Working Groups
Evolutionary Biology (Completed)
Evolutionary biology´s discoveries are among the most important achievements of modern science. Evolutionary biology can also make the claim that it unifies all the subfields of biology – it provides the framework for the integration of molecular genetics, ecology, developmental biology and many more disciplines.
The spectrum of evolutionary biology ranges from the comparison of entire genomes (e.g. Neanderthal versus modern man) to the increased understanding of the genetic bases of ecological interrelations through to explanations of behavioural strategies. The concepts and methods of evolutionary biology have thereby been increasingly applied to issues concerning health, society and the economy. It is impossible to understand the development of antibiotic resistances or the application of gene technology to food production without first having a fundamental knowledge of evolutionary biology. These examples show that the concept of evolution also directly affects our everyday lives.
The “Evolutionary Biology” working group concentrates its efforts on how best to improve the teaching of evolutionary biology in schools and universities.
Institutions
- Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina
- Gesellschaft deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte
Spokespeople
- Prof. Dr. Ute Harms, Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik, Kiel
- Prof. Dr. Diethard Tautz ML, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionsbiologie, Plön
Members of the Working Group
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Gunnar Berg ML, Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina
- Dr. Matthias Bohn, Gesamtschule Melsungen
- Prof. Dr. Dietrich von Engelhardt ML, Universität Lübeck
- Prof. Dr. Dittmar Graf, Justus Liebig-Universität Gießen
- Prof. Dr. Volker Loeschcke, Aarhus University
- Prof. Dr. Dietrich Nies, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
- Prof. Dr. Jens Rolff, FU Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schaefer, Universität Hamburg
- Prof. Dr. Ralph Tiedemann, Universität Potsdam
ML = Member of the Leopoldina
