Remember the current NIH director going on about protecting researchers from government censorship? Today his people called the police in to forcibly remove my colleagues from their own society meeting for sharing an editorial published in their flagship journal that was critical of him. Gift link

Police Remove Diabetes Experts From Conference for Distributing Critique of Trump Administration

nytimes.com

My May 20 (next Wednesday!) lecture at Broad: Turns out humans don't have all the answers. There is an untapped opportunity for innovation in medicine by exploring why other species are protected from diseases common in humans. Come and find out more!

Broad Institute@broadinstitute.org · 3mo ago

Join us in Cambridge, MA (or online) for a Broad Discovery Series talk, “What Animal Superpowers Can Teach Us About Our Own DNA,” on Wednesday, May 20, at 6 pm ET with @elinork.bsky.social of @darwinsark.org. Register: broadinstitute.swoogo.com/Karlsson

New paper out today with @josephguhlin.bsky.social where we did penguin GWAS to better understand disease risk and found that these penguins represent three deep evolutionary lineages www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Population genomics of yellow-eyed penguins uncovers subspecies divergence and candidate genes linked to respiratory distress syndrome - Nature Ecology & Evolution

Whole-genome data from 249 yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho) identify three lineages with high geographical and genomic divergence, and candidate gene variants associated with differential susceptibility t...

nature.com

HAT-TIP @acstone.bsky.social & @cegamorim.bsky.social for leading the genetics teaMMM of @n8upham.bsky.social @fervillanea.bsky.social @lucasrocm.bsky.social @carloschalicothere.bsky.social @elinork.bsky.social @afogel29.bsky.social @elliecat.bsky.social @michelle-e-white.bsky.social #2026MMM

a woman sitting at a table with the words they say it 's genetic on the bottom

Alt: a woman expressing "they say it's genetic"

media.tenor.com

Is the auroch DNA truly gone from the world? Pereira et al found that modern Anatolian, Levant, Irani, and Balkans cattle share DNA to various degrees with extinct Armenian, British, and Moroccan ancient aurochs. A small amount of auroch DNA still lives today doi.org/10.1126/scie... #2026MMM #RIP

The extinct auroch had at least three subspecies, and all three contributed some ancestry to modern cattle. For example, Cai et al found East Asian cattle descend from West Eurasian cattle originally but then later admixture with the extinct East Asian auroch doi.org/10.1038/hdy.... #2026MMM

Every year, humpback whales make long treks btwn where they breed & where they feed. Maternally-inherited mtDNA from >1,800 humpback whales suggest that animals annually return to where they were born to breed themselves & where they fed w/their moms early in life #2026MMM doi.org/10.3354/meps10508

A chromosome-scale genome for the honey badger doesn't yet exist. Only available genome is in 2,068,312 pieces. Honey badger don't care. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/gen... #2026MMM #RIP

Although honey badgers have a dominant male, genetic analysis revealed that subordinate males fathered about half of cubs. journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.1... #2026MMM

How related are Nile crocodiles across Southern Africa? Van Asch et al. (2019) used STRs & mtDNA to examine phylogeography & genetic diversity. Primary differentiation across east/west & secondarily across major river systems #2026MMM doi.org/10.1371/jour...

In just a few minutes the penultimate #2026MMM night of battles begin & I'll be posting genetics & evolution facts from Genetics TeaMMM!

Sequencing mtDNA COI genes in Siberian Salamander & cryptic sister species Schrenck salamander in northeast China finds high genetic differentiation among populations w/in each species in the Khingan Range & Changbai mountains doi.org/10.1371/jour... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

The Gila Monster slowly moves towards the defrosting Siberian Salamander, using her flicking her tongue to assess as she steps towards the AMPHIBICICLE #2026MMM #2026mmm

Studying mtDNA genomes from throughout Siberian Salamander's range finds highest diversity in Russian Far East & Manchuria. Population expanded in the middle Pleistocene & then bottlenecked at the Last Glacial Max. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ym... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Gila monsters have 18 pairs of chromosomes (fewer than our 23), including a pair of sex chromosomes (Pokorná et al, 2014): journals.plos.org/plosone/arti... #2026MMM #2026mmm

While the long-tailed planigale appeared relatively recently, its ancestors likely diversified as Australia collided with the Ontong-Java Plateau, creating the dry habitats they love today. doi.org/10.1111/zoj.... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

Big data for small mammals! Researchers used 16 nuclear and mitochondrial genes to build the Dasyuromorphia tree. Findings confirm long-tailed planigale sits within the Planigalini tribe, having diverged from its closest relatives ~12.3 million years ago doi.org/10.1111/zoj..... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Shrews species relationships have always been difficult to resolve because their group speciated very quickly. He et al used mitochondrial genomes to create a phylogeny and identified the Least Shrew group as basal to all other small-eared shrews dx.doi.org/10.24272/j.i... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Kulkarni et al. (2024) assembled a chromosome-level genome of the Uropygi (Mastigoproctus giganteus) and found it is BIG. Nearly as big as the human genome (3.17Gb), with 71% consisting of repetitive DNA. doi.org/10.1093/jher... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

Uropygi have looked largely the same since the Carboniferous, but their DNA tells an even older story. The Mastigoproctus giganteus genome has preserved the signature of a whole genome duplication that predates the Silurian (400+ million years old). doi.org/10.1093/jher... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Phylogenies work best if you can combine fossil and DNA evidence! A consensus of the molecular, morphological, and paleontological evidence placed the three grasshopper mice species as a distinct and unique genus within the new world mice doi.org/10.1093/jmam... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Unlike most, bloodworm hemoglobin swaps distal histidine for leucine. This hydrophobic pocket stops iron oxidation, keeping "blood" functional in the toxic mud where these animals live. doi.org/10.1016/0022... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

The Northern Shrike is not just one species: genetic data suggests New World and Old World populations have been on separate paths for a long time (1.1–1.8 my) doi.org/10.1525/cond... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Genetic profiling of bloodworm venom gland reveals a lethal cocktail of 20 different toxin classes, including "stonustoxin" previously only found in deadly stonefish. It’s a cool case of convergent evolution! doi.org/10.1093/gbe/... #2026MMM #2026mmm

The venom gland of the assassin bug is a specialized factory. Using RNA-Seq, researchers identified 127 unique protein sequences, including "redulysins", pore-forming toxins that help melt prey tissues from the inside out. doi.org/10.1074/mcp.... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

Research shows the CUB domain protein family, among the most abundant proteins in the Assassin bugs' venom, likely evolved from digestive enzymes ~190 million years ago. This coincides with the ancestral switch from eating plants to becoming predators! doi.org/10.1074/mcp.... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Honey badger has a specific protein coding mutation that reduces the binding capacity of neurotoxins in the venom of snakes it preys upon. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... #2026MMM #2026mmm

Boneworm genomes are so metal! O. frankpressi has reduced genome & adaptations for bone digestion, w loss of amino acid biosynthetic pathways abundant in bones & expansion of matrix metalloproteases used in bone digestion. doi.org/10.1038/s414... #2026MMM #2026mmm #RIP

Are boneworms more closely related to Vestimentifera (living at hydrothermal vents) + Sclerolinum (decaying matter) or Frenulata (muddy sediments)? Li et al. (2015) sequenced the mtDNA & found boneworms are sister (& branch basely) to Vestimentifera. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ym... #2026MMM #2026mmm

The Pacific Lamprey is a master of dispersal, mixing genes across thousands of miles. To the naked eye, it looks like one giant, uniform population. Using genomic data, Hess et al. found 162 adaptive loci drive differences in body size & migration timing. doi.org/10.1111/mec.... #2026MMM #2026mmm