We have a new preprint up looking at how much variation there is in aggression in male and female fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Check it out here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Genetic Variation in Drosophila melanogaster Aggression

Animals fight for resources to obtain fitness benefits; most contests are intrasexual, and males tend to fight more than females. Although the genetic basis of male aggression is well studied, we know...

biorxiv.org

We are always excited by the success of members of @dunnschool.bsky.social! Huge congratulations to Profs Emma Slack @mucosalimmunology.bsky.social and Kevin Foster on their election as members of @embo.org Both are microbiome leaders – and both are stars www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...

Emma Slack and Kevin Foster elected members of EMBO - Dunn School

Both researchers are leaders in the rapidly growing field of the human gut microbiome.

path.ox.ac.uk

Mating makes cholesterol matter for male fruit fly lifespan! @elerosca.bsky.social @ju-morimoto.bsky.social @livuninews.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social news.liverpool.ac.uk/2026/06/18/m...

Mating makes cholesterol matter for male fruit fly lifespan - University of Liverpool News

Mating makes cholesterol matter for male fruit fly lifespan

news.liverpool.ac.uk

Now out in @royalsocietypublishing.org "The seminal proteome of a monandrous fly, Drosophila subobscura". We discovered that, despite monandry, D subobscura's seminal fluid is surprisingly similar D melanogaster's, and likely shaped by conflict! royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Congratulations to @timcoulson.bsky.social, @stuwest.bsky.social, and Kathy Willis, who have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society! 👇

Professors Tim Coulson, Stuart West, and Kathy Willis elected as Fellows of the Royal Society

bit.ly

In our new paper, published yesterday, we use the long-term data set of Wytham Woods to show that great tits have maintained stable temperature at breeding despite the almost 2ºC increase in Spring temperature. w. E. Cole, C. Regan & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social Link -> www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Thrilled to have my first PhD paper with @mmdesai.bsky.social out! @science.org Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Thread below: #mevosky #evosky #evobio #popgen #evolsky #ecoevo #molevol

Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation by purging hitchhiking load

Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain sex despite its direct costs is a long-standing challenge. Previous work has shown that sexual recombination can accelerate adaptation, in part ...

science.org

Shreyas Pai@theshreyaspai.bsky.social · last yr.

Why is sex so common if it's so costly? Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)

Finally watched One Battle After Another. I really enjoyed it, but I’m not sure it’s a “best movie of the year” type film. Between the two, I would have picked Sinners.

Nice to see our work featured in The Guardian — showing that sperm quality can decline the longer it is stored. @krishsanghvi11.bsky.social @itchyshin.bsky.social

Royal Society Publishing@royalsocietypublishing.org · 4mo ago

#ProcB in @theguardian.com | Sperm storage causes sperm senescence in human and non-human animals: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Adult content advisory. No laughing at the back please. A major multi-species study by Oxford University researchers has found that sperm deteriorates rapidly in storage (in males or females), and so regular ejaculation before taking semen samples or assisted reproduction is recommended.

Sperm storage causes sperm senescence in human and non-human animals

Abstract. In animals, mature sperm are stored in males before ejaculation and sometimes in females before fertilization. Sperm storage provides evolutionar

royalsocietypublishing.org

Study paper from the researchers @krishsanghvi11.bsky.social *, @rmdean.bsky.social*, @itchyshin.bsky.social, Klaus Reinhardt, @iremsepil.bsky.social and Regina Vega-Trejo is published in royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... 3/3

Sperm can “age” independently of the male, when stored in male or female reproductive tracts. Our meta-analysis finds widespread evidence across animals (including abstinence in men). Important consequences for fertility, sexual selection, haploid selection! doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

New paper out! Great tits face distinct challenges from extreme weather during development, based on 60 years data from >83k nestlings in Wytham Woods 🐣 Cold snaps & heavy rain can stunt growth, but earlier breeding may help buffer this! By @devisatarkar.bsky.social et al. doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70794

Developmental Stage‐Specific Responses to Extreme Climatic Events and Environmental Variability in Great Tit Nestlings

Extreme climatic events (ECEs) impact great tit nestlings in a developmental stage-specific and context-dependent manner. Using 60 years of data on 83,000+ great tit nestlings from Wytham Woods, UK, ...

doi.org

New preprint from Mabel Sydney, Tracey Chapman & me: female diet choice when there's harassment from males plus social information: doi.org/10.32942/X2G...

Really excited to have presented work from my Master’s on the fitness benefits of polyandry at the #ASABSpring2026 Conference in Bristol - and proud to have won best student speaker! ✨ It was a great few days meeting other researchers and listening to all the exciting work happening in the field! 🦋

+Our paper now out in @nature.com. We designed and built at AMOLF a robot that maps & tracks fungal networks as they trade nutrients with plants. We discovered how fungi build and operate hyper-efficient 'supply chains' for underground ecosystems. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Why is an old male reproductively doomed to fail? Is it poor sperm and seminal fluid, or do females not like him and his ejaculate? doi.org/10.1093/evle... Now in @evolletters.bsky.social by @krishsanghvi11.bsky.social, @taralync.bsky.social, et al. Image: Krish Sangvi & Martin Jahn