is through its stomach

Chimpanzees who share their food with others have higher levels of the hormone oxytocin in their urine

The ability to form long-term cooperative…

Read more
dorsal_01.png

Neandertal genome project reaches its goal

High-quality Neandertal genome provides novel insights into human origins

An international research team led by Kay Prüfer and Svante Pääbo of the Max…

Read more
Christian_Ziegler_07_04_MM7994_110629_65150_1_02.jpg

Bonobos stay young longer

Contrary to humans and chimpanzees bonobos retain elevated thyroid hormones well into adulthood

Despite the fact that chimpanzees and bonobos share…

Read more
4_Homo_heidelbergensis__Sima_de_los_Huesos_Credit_Javier_Trueba_Madrid_Scientific_Films_01.jpg

DeceOldest hominin DNA sequenced

Max Planck researchers sequence the mitochondrial genome of a 400,000-year-old hominin from Spain

Using novel techniques to extract and study ancient…

Read more
APiCS_01.jpg

Grammatical structures as a window into the past

New world atlas of colonial-era languages reveals massive traces of African and Pacific source languages

A new large-scale database and atlas of key…

Read more
adultfemale_inspectingforfruit_byKarlineJanmaat_04.JPG

Long-term memory helps chimpanzees in their search for food

Searching for bountiful fruit crops in the rain forest, chimpanzees remember past feeding experiences

Where do you go when the fruits in your favourite…

Read more
Figure5_small_02.jpg

Neandertals made the first specialized bone tools in Europe

Human Evolution

New finds demonstrate: Neandertals were the first in Europe to make standardized and specialized bone tools – which are still in use today

Two…

Read more
Figure_5_01.jpg

An evolutionary compromise for long tooth preservation

Human Evolution

During an individual’s lifetime the biomechanical requirements on his or her teeth change

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary…

Read more
bonobo_19_07_07_020_cut2_02.jpg

Attractive and successful

In bonobos, attractive females are more likely to win conflicts against males

Female social dominance over males is rare among mammal species. Bonobos,…

Read more
Figure_2._01.jpg

Early Florists

Archaeologists find traces of flowering plants in grave linings that have been dated to 13,700-11,700 BP

Plants in particular flowers are a familiar…

Read more
dummyimage.png

The power of imitation

Researchers show that already in infancy imitation promotes a general pro-social orientation toward others and, in early childhood, is a powerful…

Read more
2013-19-06_urluia_fitzsimmons_02.jpg

Possibly more devastating than previously thought

Human Evolution

Leipzig researchers have published new data on volcanic ash, known as the “Campanian Ignimbrite”, which covered wide parts of Europe

About 40,000…

Read more
Taigroup_s_Sonja_01.jpg

Malaria protection in chimpanzees

Researchers found that adult wild chimpanzees have developed a certain immunity against malaria parasites

Wild great apes are widely infected with…

Read more
dummyimage.png

And the story is not made up

"Chimpanzee" is not a documentary film but still provides fascinating facts about our closest relatives

Next week the Disneynature film "Chimpanzee"…

Read more
OFA_Zahnkontaktanalyse_Kopie_02.jpg

Material loss protects teeth against fatigue failure

Human Evolution

Computer simulation shows that the reduction of natural dental wear might be the main cause for widely spread non-carius cervical lesions (the loss of…

Read more
adultfemale_inspectingforfruit_byKarlineJanmaat_01.JPG

Botanists in the Rainforest

Chimpanzees use Botanical Skills to Discover Fruit

Fruit-eating animals are known to use their spatial memory to relocate fruit, yet, it is unclear how…

Read more
2013-03-25_PM_01.jpg

In chimpanzees hunting and meat-eating is a man’s business

Max Planck researchers find stable isotope evidence of meat eating and hunting specialization in adult male chimpanzees

Observations of hunting and…

Read more
image_mini_01.jpg

Accent early guide to children's social preferences

Remember your first summer camp, meeting a new group of children for the first time? Who would you want to be friends with? Who would you share your…

Read more
dummyimage.png

Entire Neandertal Genome Decoded

The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, has completed the genome sequence of a Neandertal and makes the entire…

Read more
MPI_L_EVA_10_02_27_2940_02.jpg

Gruber Genetics Prize for Svante Pääbo

Geneticist Svante Pääbo from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthroplogy is to receive the US$500,000 Gruber Genetics Prize for…

Read more
_c__Liran_Samuni_1_02.jpg

The benefits of social grooming

Researchers found that in chimpanzees the hormone oxytocin is likely to play a key role in maintaining social relations with both kin and non-kin…

Read more
Bones_Credit_MPI-EVA_1_01.jpg

A relative from the Tianyuan Cave

Ancient DNA has revealed that humans living some 40,000 years ago in the area near Beijing were likely related to many present-day Asians and Native…

Read more
karte_presse_01.jpg

Genetic admixture in southern Africa

Ancient Khoisan lineages survive in contemporary Bantu groups

An international team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary…

Read more
zoom_04.jpg

Gene flow from India to Australia about 4,000 years ago

Long before Europeans settled in Australia humans had migrated from the Indian subcontinent to Australia and mixed with Australian aborigines

Australia…

Read more
double_quartz_scratch_-_blue_01.jpg

Particles of crystalline quartz wear away teeth

Study questions informative value of dental microwear for dietary habits of extinct species

Dental microwear, the pattern of tiny marks on worn tooth…

Read more