Some DNA sequences have a mind of their own–they can copy and move within an organism’s genome. These ‘jumping genes’ can be helpful but they can also disrupt important genes and cause disease. Luckily, organisms have built-in defenses to keep them in check—though not always perfectly. We studied the rapid spread of one such jumping gene in fruit flies using experiments, computer simulations, and machine learning. In this talk, you’ll learn how organisms struggle to control these stealthy genetic invaders.

Short Bio

Anna Maria Langmüller is an evolutionary biologist specializing in rapid adaptive processes in experimental and natural populations, with a focus on environmental challenges. Her research combines computational modeling and empirical studies to deepen our understanding of evolutionary dynamics. She is currently an AIAS-AUFF Fellow at the Aarhus Instritute of Advanced Studies (AIAS), Denmark, coming from a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship where she applied modeling and machine learning in epidemiology at the University of Vienna, Austria and Cornell University, USA.

What is the Festival of Research?

The Festival of Research is a nationwide science festival that takes place each year in the spring with about 500 events and more than 65,000 visitors around Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science is behind the initiative, which aims at bringing research and researchers and the Danish population closer together.

In Danish: https://www.au.dk/forskningens-doegn

In English: https://international.au.dk/about/visitors/festivalofresearch/