KLI Colloquium: Ivan Gonzalez-Cabrera, 12 April, 3.00 pm

We welcome Writing-Up Fellow Christian DORNINGER who will work at the KLI on his project "Biophysical Human-Nature Disconnections as a Form of Sociocultural Niche Construction" starting on April 1st, 2019.

We welcome Roland Zimm from the University of Helsinki to the KLI.

We welcome Murillo Pagnotta from the University of St. Andrews to the KLI.

We welcome Eva Fernandez-Labandera Tejado from the University of the Basque Country to the KLI.

Vivarium: Experimental, Quantitative, and Theoretical Biology at Vienna's Biologische Versuchsanstalt. A new volume in the Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology edited by Gerd Müller was published in October 2017!

We welcome Javier SUAREZ (University of Barcelona) who will work on his project "Stability of Traits as the Kind of Stability that Matters: Holobionts as Units of Selection."

The September issue of our journal, Biological Theory, is now out.

We welcome Harold de Vladar to the KLI.

Guido Caniglia took up his position as Scientific Director of the KLI in November 2018.

“...from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved...” (Darwin 1859) But what about the time before the ‘so simple’ beginning? Does evolutionary theory apply there? Let's ask Schoenmakers et al.!

The Vienna Science Studies Lab is an intra-institution initiative revived this winter by the KLI, UPSalon UniVie, and the In/human project at CEU. A reading group on Feminist STS is the first event.

This reading group is loosely but seriously centered around agency.

We welcome Richard Gawne from the Duke University to the KLI.

Led by fresh KLI alumna Anna-Katharina Brenner, this paper explores the long-lasting impact of settlement arrangements in cities on sustainability, and emphasizes the importance of understanding the drivers that change settlement patterns.

A new study, co-authored by Guido Caniglia, highlights optimism and complexity thinking as key factors to foster interpersonal trust during times of crises.

Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoins, are becoming more and more prevalent in our lexicon today, the broad common understanding being that it is a financial system that is based on technology. However, for most of us, there is still a lot more to know and understand how cryptocurrencies work, and how such a technology can affect social relationships. Enrico Petracca, along with Shaun Gallagher, in their new paper reveal that while technology is an important aspect of cryptocurrencies, the very humane emotion of trust, which is the basis of social and interpersonal relationships, is still at the core of the cryptocurrency enterprise. (click on title to continue…)

Prose, poetry, creativity…but hang on, did Evolution extort a heavy price for such human ingenuity? Perhaps. Of the many traits that separate modern humans from our close ancestors, Schizophrenia is one; a severe and disabling mental disorder unique to us Homo sapiens, which evolved as we diverged from archaic hominids including the Neanderthals and the Denisovans. Schizophrenia’s high prevalence (1%) also make its an evolutionary paradox. How did it evolve and why, despite it severely reducing evolutionary fitness, has Evolution not weeded it out yet, or at least made it rare? Philipp Mitteroecker and Giuseppe P. Merola review the many theories proposed to explain the evolution of Schizophrenia and test them against modern epidemiological and genetic evidence. They also present the first mathematical formulation of the Cliff Edge model of Schizophrenia, significantly demystifying this evolutionary puzzle. (Click on title to continue...)

KLI fellow Enrico Petracca questions the problem’s main assumption: That cognitive phenomena can be categorized based on their inherent complexity or representation-hunger.

Laura Menatti and Mariagrazia Ranzini 's new paper explores the effects of Covid lockdowns on relationships and connectedness, with important implications for future health policy.