Spandrels of San Marco. Strictly speaking ‘pendentives’ but spandrels seems to work much better.
Max Telford
@maxjtelford.bsky.social
Zoologist and evolutionary biologist. Interested in animal phylogeny. At UCL. Author of 'The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle'
Dear members, 🦴 The PalAss is pleased to be supporting a three-day Morphological Phylogenetics Workshop with the Systematics Association and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK. ⬇️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #workshop
So very, very happy to see this out @plosbiology.org : Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations. Beautiful work by two very clever and talented coauthors, Yuying Lin and @vdbijl.bsky.social . journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 1/
Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Genomic inversions spanning many genes can persist for millions of years. This study of Trinidadian guppy populations reveals how both ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden l...
journals.plos.org
Today, 23 Sept, is the centenary of the tragic suicide of Austrian Zoologist and Lamarckian, Paul Kammerer. A fascinating and controversial man. I wrote about him in this week's Nature. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Fraud sealed the fate of controversial zoologist Paul Kammerer — 100 years on, his ideas deserve revisiting
After an eventful life in the limelight, the discovery of a manipulated specimen preceded the biologist’s death. Questions about his findings remain.
nature.com
We are a friendly bunch, who like hearing about anything systematics-related (methods included!) and about any taxon! If you're a student (or recent graduate) working on any aspect of systematics, taxonomy and phylogenetics send your abstract along! (Preferably well in advance of October 24!!!)
Systematics Association@systassn.bsky.social · 3w agoJoin us Nov 13th for #YSF2026, a completely free, online conference where postgraduate students (and other early career researchers) present their work on systematics, taxonomy and/or phylogenetics. Abstract submission closes Oct 24th! REGISTER: tinyurl.com/bdzxt2ht systass.org/young-system...
Apply, apply, apply (till Monday!)
Max Farnworth@maxfarnworth.bsky.social · last mo.🚨 I AM HIRING a 3-year postdoc & 4-year PhD student 🚨 [PLEASE SHARE WIDELY] My Emmy Noether @dfg.de funded Neural Circuit & Systems Evolution lab (🌟) at the @unimainz.bsky.socialÍ wants to start existing. So..., what do we need? WELL... we need you! APPLY UNTIL 21 SEPTEMBER.
🔬 Meet Max Telford, PI of the ZooCELL team at UCL! @maxjtelford.bsky.social From natural history and marine life to reconstructing events from half a billion years ago, get to know Max, his research and his passion for sharing evolutionary biology beyond academia. 🧵👇
By my count, @philipcball.bsky.social has published more than forty books. I haven't come across one yet that wasn't worth reading. Theory alone suggests you should get it. QED.
Philip Ball@philipcball.bsky.social · 3w agoI don't really do that unboxing thing, but I'm delighted that this package arrived today. Here it is in the flesh, and I think it looks very handsome. And in time to take to Copenhagen in a couple of weeks!
I've seen Pressure, out in UK cinemas today, about the D-Day forecast: there's a fair amount of shouting in a country house and it's very good. But the film made me think about AI, which is not what I'd expected: rogerhighfield.substack.com/p/pressure-t...
Pressure Test: What D-Day Tells Us About AI Weather Forecasts
A new film about the momentous D-Day forecast turns out to be an unexpectedly good guide to whether we should trust AI with the weather
rogerhighfield.substack.com
Looking forward to giving the Huck Distinguished Lecture at Penn State University next week: www.huck.psu.edu/calendar/huc...
In the golden age of Vienna, two brilliant thinkers vied to shape the future of physics. Their passionate struggle led directly to the quantum and relativity revolutions. History of science at its most gripping! THE GREAT ATOM DEBATE Preorder now www.amazon.com/gp/product/1... greatatomdebate.com
I just published a brief account of Jim Watson’s life, aimed at students. It leans heavily on the insights of @nccomfort.bsky.social, whose biography of Watson will be out next year. Free link here: rdcu.be/M91CnnE3N4wa
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR Meticulously researched and shot through with insight and electrifying detail, @matthewcobb.bsky.social’s CRICK reveals the man who changed our view of life forever. #Crick is out today in paperback 🧬 Find out more: tinyurl.com/bd5bstwk
🚨🚨🚨 As part of the MSCA-DN DECODES, we're looking for a PhD student to study splicing programs in beta cells and diabetes at @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu Join 14 other PhD students across Europe to decipher the splicing code in human disease. More info below 👇 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
DECODES at University of Santiago de Compostela on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - DECODES at University of Santiago de Compostela, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
Important paper by @kaplipa.bsky.social and colleagues. Advocating for the importance of Natural History museum collections in genomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Species-dense genomics through natural history collections - Nature Reviews Genetics
Large-scale genome initiatives are transforming biodiversity genomics, but genomes remain taxonomically sparse and difficult to compare across species. Kapli and colleagues argue that natural history ...
nature.com
Timeo Danaos Et Dona Ferentes. So buy one for yourself.
Branigan et al. (2026-08 preprint, bioRxiv) 「クラウン有胎盤類の急速な放散のモデル化」 Modelling a rapid radiation of crown-group placentals doi.org/10.64898/202...
Ordoñez & Wollesen (2026, Communications Biology) 「毛顎動物Spadella cephalopteraの前後軸パターン形成により，左右相称動物の神経系および尾部の進化に示唆が与えられる」 Anterior-posterior patterning in the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera informs bilaterian nervous system and tail evolution doi.org/10.1038/s420...
I recently spoke to podcaster Bob Wells about my book 'The Tree of Life'. It was a great experience, Bob is a great interviewer who asked really interesting questions. I think the podcast is really worth a listen. Please repost! open.spotify.com/episode/6RcC...
The Tree of Life: The Four Billion Year Journey to Us with Max Telford
Undercurrent Stories Podcast: History, Music, Science & much more. · Episode
open.spotify.com
Very cool looking paper. Congrats. Looking forward to reading.
Darrin T. Schultz@dts.bsky.social · last mo.Our new paper in Science Advances asks how animals' genomes have changed since their origin from a common ancestor over 600 million years ago, and what patterns in their DNA have arisen in the churn of speciation and extinction. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!
I’m not telling where this deserted beach in Dorset is. The sea is lovely. Feels very fin de saison ;-).
"In FORCE OF NATURE, biologist and legal scholar Owen Jones argues convincingly that understanding how evolution by natural selection works can inform humans’ interactions with their environment and with each other." Read the full Nature review here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
When should you treat a fever? Evolution holds the answer
Understanding natural selection can improve medical treatments, social policies and crop yields.
nature.com
Flattered to be followed by Shropshire obviously. But worried it’s just because I’m called Telford.
Lovely review of my book 'The Tree of Life'. Thanks @lhug.bsky.social!
Laura Hug@lhug.bsky.social · 2mo agoMy review of @maxjtelford.bsky.social's "The Tree of Life: Solving Science’s Greatest Puzzle" is out today in The Quarterly Review of Biology. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... In brief, it's great, you should read it. Especially if you like worms.
Forgive the mild blasphemy. It was beyond amazing. In Spain near León.
A broad taxonomic representation enables a phylum-wide assessment to systematically evaluate, refine, and revise current understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the moulting genetic toolkit academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #biodiversity #evolutionary #genomics
Evolutionary dynamics of the arthropod molting machinery
Abstract. Exoskeletons define arthropods, providing support for segmented bodies and appendages while protecting against environmental stress and predation
academic.oup.com
In our new preprint, Réza Shahidi, Alexandra Kerbl and Karel Mocaer give an exquisitely detailed manual on serial sectioning for electron microscopy. "Volume Electron Microscopy: Tips & Tricks on Micromanipulator-Assisted Serial Sectioning for Array […] [Original post on biologists.social]