C. Brandon Ogbunu
@cbo.bsky.social
Scientist + Humanist + Pugilist. "Tip your hat; pop the chain; short Joe Louis; then wipe his nose with the hook. It's that simple." (c) Brother Naazim Richardson https://linktr.ee/chike98
🚨NEW PAPER 🚨 "Deconstructing empirical fitness seascapes across scales of granularity" published in #G3 (@genetics-gsa.bsky.social) 1/2 The fitness landscape has been among the most influential instruments in evolutionary theory for nearly a century. But we often treat them as fixed and static.
We derive a working hypothesis for how the genetic code evolved, by assuming LUCA-depleted amino acids came early, using codons we infer via the 2-1-3 rule. We validate with independent data and a control ordering ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v... @seekingluca.bsky.social @hanonmcshea.bsky.social 1/13
The series of genetic codes that preceded our own
ecoevorxiv.org
Very cool pair of papers demonstrating little link between amount of additive genetic variation and amount of nucleotide variation within species: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Levels of additive genetic variation vary substantially between species
Adaptive potential determines how populations respond to environmental change. This study compiles evolvability estimates from over 170 multicellular species, revealing substantial variation across th...
journals.plos.org
NEW PAPER! Some kinds of genetic mutations are more likely to arise than others. Such "biases" in mutation vary between species. Analyzing data from 14 species, we show that this variation explains species differences in the genetics of adaptation! (1/3) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Out now in PLOS Computational Biology!
Eight quick tips for data-model integration in ecology
journals.plos.org
Joe Brennan@biologyjoe87.bsky.social · 9mo agoExcited to announce a new preprint out now. Myself and Laurie Balstad led a group of predominantly early career theoreticians (along with Marissa Baskett and Mikaela Provost) to compile a set of guiding principles for data-model integration in theoretical ecology.
An important and beautiful paper on the central role of natural history in ecology and evolutionary biology.
American Naturalist / ASN 🐌@asn-amnat.bsky.social · 3w agoHistorical Perspective: Sridhar et al. use the backstories of famous scientific papers in Ecology and Evolution to uncover the background roles of natural history that are written out of papers. Available now ahead of print! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
My privilege to share some lovely stories from the science community about what Sam Neill's timeless performance as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park meant to them—and why it will continue to inspire kids to chase their own discoveries for years to come.
Sam Neill Inspired a Generation of Scientists
The actor, who died at age 78 on Monday, embodied a passionate approach to research and positive masculinity in his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park.
wired.com
My review of Evolution. The BBC series, not the concept. But to be fair, I'm a big fan of both. @chrisgpackham.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/c6c0...
Why new BBC series Evolution is a giant leap forward for science on TV
Adam Rutherford salutes a show that finally links the spectacle of natural history with the science that explains it
ft.com
I recently discovered this by @philipcball.bsky.social on my bookshelves and re-read it. It's 20 years old now, but a fascinating, deep, comprehensive account of the connections between physical and social sciences. The 3-page epilogue is a gem. #goodreads
Can species always evolve fast enough to keep up with environmental change? A resurrection experiment in morning glory shows genetic constraints can limit adaptation—even under strong selection. doi.org/10.1093/evle... @gbaucom.bsky.social @johnstinchcombe.bsky.social Image credit:Cbaile19 Wikimedia
Excellent overview by @philipcball.bsky.social on why the concept of "agency" is both central to biology and hotly contested www.quantamagazine.org/is-life-just...
Is Life Just Different? | Quanta Magazine
The idea of ‘biological agency’ — that life devises its own goals and behaves accordingly — complicates our understanding of what it means to be alive. But does it serve a scientific purpose?
quantamagazine.org
Why do societies rely on rigid moral rules? Don't lie. Keep your promises. Don't steal. We all recognize there are good reasons to make exceptions. So why are moral rules so often categorical? Our new paper proposes an answer. 🧵
Coming late to this story: Suspecting AI cheating, Ivy League prof ordered an in-person final; scores fell 50% arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/w...
Suspecting AI cheating, Ivy League prof ordered an in-person final; scores fell 50%
AI cheating leads to "a failed society," professor says.
arstechnica.com
Rapid urban evolution of the dengue mosquito in West African cities Shift in genome and behavior of the mosquitoes towards greater specialization on humans, over just five years. Such cool work, congrats Noah Rose et al! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Rapid urban evolution of the dengue mosquito in West African cities
Aedes aegypti is an exceptionally effective global vector of human disease because of its strong specialization on human hosts and habitats. However, in its native range in Africa, many populations ne...
biorxiv.org
How can an extremely simple equation open the door to virtually infinite complexity? Fifty years ago, Bob May’s classic paper in @nature.com on chaos showed how deterministic rules can generate unpredictability, with deep implications for ecology, physics & beyond. mym.iimas.unam.mx/ramon/docs/M...
The first copy of my new @princetonupress.bsky.social book has just arrived at the office. It explores death in all its forms, from cells to minds, machines, languages and information. A complexity/evolutionary perspective, from Frankenstein to neuroscience. Soon out: www.amazon.com/Endless-Endi...
New for @undark.org: Mathematicians have signed the Leiden Declaration for AI. I argue that the life sciences needs one: built for noisy, context-dependent systems, w/ disclosure, human accountability, wet-lab validation, & rules that evolve as fast as the tools do. undark.org/2026/07/02/o...
Biologists Should Articulate Their Position on AI
Opinion | In the Leiden Declaration, mathematicians issued a treatise on how AI challenges their field. Others must do the same.
undark.org
Been away from BlueSky for a bit but just received tenure! Big thank you to my many many mentors and colleagues. And, of course, my family. Truly a team effort. Also, this video took like six tries to get right 🫠
Arm dominance is an emergent effect of practice executing complex trajectory shapes required by tools and objects | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
pnas.org
Slides from my invited lecture "Escalation dynamics and the severity of wars" at the Norwegian Nobel Institute @nobelpeacecenter.bsky.social: it's within-conflict dynamics of escalation in fighting that cause wars to become large, with broad implications. aaronclauset.github.io/slides/Claus...
1/3 🚨New Perspective🚨 (@genetics-gsa.bsky.social) "When evolvability meets constraint: reflections on empirical fitness landscapes after Weinreich et al. (2006)" 20 years after a seminal study, I discuss the forces that both constrain evolution + make it possible academic.oup.com/genetics/adv...
When evolvability meets constraint: reflections on empirical fitness landscapes after Weinreich et al. (2006)
Abstract. In 2006, a manuscript appeared with a provocative title: “Darwinian evolution can follow only very few mutational paths to fitter proteins.” Twen
academic.oup.com
1/2 🚨 New commentary in @pnas.org "Maynard Smith’s protein-space analogy, realized" Here, we invoke Maynard Smith's protein space to discuss a study proposing that evolution has explored a tiny fraction of functional protein sequences, chiefly b/c of common ancestry: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
pnas.org
Finally finished @philipcball.bsky.social's wonderful "How Life Works"! When I hit the part on the 2nd Law felt compelled to share my comic on Entropy from a few years back, bits of which I'm expanding on in the new work (& one reason I read this brilliant book!) spinweaveandcut.com/sketching-en...
Great essay by @philipcball.bsky.social looking at the messy, complex *deeply physical* nature of the genome and the processes of gene regulation... 1/n
Philip Ball@philipcball.bsky.social · 2mo agoIf the genome is not a blueprint, what is it? My attempt to unravel this particularly knotty question, in @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-huma...
My first art credit! 💅 Art director Samuel Velasco and I wanted a new visual metaphor for the genome — not a code or a sequence, but its tangled, twisted physical form. More cool yarn sculptures inside! Also it's a great piece by @philipcball.bsky.social that will change the way you think about DNA
Quanta Magazine@quantamagazine.org · 2mo agoThe human genome is no blueprint or algorithm — it’s something else entirely, something living with promiscuous logic. Can new genomic AI models, such as Evo 2 and AlphaGenome, untangle these tricky knots or will the genome confound them, too? www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-huma...
I’m honored to be selected as one of Scientific American’s inaugural Young American Scientists, a recognition of 28 early-career researchers whose work is shaping the future of science. My interview is here: www.scientificamerican.com/article/trev... #SciAmYoungScientists @sciam.bsky.social
Trevor GrandPre
Building models to understand how self-organizing structures in cells lead to disease
scientificamerican.com
SciAm just announced its inaugural list of Young American Scientists—a group of extraordinary young people changing science for the better. I had the joy of chatting with @armanafzadeh.bsky.social, who studies the evolution of animal joints! #SciAmYoungScientists @sciam.bsky.social 🧪
Armita Manafzadeh
Investigating the shape and evolution of animal joints
scientificamerican.com
Early-career scientists surveyed early 2025: “Barely half of respondents now say they are likely to remain in academia, down 22pp from how they felt 6 months earlier. The fraction likely to stay in the United States fell by 21pp. Even satisfaction w having pursued a PhD in science declined by 16pp”
nber.org
