It’s a well-known fact that if you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more likely to get sick. And it has also been observed that people sleep differently when they’re infected. Biologists from the Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster have now investigated how a parasite infection affects the immune system and sleep in three-spined sticklebacks infected with their natural parasite, the tapeworm. One conclusion was that infected fish sleep longer after infection than their uninfected counterparts. However, the team only observed this difference one month after infection. In the first few days, there were virtually no differences. The results should help to deepen our understanding of the interactions between macroparasite infections, sleep and the immune response.

Bauhus MB, Mews S, Kurtz J, Brinker A, Peuß R, Anaya-Rojas JM (2024): Tapeworm infection affects sleep-like behavior in three-spined sticklebacks. Scientific Reports 14, 23395. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73992-7

Press release by the University of Münster
Original publication in Scientific Reports

Toni Lange

Toni Lange joined InChangE in October 2024 to investigate the link between depression and immunological factors. His research aims to better understand the genetic predisposition to disease susceptibility and response to medication and thereby contributing to the development of personalised therapy strategies.

Lange studied mathematics before developing a quality control tool for accurate assignment of patient data as part of his dissertation, which uses machine learning methods to predict clinical variables based on genotypes.

Plant chemicals shape animal social lives

A study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology by researchers from Bielefeld University reveals that certain plant compounds, from non-food plants that then affect the social behavior and lifespan of the turnip sawfly (Athalia rosae). Led by Dr Pragya Singh, a postdoctoral researcher in the Collaborative Research Center Transregio 212 in the Chemical Ecology group, the team investigated how the consumption of specific non-nutritional plant-derived chemicals, known as clerodanoids, alters social networks within sawfly populations while simultaneously shortening the insects’ lifespan. These findings provide valuable insights into plant-animal interactions and social networks in ecology.

Singh P, Brueggemann L, Janz S, Saidi Y, Baruah G, Müller C (2024): Plant metabolites modulate social networks and lifespan in a sawfly. Journal of Animal Ecology 93, 1758–1770. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14189

Press release by Bielefeld University
Original publication in the Journal of Animal Ecology

Social interactions may accelerate evolution

How do animal species develop evolutionarily? Researchers usually predict this by studying a species' genes and the environment in which it lives. However, new research highlights a key factor that is often overlooked: social interactions, in which the genes of other individuals play an important role in shaping the environment an animal experiences. Researchers from the Collaborative Research Center Transregio 212 and the British Universities of Aberdeen and Exeter collaborated on the study, which was published in Evolution Letters.

Santostefano F, Moiron M, Sánchez-Tójar A, Fisher D (2024): Indirect genetic effects increase the heritable variation available to selection and are largest for behaviours: a meta-analysis. Evolution Letters, qrae051. https://doi.org/10.1093/evlett/qrae051

Press release by Bielefeld University [de]
Original publication in Evolution Letters

Do animals manage to adapt to an ever faster changing environment? If so, how? In an interview with Christina Hoppenbrock, behavioural biologist and field researcher Prof Dr Oliver Krüger from Bielefeld University provides insights into the adaptability of animals and the role of behavioural biology in the face of climate change. The occasion is a conference of the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 212, which addresses the ecological niches of individuals in changing environmental conditions, with a public lecture by Oliver Krüger on 4 September at the University of Münster.

Full interview [de]
NC³ conference by the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 212

New publication from the JICE: Individualisation across disciplinary perspectives

This week, the article “Individualisation and individualised science across disciplinary perspectives” has been published in the European Journal for Philosophy of Science. It is the result of a comprehensive interdisciplinary collaboration between numerous members of the JICE.

The publication brings together various scientific disciplines with the aim to promote interdisciplinary research on individualisation by creating a common conceptual and theoretical basis. It is based on a workshop as part of the interdisciplinary research association InChangE, during which the participating scientists addressed differences and similarities in the understanding of individualisation across various disciplines such as biology, philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, health sciences, sociology and economics.

Kaiser MI, Killin A, Abendroth AK, Back MD, Baune BT, Bilstein N, Breitmoser Y, Caspers BA, Gadau J, Gossmann TI, Kaiser S, Krüger O, Kurtz J, Lengersdorf D, Malsch AKF, Müller C, Rauthmann, JF, Reinhold K, Richter SH, Stummer C, Trappes R, Voelcker-Rehage C, Wittmann MJ (2024): Individualisation and individualised science across disciplinary perspectives. European Journal for Philosophy of Science 14, 41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-024-00602-8

Article in European Journal for Philosophy of Science

Summer debate: 'How natural is competition?'

The Institute of Sociology invites students and interested guests to the summer debate in the lecture hall on 3 July 3 2024 at 18:15, where Prof Dr Jürgen Gadau (Institute of Evolution and Biodiversity) and Prof Dr Joachim Renn (Institute of Sociology) will explore the question: "How natural is competition?"

On the one hand, the focus is on the question of the extent to which the principle of "Competitiveness" is suitable for bringing evolutionary biology and social theory into conversation with each other. On the other hand, to what extent such a discussion depends on how the "phenomenon" is questioned in both disciplines.

The panelists will continue the discussion they began on Darwin Day in a different setting: "Evolution is blind, but not random"

More details

DFG funds new CRC-TRR 393 'Trajectories of affective disorders'

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved funding for the new Transregional Collaborative Research Centre "Trajectories of affective disorders: Cognitive-emotional mechanisms of symptom change", which will begin its work on 1 July 2024. Researchers from the Philipps University of Marburg, the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the University of Münster are involved in the project – including Prof Dr Udo Dannlowski, Director of the Institute of Translational Psychiatry at the University of Münster and member of the JICE, who will be the site coordinator for the Collaborative Research Centre.

Press release by the University of Münster [de]

Charlotte Kräft starts as a postdoc within InChangE

Dr Charlotte Kräft started working within InChangE in May 2024. She focuses on the introduction of an AI-supported scheduling system for employees in the healthcare sector. 

Kräft obtained her doctorate in economics from Paderborn University in 2022. As part of her doctoral project, she analysed gender-specific segregation and performance correlations in the context of a male-dominated industry. She published her research findings in journals such as Gender, Work & Organisation and Gender in Management. In the winter semester 2023/24, she was an interim professor for Organizational Behavior at Paderborn University.

When are children most receptive?

Children learn best during sensitive periods of their lives. But when exactly are these ‘sensitive periods’? Researcher Dr Nicole Walasek from the University of Amsterdam has used computer models to investigate the factors on which they depend. She presented her findings in Bielefeld at the third Individualisation Symposium of the JICE. The recording of the presentation is now online.

Article by Bielefeld University
Recording on YouTube

Guido I. Prieto joins InChangE as Individualisation Fellow

Dr Guido I. Prieto joined the Department of Philosophy at Bielefeld University in this month. As Individualisation Fellow within InChangE, he works on a research project on the diachronic dimension of biological individuality and organismality, especially concerning development across complex life cycles. This is intended to answer questions such as: What is the nature of the entities that correspond to each stage in a life cycle? Are they different stages of the same biological individual or different biological individuals separated by events of multiplication and fusion? Does the kind of biological individuality change across complex life cycles? Do organisms gradually emerge during development or are they always present from the zygote stage? Do organismal capacities and processes such as agency, developmental plasticity, and niche construction vary across life cycles? And if so, how does this affect ecological and evolutionary outcomes?

Previously, Prieto studied Biology and obtained a PhD in Philosophy at Ruhr University Bochum for his research on the relationship between the concepts of ‘organism’ and ‘biological individual.’ Besides, he is a self-taught scientific illustrator.

‘Individualization is essential in both prevention and therapy’

What does a science of individualization need? Researchers from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences provided insights into this at the third symposium on individualisation hosted by the JICE Institute, which is supported by Bielefeld University and the University of Münster. It was held at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) on the Bielefeld campus. In this interview, Münster sports scientist Professor Dr Claudia Voelcker-Rehage and Bielefeld economist Dr Niels Boissonnet explain what makes the institute’s interdisciplinary approach so valuable for their research. They explain how the focus on individualization enables innovations in a wide range of areas—from optimizing performance in sport to ethical questions of resource distribution.

Article by Bielefeld University

'Evolution is blind, but not random'

Charles Darwin, founder of the evolutionary theory, was born on 12 February 1809. Since 1995, Darwin Day has been celebrated on his birthday to honour his outstanding contribution to science. On this occasion, biologist Prof Dr Jürgen Gadau from the Institute of Evolution and Biodiversity and Prof Dr Joachim Renn, who investigates socio-cultural evolution at the Institute of Sociology, talk to Anke Poppen about their work on evolutionary theory.

Interview [de]

Understanding individualisation through modelling

Individualisation matters. We observe it in social trends, customer choices, personalised medicine or the adaptation of animals to their environments. In the research association ‘Individualisation in Changing Environments’ (InChangE), Bielefeld University and the University of Münster are investigating the causes, mechanisms and consequences of individualisation in changing environments. This interdisciplinary collaboration involves natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, including the disciplines of biology, philosophy, sociology, economics, psychology, geoinformatics, psychiatry and health sciences. The list of participants is long and their disciplines could not be more different. But that’s where the opportunity lies, says Dr Olena Orlova, an applied mathematician in the Theoretical Biology research group at the Faculty of Biology in Bielefeld and a postdoctoral fellow at InChangE.

Article by Bielefeld University