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What we long believed to make us humans uniquely special - intelligence, innovation, and the use of tools - has been thoroughly debunked. Few researchers illustrate this more brilliantly than Alice Auersperg, whose work on the innovative capabilities of birds formed the centerpiece of the 15th S.M.A.R.T. Lecture, held on 17 November 2025 at CeMM.  

The evening opened with a highlight: CeMM’s Scientific Director, Giulio Superti-Furga, awarded the Barlow Award for the best thesis on biological mechanisms in 2024 to Anais Elewaut, a PhD graduate from Anna Obenauf’s lab at the IMP. The biochemist and biotechnologist - currently a PostDoc at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California - received the award for her thesis “Cancer cells impair monocyte-mediated intratumoral T-cell stimulation to evade immunity.” She is the 7^th recipient of this annual distinction, established in 2019 by the Viennese institutions IMP, Max Perutz Labs, IMBA, and CeMM in memory of former CeMM Principal Investigator Denise Barlow.

This was followed by Alice Auersperg’s captivating lecture on the extraordinary skills of animals. High intelligence, far from being an exclusively human trait, appears to have evolved in the Miocene (23–5 million years ago) as a response to rapid environmental change across very distantly related species, including birds, elephants, dolphins, and primates. Despite fundamentally different brain architectures - birds possess a large, nucleated pallium rather than a laminar neocortex - many species reach cognitive performance levels comparable to those of eight-year-old children.

Through vivid, video-documented examples, Auersperg demonstrated how her primary study subjects, parrots and corvids, display remarkable innovative abilities. These ranged from foraging innovations such as soaking or even seasoning their food, to complex technical innovations culminating in tool use to access otherwise unreachable resources. Using sophisticated experimental devices such as the “multi-access box” or the “innovation arena,” birds were confronted with puzzles requiring coordinated actions: pulling strings, dropping balls into tubes, pushing sticks through openings, or even applying several tools in a specific sequence. The audience watched with astonishment as the birds solved these tasks with what appeared to be effortless proficiency.

Yet, as Auersperg showed, the complexity observable in experimental paradigms is surpassed by a remarkable case of spontaneous tool use in the wild: the free-living parrots of Singapore. These birds employ three distinct tools, one to peel, one to open, and one to scoop out a fruit that would seem impenetrable to most humans. This coordinated, multi-step process, emerging outside any controlled training environment, represents the most intricate examples of naturally occurring tool use in animals. It illustrates not only motor sophistication but an ability to sequence actions, adapt tools to different functional roles, and pass such innovations socially within urban parrot populations.

In her concluding remarks, Auersperg contrasted these examples with human development. Whereas humans rely heavily on imitation until around the age of eight, many animals acquire complex behaviors through self-directed exploration. This can make them, at least initially, more individually innovative. However, humans possess a decisive advantage: cumulative culture. It is this collective, ever-expanding reservoir of shared understanding that ultimately distinguishes us and has made our species uniquely successful on this planet. 

After the lecture, the enthusiastic audience continued asking questions long into the evening. Our most heartfelt thanks go to Alice Auersperg, who enriched the S.M.A.R.T. series with yet another truly outstanding and unforgettable lecture.

About the CeMM S.M.A.R.T. Lecture series

The S.M.A.R.T. Lecture series, an initiative launched by CeMM, is dedicated to addressing current scientific challenges at the intersection of science and society. These lectures foster an interdisciplinary discourse, encouraging researchers to expand their horizons beyond their own fields and engage in meaningful dialogues with a wider audience. From science and medicine to art, research, and technology, the S.M.A.R.T. Lectures cover a diverse range of topics, promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration.