Elizabeth Duxbury
@eduxbury.bsky.social
Senior Postdoctoral Research Associate Evolution and genetics of ageing, host-pathogen coevolution, neural regulation of behaviour and cognition.
Trade-offs Between Intergenerational and Transgenerational Effects: experimental data and demographic simulation model of multigenerational trade-offs in evolution: academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Evolutionary trade-offs between intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects
Abstract. Intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects can shape evolutionary processes. Theoretically, however, intergenerational and transgene
academic.oup.com
A pleasure to contribute to this work together with @itamarh.bsky.social @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social et al. and see it published: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
An antagonistically pleiotropic gene regulates vertebrate growth, maturity, and lifespan - Nature Communications
Here they use killifish to reveal a stark genetic trade-off in aging. They found that disrupting the vgll3 gene accelerates early-life maturation and growth but directly increases the risk of age-rela...
nature.com
Alexei Maklakov@alexeimaklakov.bsky.social · 3mo agoAn antagonistically pleiotropic gene regulates vertebrate growth, maturity, and lifespan Great first post by @itamarh.bsky.social 😀 Very happy to contribute to this cool study!
Absolutely beautiful paper by a core team at the RIKEN in which the telomerase RNA component has (finally) been identified, in the nematode *C. elegans*. Surprisingly, it does not have its own promoter, but is located inside the intron of a germline-expressed gene (nmy-2)! 🤩 doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Nematode telomerase RNA hitchhikes on introns of germline–up-regulated genes
Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex that elongates telomeric DNA, ensuring germline immortality. In this study, we identified the Caenorhabditis elegans telomerase RNA component 1 (terc-1), as t...
doi.org
A new view of aging: How the immune system rewrites rapid aging. Read the new #genesdev paper, online now ahead of print: ➡️ https://ow.ly/kCbl50YKyO8 https://ow.ly/NksN50YKyO6
A new view of aging: How the immune system rewrites rapid aging
New research shows that dialing down an overactive immune sensor can restore tissue health in severe genetic disorders, reshaping how scientists think about aging and DNA damage.
ow.ly
Out today is our paper 'Genomic history of early dogs in Europe', in which we uncover the identity of the dogs that lived in Europe before agriculture—during the Paleolithic & Mesolithic periods: doi.org/10.1038/s415.... A thread ⬇️ (10) @biouea.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social
🧠⏰our latest paper is out now: how each neuron ages differently allowed us to define in silico screens for new therapeutic molecules that could prevent neurodegeneration @cecad.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social @uniklinikkoeln.bsky.social @meyerdh.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Aging clocks delineate neuron types vulnerable or resilient to neurodegeneration and identify neuroprotective interventions - Nature Aging
Gallrein et al. pair functional assays with clocks to compare chronological versus biological age of single neuron types in C. elegans, to probe their vulnerability or resilience to neurodegeneration,...
nature.com
🐻❄️❄️ New paper alert! From me Ben & @immler.bsky.social “Diverging transposon activity among polar bear sub-populations inhabiting different climate zones” (Godden, Rix & Immler, 2025). 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1... A thread 🧵. #climate #transposons #TESky #polarbear #ursus @biouea.bsky.social
Diverging transposon activity among polar bear sub-populations inhabiting different climate zones - Mobile DNA
Mobile DNA - A new subpopulation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) was recently discovered in the South-East of Greenland. This isolated colony inhabits a warmer climate zone, akin to the predicted...
link.springer.com
Very happy to share this large-scale study from my postdoc with @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social. Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load. Many thanks to our collaborators @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis and Hanne Carlsson.
Alexei Maklakov@alexeimaklakov.bsky.social · 9mo ago1/6 New preprint! Do changes to insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) that extend lifespan also protect the germline, or do they come with a mutational cost? led by @eduxbury.bsky.social with @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis Hanne Carlsson www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Red squirrels are returning to the Scottish Highlands 🏴 @treesforlife.bsky.social’s 10-year reintroduction programme has seen hundreds of individuals moved to new homes and their range across the Highlands expand by more than a quarter. 🧵1/3
High-energy particles streaming through space can damage DNA and increase cancer risk, but antioxidants, tardigrades and hibernation could help astronauts make the journey safely.
Before trips to Mars, we need better protection from cosmic rays
High-energy particles streaming through space can damage DNA and increase cancer risk, but antioxidants, tardigrades and hibernation could help astronauts make the journey safely.
tcnv.link
www.nature.com/articles/s43...
Multilingualism protects against accelerated aging in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 27 European countries - Nature Aging
In cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 86,149 participants across 27 European countries, Amoruso, Hernandez and colleagues identify multilingualism as a protective factor against accelerated ...
nature.com
1/6 In a new preprint we ask a question: Why do males and females so often age and die at different rates? We argue that sex-specific mutation accumulation may be the most parsimonious evolutionary explanation for sex-biased ageing: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Sex-specific mutation accumulation: A parsimonious explanation for sex differences in lifespan and ageing
ecoevorxiv.org
1/ Evolutionary trade-offs between intergenerational and transgenerational fitness effects Transgenerational / intergeneration fitness effects can be adaptive, but they can also trade-off with each other: New work led by Isaac Harris, preprint: tinyurl.com/yp2b6tjm
New preprint! We unexpectedly discovered that some Caenorhabditis species delete parts of their somatic genome early in development, which fragments their chromosomes and eliminates key germline genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest this bizarre process was present in the ancestors of C. elegans
bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 10mo agoProgrammed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
Excited to share our new work on transgenerational adaptation www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.... out today spearheaded by outstanding former undergraduate @kathleenkim.bsky.social. C. elegans adapt to repeated generational stresses and no longer display altered fertility, fat content, + longevity 1/9
Transgenerational adaptation to hypoxia
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science.org
Mild stresses on the body, like fasting or cold exposure, can delay ageing. But how? A new Insight Article explores how oxygen-sensing neurons in C. elegans trigger body-wide stress signals that boost resilience and extend lifespan. buff.ly/wJIQKfm
This image shows neurons being grown on a surface with tiny patterns that resemble human tissue to ‘steer’ their growth. Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease. Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social
Why does the naked mole rat have the longest lifespan of any rodent, nearly 40 years? A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today! Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“This study is particularly important to me as it took place during my post doc years at the @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social and it has been a source of inspiration for my current research line, as a newly appointed Early Career Fellow at the Quadram Institute." 💬 Dr Serena Monaco
New technique to speed up the design of drugs targeting proteins in the cell membrane - Quadram Institute
An team has developed a new technique that will speed up the design of drugs targeting ion channels, a type of cell membrane protein
buff.ly
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Lysosomes signal through the epigenome to regulate longevity across generations
The epigenome is sensitive to metabolic inputs and is crucial for aging. Lysosomes act as a signaling hub to sense metabolic cues and regulate longevity. We found that lysosomal metabolic pathways sig...
science.org
New paper out! 🤩 "Shrinking to bird size with dinosaur-level cancer defences: Evolution of cancer suppression over macroevolutionary time" with @kokkonut.bsky.social and @marcanthonytollis.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1371/jour... A short thread:
Shrinking to bird size with dinosaur-level cancer defences: Evolution of cancer suppression over macroevolutionary time
Author summary Humans are not the only species suffering from cancer, yet cancer does not impact all life equally. Body size is relevant because maintaining a large number of cells in a tumour-free st...
doi.org
Why does eating less extend lifespan? 🧬 Mutation accumulation underpins evolution of lifespan extension by dietary restriction We often think about saving energy or recycling waste - but we show how evolution acting on mutation load can generate longer life on low food 🧵 🔗 tinyurl.com/jn5ryhxv
In my latest piece for @uk.theconversation.com, I explain our latest research with @eivimeycook.bsky.social and @alexeimaklakov.bsky.social on how eating less, rapamycin and metformin affect lifespan. Read it here: theconversation.com/anti-ageing-... #ageing #longevity #sciencecommunication
Anti-ageing drug rapamycin may extend life almost as effectively as restricting calories – our new research
Scientists compared diet, rapamycin and metformin in search for longevity boost.
theconversation.com
New paper! "Rapamycin, Not Metformin, Mirrors Dietary Restriction-Driven Lifespan Extension in Vertebrates: A Meta-Analysis" tinyurl.com/yc6pkmbe Using meta-analysis, we examined the average lifespan extension conferred by dietary restriction (DR), Metformin, and Rapamycin.
Rapamycin, Not Metformin, Mirrors Dietary Restriction‐Driven Lifespan Extension in Vertebrates: A Meta‐Analysis
The authors provide evidence that, together with Dietary Restriction, Rapamcyin and not Metformin, provides a significant lifespan extension in vertebrates.
tinyurl.com
. @pnas.org just published the final version of our manuscript on how generation time and effective population size interact to shape vertebrate germline mutation rates, led by Luke Zhu and Annabel Beichman: 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
This is a really great compilation - full of stories of wonder and joy. But it's the words of Roger Hallam that hit me hardest: "David has shown us how beautiful the world is beyond words. And also taught us that words alone will not save what is left to save."
Patrick Barkham@patrickbarkham.bsky.social · last yr.An early HAPPY 99TH BIRTHDAY Sir David! Thank you all the amazing nature people I spoke to who gave these wonderful lessons they've learned from David Attenborough... www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio... (@robgmacfarlane.bsky.social @chrisgpackham.bsky.social and many, many more)