You can now also receive research news from the Max Planck Institutes via an app available from the iTunes store or directly here as an Android version. [more]

On a clear night, the starry sky appears calm and peaceful. In reality, however, all hell breaks loose in the heavens: stars absorb matter from other stars, suns explode and black holes greedily devour gas and dust. In short, there are a lot of extreme places in the universe – and they hold particular appeal for researchers. Max Planck astronomers investigate supernovas, study the properties of black holes and conduct research on what causes particles to accelerate.

Language is the most important form of communication. But how has this instrument evolved in the course of evolution? And what is happening in our brains when we are having a conversation with someone? Language proves to be extraordinarily complex. And as our articles show, the topic is not only interesting for classical linguists and computer scientists, but also for psychologists and behavioural scientists. [more]