SLiM simulation workshop in Glasgow in Jan 2027! Cannot highly enough recommend these workshops led by Ben Haller; was an invaluable starting point for my own first simulation project. groups.google.com/g/slim-discu... #SLiM #simulation #popgen #evolution #genomics

A cool bunch of new speciation papers out recently in Molecular Ecology, looking at divergence, hybridisation, recombination, genome architecture, and so on! Genomics of Speciation special issue: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1... #speciation #divergence #hybridisation #recombination #genomics

Special Issue: Genomics of Speciation: Molecular Ecology

Molecular Ecology is an international journal for research using molecular genetic techniques to address questions in ecology, evolution, behavior and conservation.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The last paper from my PhD is out in Molecular Ecology. We looked at genomic divergence and introgression across a young species group of five Formica wood ant species 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜. My favourite result: Introgression was not strongly positively correlated with recombination rate!

My thought-provoker today: www.nature.com/articles/d41... I hadn't realised the connection between the rising bar for funding & the increased use of AI in generating applications. So topical for an early-career researcher trying to secure the next funding. I wonder how (quickly) funders can adapt.

Could agentic AI topple grant-funding systems?

Funders must take action before an increase in submission of high-quality proposals written using AI models makes it impossible to sort the wheat from the chaff.

nature.com

Spring in Scotland. So beautiful and energising.

With @saramitri.bsky.social, @sonjalehtinen.bsky.social and L. Lehmann we’ve launched the UNIL Center for Theory in Ecology and Evolution @unil.bsky.social🇨🇭 To kick things off, we’re offering short visiting fellowships for theorists in ecology & evolution. Apply & pls RP 😀 tinyurl.com/2wem36zz

Excellent advice for PhD student applicants... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Eight common errors I see in PhD applications and interviews, and how to avoid them

Convince a supervisor that you’re a great fit for their laboratory by preparing questions, honing your personal statement and showcasing strong team-player instincts.

nature.com

A dream came true as I started recently a postdoc in Edinburgh, @ simonmartinlab.org! I study the role of #chromosomal #inversions in #adaptation - especially in changing environments; involving #popgen, African monarch #butterfly #pangenomics & #SLiM. Big thank you #skr for making this possible.

Exciting news! The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris. This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics. More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk See you there !

If you like genomics, speciation, and primates, this PhD position is for you! Unraveling the genomic architecture of speciation and gene flow in guenons, a diverse group of African monkeys. Funding through DTP. Do reach out with questions! #genomics #genome_assembly evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...

Thank you ESEB2025 @eseb2025.bsky.social & Barcelona! Lovely to get to know new amazing people and reconnect with old friends. Now digesting all the science & inspiration while in a train to new home in Edinburgh ❤️(more about that later on)…

Feeling honored and very thankful to everyone involved! 🙏 www.helsinki.fi/en/news/univ...

Four award-winning doctoral theses at the University of Helsinki span biobanks, the Bible, brainpower, and biodiversity | University of Helsinki

Mattia Cordioli, Paavo Huotari, Ita Puusepp and Ina Satokangas were each awarded €4,000 for their distinguished doctoral theses.

helsinki.fi

Over 30 prominent scientists call for a ban on the creation of a "mirror cell"--a microbe made of molecules that are mirror images of their natural forms. It could cause a mind-boggling global disaster. Here's my story [gift link] 🧪https://nyti.ms/3OUCXp6

A ‘Second Tree of Life’ Could Wreak Havoc, Scientists Warn (Gift Article)

Research on so-called mirror cells, which defy fundamental properties of living organisms, should be prohibited as too dangerous, biologists said.

nyti.ms

My and Derek Setter's work on gene flow is now published in the latest issue of Genetics. We show that it is possible to detect past gene flow between two populations by summarising the asymmetry in pop-specific external branch lengths. 1/2 tinyurl.com/5ff8ch9e

Genealogical asymmetry under the isolation with migration model and a two-taxon test for gene flow

Abstract. Methods for detecting gene flow between populations often rely on asymmetry in the average length of particular genealogical branches, with the A

tinyurl.com

This looks like a fun conference! www.grc.org/ecological-a...

#PhD Advert: Please share! Are you looking for a PhD studentship in comparative- or population-genomics, using 300+ species of #Drosophila and 1000+ genomes of #melanogaster? #Entomology #Genomics #PopGen #Phylogenetics

I made a starter pack of speciation researchers. Please let me know if you or someone you know would like to be added. I am particularly sad that so far there are not many speciation researchers from the Global South represented. go.bsky.app/J7qDY56

I feel thrilled to have been awarded a grant to study the role of structural genomic variation in resilience to environmental change. One step closer to a postdoc period in Edinburgh. Thank you #skr2024 #postdocpooli.

Extended abstract submission deadline for the Speciation GRS: December 8th! Encourage your graduate students, labmates, academic buddies, inspiring postdocs to join us in Ventura this March to marvel over Darwin's mystery of mysteries: The Origin of Species. www.grc.org/speciation-g...

Thank you so much to whoever put this very comprehensive list of #science Bsky starter packs together. This is just amazing: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Starter packs

BIOLOGY General Science community https://go.bsky.app/HVYAMEA Research Institutions in Life Sciences https://go.bsky.app/LxXpcvJ LGBTQIA+ in STEM https://go.bsky.app/BFc4wgf LGBTQIA+ in STEM 2 h...

docs.google.com

Super excited to start my first postdoc & join the Integrative Evolutionary Biology lab (Univ. Helsinki) for spring 2025! Can’t wait to get my hands on structural genomic variation behind coloration & sex determination in East African cichlids. 🐠 w @Claudius Kratochwil & team

Do you work in ecology/evolution? Did you do a study that is too small to publish as a full manuscript? Negative results? Part of a larger effort? Consider publishing in microPublication Biology: EEB! www.micropublication.org/journals/bio... Short papers, one figure. And we peer review! Please RT

To help SMTPB grow & build a community in modeling, theory, simulations, & data analysis in population biology (widely interpreted, incl. ecology, evolution, epidemiology, systematics...), please share this widely, join the listserv (email lbond@stanford.edu), & consider membership (smtpb.org)!

An evolutionary biology PhD position open @ University of Amsterdam with Jonna Kulmuni (DL 26th May). Warmly recommend! --> "you will investigate the impact of hybridization on adaptation and population persistence using experimental evolution in spider mites" vacatures.uva.nl/UvA/job/PhD-...

Dear all, would there be someone around who has received a HFSP fellowship and would like to share some thoughts about the application process with a potential future applicant? 🙂🙋‍♀️

New edited volume on Speciation, organized by Katie Peichel and colleagues, coming soon from Cold Springs Harbor Press

How to enhance scientific and social integration in speciation research? 🧩 The outcome of a workshop from last spring is out! Thank you everyone involved in this fantastic project, especially Sean Stankowski for leading the review, and IoS network for organizing. Read here 👉 doi.org/10.1093/evol...

A fascinating journey behind, excited to share our work on predictability of speciation, led by Marius & Hannes Rösti, w Janette Boughman, @samridhi.bsky.social, Jochen Wolf, and Brian Langerhans. cshperspectives.cshlp.org/content/earl... - part of the CSH Perspectives on Speciation.