Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

Darwin's theory of 'Survival of the Fittest' states that in nature, the species and the individual that can adapt best and are therefore superior to all others will survive. However, there is another aspect that is crucial for the evolution of species: beauty. Natural 'beauty standards' play a central role in the courtship of sexual partners and reproduction. In addition, physical signals such as colors, sounds and smells take on a communicative function between individuals of a species, serving to establish territory or camouflage. It is not only the best adapted that survives, but also the most beautiful.
Nobel Prize winner Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard explains how colors and patterns are created in animals and why beauty is essential for survival in the animal kingdom.

Prof. Dr. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard was Director of the Department of Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen until 2014. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1995.

Back to overview