Mara Mather is among the Top 100 Minds in Berlin Science 2026 

Mara Mather, Director of the Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN), has been named one of the Top 100 Minds in Berlin Science 2026. The annual Tagesspiegel list recognizes researchers whose work is shaping the scientific landscape of the German capital region. 

Women leave psychological research more often than men

The bigger hurdle appears not to be entering academia but staying in it: An international study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development shows that, despite high entry rates, women in psychology leave research significantly more often than men—especially during the first years of their academic careers. 

European Commission proposes EU KIDS Act

Expertise from the Center for Adaptive Rationality contributed to the proposal

Statement by the Berliner Forschungsnetzwerk

Strengthening Academic Freedom – The Max Planck Society supports the joint statement issued by the Berliner Forschungsnetzwerk

Cash transfers to mothers with low income may slow biological aging in children

A study published in Nature Human Behaviour reports that providing cash transfers to mothers with low income during the first four years of their children's lives changed the children's biological aging in ways associated with better health in adulthood. 

3Sat NANO Doku: Can game theory save the world?

Why does collaboration often fail, even though everyone involved could benefit from it? Using game theory models, this documentary shows how the decisions of others influence one’s own success. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development also share their insights: Director Iyad Rahwan and research scientist Levin Brinkmann from the Center for Humans and Machines explain how artificial intelligence is changing social decision-making processes (only in German).

Mara Mather Appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development

On September 1, Neuroscientist Mara Mather is starting as director of the newly established Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. As Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society, she will investigate how emotions, physiological regulation processes, and brain aging are connected—and what role these interactions play in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, and in their prevention.

Freedom of Information as a Safeguard of Liberal Democracies

The planned amendment to the Freedom of Information Act severely restricts the right of access to information and threatens democratic transparency in Germany – An article by Erik Tuchtfeld, Carolyn Moser und Ralph Hertwig.
Please note: This page is currently only available in German.

Our Institute in the media

Here you can find links to selected articles, radio- and TV reports about the activities of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in 2026.

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