Phyletisches Museum: Showcase about Human evolution
Image: Manuela Schmidt
Our Research
Our research topics range from the understanding of developmental processes and the functional morphology of locomotor systems to systems analysis and modelling. We are united by a common basic understanding of morphological transformations in the process of evolution. Every change in structures and functions starts from a certain predecessor situation that sets limits to the possibility of change, in the sense of an optimal adaptation to a biological role. Our view of historical limitations (evolutionary constraints) for adaptability also shapes the transfer of our findings to various fields of application, from robotics to prevention and therapy in veterinary medicine.
The Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research has one of the world's largest databases of X-ray videographic recordings of animals in motion. Since 1993, more than 50,000 film recordings have been made, first at the former Institute for Scientific Film in Göttingen (IWF) and since 2007 in Jena. Through the database, we make them available to the public and to research. More infoExternal link
