2 x 3-year Postdocs developing a Deep Learning framework integrating population genomics and ecological data to forecast species' responses to global change: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...)

3-year Postdoc position using LLMs to synthesise biodiversity literature and extract data at scale: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...)

3 postdoc open positions in our lab on a project developing new AI methods to integrate genetics and ecological data to predict the impact of global change on species - see below

3 postdoc open positions in our lab on a project developing new AI methods to integrate genetics and ecological data to predict the impact of global change on species - see below

And so it begins: Excited to kick off the 2026 EMBO Population Genomics course in Naples, Italy. #EMBOpopgen

Delighted that our new paper (rdcu.be/fnksl ) with ‪@egmitchell.bsky.social on #Ediacaran early animal life is out in @natecoevo.nature.com We show that asexual stoloniferous reproduction reduced competition for Ediacaran early animals 580-560 million years ago, limiting early animal diversity

A lack of sex slowed the pace of evolution to a crawl for millions of years, until competition and the development of sexual reproduction got evolution going again. New research from @camzoology.bsky.social 👇 https://bit.ly/3SAKQVO

🚨Funded PhD position at @humanorigins.bsky.social!🚨How did climate shape the movements, interactions and evolution of hominin populations in Eurasia? 🧬 uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet... Supervised by @ceciliapad.bsky.social in Tübingen, and in close collaboration with the lab! - Spread the word!

🚨Funded PhD position at @humanorigins.bsky.social!🚨How did climate shape the movements, interactions and evolution of hominin populations in Eurasia? 🧬 uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet... Supervised by @ceciliapad.bsky.social in Tübingen, and in close collaboration with the lab! - Spread the word!

Is bigger always better? For social animals, group size is a dilemma: big groups face more internal competition, yet hold an edge over smaller neighbors. 33 years of data on 12 wild capuchin groups reveals how these forces shape behavior. Out today in *Nat Eco & Evo*: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nice recent article in Nature about sediment DNA and its impacts on human evolution and archaeology, featuring two of our great colleagues here in Vienna, Pere Gelabert and Ben Vernot @heasvienna.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

How DNA in dirt is shaking up the study of human origins

Researchers are pulling clues from genetic material in ice age soils and rewriting chapters of human history.

nature.com

A fascinating paper, and one worth reading as we enter a period likely to see accelerated spread of malaria back into areas from which it had been eradicated.

Michela Leonardi@mikleonardi.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I am so happy to share our #newpaper on how human #distribution in #Africa was shaped by #malaria for tens of thousands of years. A wonderful work led by @margheritac17.bsky.social @elliescerri.bsky.social and @eegcam.bsky.social. I loved contributing! #prehistory #humanevolution #disease 1/2

🚨FULLY FUNDED PHD POSITION!🚨 If you are interested in trying to answer the question of "How did climate shape the movements, interactions, and evolution of hominin populations?" Come join my lab at @humanorigins.bsky.social 🧬🧪 deadline 7th of June ⬇️ uni-tuebingen.de/universitaet...

I am so happy to share our #newpaper on how human #distribution in #Africa was shaped by #malaria for tens of thousands of years. A wonderful work led by @margheritac17.bsky.social @elliescerri.bsky.social and @eegcam.bsky.social. I loved contributing! #prehistory #humanevolution #disease 1/2

Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years

Malaria has shaped human habitat choice, exchange, and dispersal since the late Pleistocene in sub-Saharan Africa.

science.org

🦟Infectious disease has shaped the deep history of our species, as new research co-authored by members of our Evolutionary Ecology Group reveals. @eegcam.bsky.social @mikleonardi.bsky.social @ceciliapad.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

University of Cambridge@cam.ac.uk · 3mo ago

Malaria was fundamental in shaping the course of human evolution, @camzoology.bsky.social researchers have found. Between 74,000 and 5,000 years ago, early humans in Africa avoided high-risk malaria areas, shaping the population structure seen today. Read more 👉 https://bit.ly/4tUdOxe

If you want to know more about our study on the impact of #malaria on human #distribution for the last 74k years go check this great thread by @elliescerri.bsky.social! 🦟👣 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years

Malaria has shaped human habitat choice, exchange, and dispersal since the late Pleistocene in sub-Saharan Africa.

science.org

Eleanor Scerri@elliescerri.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1/5 Well over three years of work and I’m thrilled to see it out today in Science Advances: the cover feature no less! Using an innovative pipeline, we show that malaria shaped the spatial organization of human groups in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 74,000 years. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🦟 Out and on a shiny new cover of Science Advances: we use a novel approach to study malaria impact on early human groups - malaria wasn't just a threat, it shaped human habitat choice in sub-Saharan Africa in the past 74,000 years. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Eleanor Scerri@elliescerri.bsky.social · 4mo ago

1/5 Well over three years of work and I’m thrilled to see it out today in Science Advances: the cover feature no less! Using an innovative pipeline, we show that malaria shaped the spatial organization of human groups in sub-Saharan Africa over the last 74,000 years. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#newpaper 🦟👣 We show how #malaria shaped human #distribution for the last 74k years www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congrats to @margheritac17.bsky.social @elliescerri.bsky.social and the whole gang (see below). A special shoutout to Martin & Ondrej Pelanek for the great cover pic 😍

Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years

Malaria has shaped human habitat choice, exchange, and dispersal since the late Pleistocene in sub-Saharan Africa.

science.org

Our new paper is out in @nature.com! By exploring the rich genetic diversity of Indigenous peoples across America, we show how large-scale genomic data reveal far more complex evolutionary history, shaped by multiple dispersals, long-term regional continuity, and adaptation to diverse environments.

New preprint from the lab!

Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias@ceciliapad.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🚨🧬New preprint!🧪🚨"Cultural norms of exogamy and mobility shape hunter-gatherer genetic evolution". We used demographic, genomic and mobility data from two hunter-gatherer populations to investigate how they mitigate negative fitness consequences of inbreeding. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A new face for ‘Little Foot’, the most complete Australopithecus skeleton to date @ameliebeaudet.bsky.social theconversation.com/a-new-face-f...

A new face for ‘Little Foot’, the most complete Australopithecus skeleton to date

What did the face of our ancestors looks like 3 million years ago? Meet the reconstructed skull of “Little Foot” which provides valuable insights into how our ancestors adapted to their environment.

theconversation.com

Many living people carry fragments of Neanderthal DNA, remnants of ancient interbreeding events, with uneven distribution across chromosomes. New work by @sarahtishkoff.bsky.social lab suggests patterns are most consistent with Neanderthal contribution to human populations being highly male biased.🧪

Interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans was strongly sex biased

Sex biases in admixture and other demographic processes are recurrent features throughout human evolution. For admixture between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs), sex bias has been p...

science.org

🚨CALL FOR PAPERS!🚨 @lucytimbrell96.bsky.social and I are running a session (S17) at PanAf2026 in Mozambique, titled: Pan-African Homo sapiens evolution: linking processes with data. More info: panaf2026moz.com/panaf-sessio... & submit an abstract: panaf2026moz.com/paper-submis... deadline March 15th

PanAF Sessions

The Local Organizing Committee is excited that almost 70 sessions and workshops will occur at PanAF Moz 2026. Pan-African Association members and non-members are welcome to submit paper abstracts t…

panaf2026moz.com

🚨EVENT & CALL for ECR speakers 🌍🧬 HAAM Radio Webinar - Reconstructing past demography, interactions, and social organisation in Africa 📅 28 Jan 2026 ⏰ Short-talk call extended to 14 Jan 🔗 shorturl.at/YzqMS

HAAM-Radio Webinar January 2026 - Call for Speakers

For our next HAAM-Radio webinar scheduled for the 28th of January (times tbh), we're looking for young career researchers (Master's and PhD students as well as Early Postdoctoral Researchers) speciali...

shorturl.at

New paper alert! 🚨 🐌 We studied historic Antarctic fossils from the Zinsmeister Collection to assess whether the K-Pg extinction, as recorded on Seymour Island, was sudden or gradual. We found that benthic life thrived in the 4 million years before the K-Pg. doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...

EMBO Population Genomics course: Are you a postgrad student or a postdoc starting a population genomics project? This course aims to give you the tools to answer questions for your project. Registration deadline: 10 February 2026 meetings.embo.org/event/26-pop... #EMBOpopgen

Esta semana, en "Sausage of Science" de @humbioassociation.bsky.social, hablo sobre mi, y sobre cómo el proyecto que hicimos en @eegcam.bsky.social cambia nuestra visión sobre el origen de nuestra especie en África 🤗https://open.spotify.com/episode/1aQzqEBgILUm2DQUmWWrmS?si=EcGBdjvHROaSd5ges_V9Zg

SoS 257: Repensando los primeros pasos de nuestra especie con Cecilia Padilla Iglesias

open.spotify.com

Huge congratulations to Zhe and everyone involved! 😊

Evolutionary Ecology Group, Cambridge@eegcam.bsky.social · 10mo ago

#newpreprint: "Climate Shaped the Global Population Structure of Leopards and their Extinction in Europe": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...! Leopards are charming big cats but there are many mysteries around them. Thread 🧵

#newpreprint: "Climate Shaped the Global Population Structure of Leopards and their Extinction in Europe": www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...! Leopards are charming big cats but there are many mysteries around them. Thread 🧵

#newpaper out in @natecoevo.nature.com on Learned use of an innate sound-meaning association in birds, co-led by @jameskennerley.bsky.social when he was a PhD student at @eegcam.bsky.social . Nice summary on the @uk.theconversation.com theconversation.com/birds-all-ov...

Birds all over the world use the same sound to warn of threats

The findings of a new study about communication between birds also offer key insights into the origins of language.

theconversation.com