This year, we are delighted to once again be able to offer exciting camera fodder. One subject—produced by IMBA (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology)—is actually already a regular. Last year, the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) was the surprise star of the evening. The model organism in regeneration proved to be a hit with the audience.

For Elly Tanaka, the scientific director of IMBA, the interest was a good sign: in June 2025, the biochemist was honored with the Wittgenstein Prize, the country’s highest scientific award. This year, the Mexican salamander appears twice on the photo wall, once in dark coloring and once unpigmented.

The other motif also has what it takes to be a star guest. The Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) – like the IMBA, based at the Vienna BioCenter – took up the cause of its namesake and produced a portrait of the creator of genetics; However, thanks to the use of Abacus.AI, he is not depicted in the expected habit of an Augustinian monk from Brno, but as a nonchalant ball guest in a tuxedo with a champagne glass in his hand.

However, it is not champagne that sparkles in the glass, but peas in different colors. A tribute to the scholar’s model organism, who, at the same time as Charles Darwin, but without his knowledge, recognized and formulated the basic principles of genetics in his tireless cross-breeding experiments with legumes. The significance of these findings was only recognized by the scientific community in 1900, 16 years after Gregor Mendel’s death, and he himself was honored accordingly.