We wish you a joyous holiday season and a great year 2026, filled with exciting science! 🎄❄️✨ Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

A study from the Baier Departement, published in Nature in February 2025, has now been selected for the Nature Highlights List 2025. Congratulations to all the researchers involved on this well-deserved recognition! 👉 Nature Highlights 2025: www.nature.com/articles/d41... @ishainer.bsky.social

Blood mitochondrial function is linked to adult flight performance in a songbird. Whereas early-life thyroid hormones show no lasting effects on mitochondria, behavior, or performance. 🔗 Scientific Paper: www.cell.com/iscience/ful... @stefi-casagrande.bsky.social @suviruuskanen.bsky.social

✨This time of the year our campuses light up. In Martinsried, the Christmas tree was delivered and is now fully decorated in front of our main entrance. And the colorfully lit trees create a magical atmosphere on the campus in Seewiesen. We let the festive mood kick in. 🎄

A new study shows electric sensors in the inner ear of pigeons enable magnetic field detection. Don’t miss the in-depth interview with Grégory Nordmann! 🎧 Tune into the Bayern 2 podcast, now in the ARD audio library: www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:...

Congratulations to Irina Dudanova, Dennis Feigenbutz, Kerstin Voelkl and Rüdiger Klein on this important contribution to the field of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. We look forward to seeing how these findings advance our understanding of differential neuronal vulnerability.

Join us for the symposium “Frontiers in Biological Intelligence”. On December 16–17, researchers from around the world will gather at our Institute to share and discuss their latest discoveries. Everyone is welcome. 🔗 Event details: www.bi.mpg.de/2025-symposium Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

#pictureofthemonth: Advances in microscopy allow us to show how neurons are connected and form an intricate network! Find out more: www.bi.mpg.de/imagingfacil... December – Institute calendar of @mpibiochem.bsky.social and @mpiforbi.bsky.social 📸 Picture by Claudio Polisseni

Ein Team unter der Leitung von David Keays untersucht Gehirne von Tauben, die Magnetfeldern ausgesetzt sind. Dank modernster Mikroskopie identifizieren sie einen neuronalen Signalweg, der für die Verarbeitung magnetischer Informationen aus dem Innenohr zuständig ist. @mpiforbi.bsky.social

We warmly congratulate Dr. Auguste von Bayern on her appointment as a new external member of the University of Bayreuth’s university council. She took up her role on 15 November 2025, with her appointment running until 14 November 2029. 🔗 Press release: www.uni-bayreuth.de/en/press-rel...

Thank you for 312 applications from 48 different countries spread over 5 different continents for our IMPRS-BI graduate program 2026! We are truly impressed by your enthusiasm and interest. After reviewing your applications, we will send out interview invitations in December. Good luck! 🍀

How does a fish know when to blend in? Scientists identified a key circuit controlling camouflage in zebrafish – from cells in the retina sensing light to nerve cells in the brain controlling the release of a hormone that pales the skin to match bright backgrounds. www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-11...

#pictureofthemonth: The pic shows 30 different protein types with spatial resolution in a neuronal „atlas“ created with the imaging method SUM-PAINT. More: www.biochem.mpg.de/jungmann November – institute calendar of @mpibiochem.bsky.social and @mpiforbi.bsky.social Image by Eduard Unterauer"

ÜBERRASCHENDE ZUSAMMENHÄNGE: #DARMBAKTERIEN ALS AUSLÖSER DER #MULTIPLEN #SKLEROSE? Allgemeinverständlicher Vortrag am 11.11.25 um 19 Uhr mit unserer BMC Grupppenleiterin Dr. Anneli Peters ⬇️ (vor Ort & Hybrid) www.bi.mpg.de/wws

Blau, weiß, grünlich: Wie schafft es der Kuckuck, seine Eierfarbe an unterschiedliche Wirtsvögel anzupassen? LMU-Forschende zeigen: Die Farbe wird über die Mutterlinie vererbt – das ermöglicht Anpassung ohne Aufspaltung in spezialisierte Populationen. @mpiforbi.bsky.social www.lmu.de/de/newsroom/...

Two weeks left to apply for our graduate school IMPRS-BI and join us as a PhD student! Find out more: imprs-bi.mpg.de

3 days left to apply for our emerging scientist talk series!! www.bi.mpg.de/ess

How does the brain maintain dormant core abilities even when they're not used? A new study in female canaries shows that their neural circuit for song learning remains intact throughout life, even though the females usually never sing. Read more: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-10...

What is the genetic basis of bird migration? Find out in our next keynote lecture by Miriam Liedvogel @genmig.bsky.social, Professor of Ornithology at the Uni Oldenburg and Director of the Institute of Avian Research! 📍October 21 at 11am in House 4 in Seewiesen Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

Our PhD students led a summer school on animal bioacoustics in The Gambia! Ten undergrads learned to record, analyze & understand wildlife sounds — supported by the Bridging Minds Max Planck Africa Initiative.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀? Visit our career fair at the Open Day! Scientist, service empolyees, trainees or HR: Meet your future co-worker and ask them all your questions! Find out more (in German): lnkd.in/d2TuWrQx

We are happy to welcome Joseph Parker, the Director of the Center for Evolutionary Science at Caltech, as keynote speaker at our Institute next week! Join us for his lecture on October 14, 11 am in the large lecture hall in Martinsried! Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

#pictureofthemonth: A male white-browed sparrow-weaver in the Kalahari savannah takes a break from feeding its chicks. Find out more: www.bi.mpg.de/gahr October – Institute calendar of @mpibiochem.bsky.social and @mpiforbi.bsky.social Picture by Lisa Trost

The Neuroscience School for Advanced Studies "Brain Plasticity: Neural Basis of Individuality" led by LIP Director Ulman Lindenberger and Tobias Bonhoeffer @mpiforbi.bsky.social has just ended at San Servolo, Venice! #nsas

How do we investigate the complexities of the brain? Step into our labs and find out firsthand! From experiments to lab tours – have a look on October 25 and talk to us about our research! 🧪🧠Find out more (in German): mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/

From DNA to proteins: How do we investigate how life unfolds? ✨ Hands-on, minds-blown: Get exciting insights into our leading life-science research in Martinsried at our Open Day! Find out more (in German): mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/

Elektrizität als Sprache von Lebewesen: Für ein “Heimspiel Wissenschaft” kehrt unser Wissenschaftler Etienne Serbe-Kamp in sein Heimatdorf ins Allgäu zurück, um mit spannenden Mitmach-Experimenten für Forschung zu begeistern!🧪🧠⚡ Mehr Infos: heimspiel-wissenschaft.de/veranstaltun... @maxplanck.de

We are recruiting PhD students! Join us in exploring the multiple dimensions of biological intelligence at our international and fully funded graduate program IMPRS-BI in the Munich area, Germany! 🔔 Application period: 1 October to 10 November 🧪 Apply here: imprs-bi.mpg.de

Lisa Fenk @fleyes.bsky.social @mpiforbi.bsky.social presenting at @univie.ac.at @viennabiocenter.bsky.social today on the remarkable world of eye muscles in dipteran flies. Check out the original description of fruitfly eye movements here: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Call them Dr., please! 🎓 We are incredibly proud of our recently graduated PhDs and wish them all the best for their future! 🎉✨

𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵? Then join us at our Open Day and get exciting sneak peaks behind the scenes of one of Europe’s largest life science campuses in Martinsried. Find out more (in German): mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/

Early-career researchers: want to run your own lab? 🌟Max Planck Research Groups offer 6+ years, up to €2.7M in funding, open-topic freedom, team support & tenure-track opportunities. Intrigued? 😃Apply by Oct 14, 2025! www.mpg.de/max-planck-r...

Curious about how your body and brain interact when you learn? Find out more at our next "Emerging Scientist Talk" with Christopher Zimmerman, a postdoc at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute! 📍September 30 at 11am in NQ105 in Martinsried Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

Open Call for Expressions of Interest: become a Max Planck Director & redefine what’s possible in science! We offer scientific independence, long-term stable funding & exceptional infrastructure. Lead your own department & open new frontiers of research. Apply by 31 Oct 2025 → www.mpg.de/directors

Apply now to become a speaker at our Institute! We invite excellent postdocs in neuroscience, ecology and other fields related to our research to apply for our Emerging Scientist Talk Series. Apply by October 24: www.bi.mpg.de/ess @chr-mayer.bsky.social @fleyes.bsky.social @michaelahau.bsky.social

🧪Want to work in the lab like a pro? Do hands-on experiments yourself at our Open Day! In our visitors’ laboratory, we offer different courses – and that’s only one of many exciting program points throughout the day! Find out more (in German): mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/ @mpibiochem.bsky.social

Thrilled to share that our work is now published in Science! ✨ We found a preference for visual objects in the mouse spatial navigation system where they dynamically refine head-direction coding. In short, objects boost our inner compass! 🧭 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵1/

Come find out at our Open Day on October 25! Tours, talks, experiments – we'll give you exclusive insight into what we do. More details: mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/ @mpibiochem.bsky.social

From RNA to evolution: Come join our next keynote lecture on the choreography of brain development by @debbysilver.bsky.social, Professor at Duke University! 📍September 15 at 11am in NQ105 in Martinsried Art by @somedonkey.bsky.social

Third-party imitation is not restricted to humans: When blue-throated macaws observed how other animals reacted to specific hand signals from humans, the birds reproduced those reactions. www.mpg.de/25325205/090... @mpiforbi.bsky.social @loroparque.bsky.social

Blue-throated macaws can learn to respond to unknown gestures by observing interaction of peers, an ability referred to as third party imitation, so far documented only in humans. Read more: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-09... Scientific paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... @loroparque.bsky.social ‬

#pictureofthemonth: Nr5a2 is a pioneer factor that controls activation of the #genome at the beginning of life. The illustration depicts this process. More: www.biochem.mpg.de/hooking-an-a... September – institute calendar of @mpibiochem.bsky.social & @mpiforbi.bsky.social Image: Wataru Kobayashi

🧠🧪Brain-bending news: A new study reveals how changes in cell behavior and number affect the formation of distinct grooves and ridges in the brain. Read more: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-08... Scientific publication: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

SAVE THE DATE: We, the @mpiforbi.bsky.social and @mpibiochem.bsky.social,‬ are opening our doors for you on October 25! Tours, talks, experiments – Join us to learn more about us and our science! More information: mpi.lineupr.com/tdot/

In robins, males and females sing to defend a territory. A new paper in @royalsocietypublishing.org shows that both increase vocal effort when hearing the song of an intruder, regardless of its sex. This highlights the role of female birdsong in displaying aggression: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Are you passionate about communicating science on social media? Join our communications team as content creator! We are looking for someone with video skills to take over our institutes' social media accounts. Apply here: www.bi.mpg.de/2775468/job_...

Research from @mpiforbi.bsky.social ‪in @natneuro.nature.com shows that later-born inhibitory neurons mature more quickly in the developing brain. This allows them to synchronize with earlier-born neurons and maintain balanced networks. bit.ly/3TIghem ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

To be heard over roaring rivers, white-throated dippers swap from song to flashing their bright eyelids. New research reveals one of the clearest examples yet of animals switching between senses to communicate – showing how noisy environments can shape evolution: www.bi.mpg.de/news/2025-08...

#pictureofthemonth: Pairs of white-browed coucals often duet. Here you see a coucal listening to a playback recording of its own species. Find out more: www.bi.mpg.de/goymann August – Institute calendar of @mpibiochem.bsky.social and @mpiforbi.bsky.social Picture by @dudumizi.bsky.social

Our latest Cell Scientist to Watch is Angelika Harbauer @harbauerlab.bsky.social. In this interview we learn more about Angelika’s career path, her thoughts on mentorship and how studying improv theatre helped her presentation skills. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...