Our paper is out! 📣 we find that molecular measures of genetic variation do not predict heritable genetic variation across species - important implications for the application of genomic data for conservation! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential | PNAS

The capacity to adapt is essential for a population to avoid extinction in a changing world and is recognized as a global conservation priority. Ad...

pnas.org

Our paper on genetic load in an invasive guppy population is now published in @genomeresearch.bsky.social It was a fantastic journey — from field sampling to analysis and finally publication. I hope readers will enjoy the story as much as we enjoyed working on it. genome.cshlp.org/content/36/7...

Super interesting work by @jonj-udd.bsky.social and @jeffspence.github.io is now out in Genetics!

Jeff Spence@jeffspence.github.io · 2mo ago

Excited to see @jonj-udd.bsky.social's fantastic work out @genetics-gsa.bsky.social. Selection in _heterozygotes_ is the primary force shaping allele frequencies of loss-of-function mutations in humans, even in genes only associated with purely recessive diseases. 🧪🧬 doi.org/10.1093/gene...

Fantastic paper. Esp challenging the typical binary process of genesis or transition. Just as the first cells as we know them were possibly survivors of multitudes of attempts that did not survive to evolve. The origin of cellular life was not simple; neither was evolution to multiple cell types.

Toni Gabaldón@tonigabaldon.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our paper "Gene ancestries reveal diverse microbial associations during eukaryogenesis.” is finally out in Nature. Eukaryogenesis was likely a gradual process shaped by multiple microbial partners and virus-mediated gene transfer, rather than a single binary symbiosis. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

SIP2026 - Where #evolution, #genetics, and #immunology meets! Abstract and early bird deadlines have been extended to June 29! Ever wanted to chat in an informal setting with one (or more) of the folks shown below? Then this is your chance: sip-sassenheim.org Join us in the Netherlands, Nov 2-4

Tobias Lenz@biotobi.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Please share: Abstract deadline approaching (June 15) for the 2026 Annual Symposium of the Society for Immune Polymorphism (Nov 2-4, Netherlands). Intimate community meeting on variation and evolution of immunity and immune genes. Exciting lineup of invited speakers. #MHC #HLA sip-sassenheim.org

Balancing selection maintains some remarkable biological diversity, but detecting it from genomic data alone can be tricky. This may bias our view of its true prevalence. We investigated what makes balancing selection more or less detectable in genomic scans. + in thread & preprint!

Max Reuter@maxreuter.bsky.social · 7mo ago

A new preprint from the lab, with postdoc @deboraycb.bsky.social and collaborators @aidaandres.bsky.social and Tim Connallon: “Characterising the detectable and invisible fractions of genomic loci under balancing selection” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Our results demonstrate that maximizing genome-wide genetic diversity through genetic rescue can produce long-lasting fitness benefits, even when many putatively deleterious mutations are introduced. Research was funded by NCN OPUS grant (2023/49/B/NZ8/00277) awarded to Jonathan Parrett

Fantastic study documenting selection on MHC during famous Myxoma epidemics in rabbits doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

MHC-I diversity enables rapid adaptation during a viral pandemic in wild rabbit populations | PNAS

Emerging diseases can have devastating consequences for wild species, with long-term effects depending on the ability of the host to evolve resista...

doi.org

Excellent news! Nature is expanding Registered Reports to all the fields in which they publish! A great result by all those proposing this strong solution to publication bias and selective reporting (and getting expert feedback before data collection)! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

📣 EvolDir is now managed by @eseb.bsky.social! We are delighted to be taking the reins and express our gratitude to both Brian Golding who began this service to the community in the mid-1980s and to @rdmpage.bsky.social who ran this account until now 👏 You can now find evoldir here: evoldir.net

Our paper is out! We show that a 'missing-self' regulator (CFH) isn't as constrained as we thought, instead shows strong diversifying selection, likely driven by pathogen exploitation (e.g. Borrelia). Highlights how competing selective pressures shape innate immunity academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

A key regulator of missing-self innate immunity is polymorphic and under diversifying selection

Abstract. Host-parasite co-evolution drives the diversification of host immune genes involved in the recognition of pathogen antigens and molecular pattern

academic.oup.com

New paper out in #Ecology Letters: We manipulated the presence of "fighter" and "scrambler" males in soil mite populations and showed that aggressive male behaviour reduces population size and stability. 🧪#SexualSelection #PopulationEcology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Sexual Selection Associated With an Aggressive Male Phenotype Reduces Population Size and Hinders Population Recovery After Heat Stress

Using experiments on soil mites, we show that sexual selection associated with an armed and aggressive male phenotype can reduce population size and stability, which lowers their resilience against a...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Read the Commentary by Brian Charlesworth: "Is the fundamental theorem of natural selection of any use?" academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

Is the fundamental theorem of natural selection of any use?

Abstract. There have been many recent discussions of the Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection, with an emphasis on its mathematical accuracy. It is arg

academic.oup.com

1) New manuscript preprint up: we model adaptation to changing environments under mating systems ranging from random mating via mutual choice monogamy through to female choice polygyny. 🧪https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.30.715329v1

Interested in evolutionary immunogenetics? This is an excellent, small conference bringing together hardcore immunologists and eco-evo people sip-sassenheim.org

I think about this constantly, considering that neither my baby nor I have been healthy for more than two days at a time since mid November. It takes a toll, for sure, and we can only hope there is some payoff later.

Charlotte Houldcroft@virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Have you ever wondered why children starting nursery/daycare pick up so many germs? I certainly did, and with a crack team of parent-scientists/clinicians, we set out to answer that question. Is childcare a germ factory or an immune bootcamp? journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

This is happening! Direct support by funders to non-profit publishes offering journals open for free to authors and readers seems like a way forward! royalsociety.org/news/2026/02...

📢 PhD position – Evolutionary & Conservation Genomics We invite applications for a 48-month PhD in the project “Genetic load and adaptive potential of European bison.” evobio.web.amu.edu.pl/2026/01/27/p... #PhD #Genomics #ConservationGenomics #EvolutionaryBiology #aDNA

Peer Review is broken because a generation of Editors were trained that peer review is sacrosanct. Thus we have Editors who are clerks, sending and re-sending manuscripts to reviewers until they are happy. That's not the job. Be an Editor, not a clerk. Use your skill and judgement. Make decisions.

Please share: We are hosting the 2026 DZG evolutionary biology graduate meeting at Uni Hamburg on March 25-27: "Interactions and Coevolution: from Molecules to Species". #PhD students, early postdocs and advanced Master students in evolutionary biology are welcome to register! t1p.de/dzg2026evolbio

Not sure our paper rocks as much as Katharina’s cover illustration, but we’re very delighted it was picked as ‘Editor’s Choice’ on @evolletters.bsky.social!

Evolution Letters@evolletters.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Check out our cover article by @timjanicke.bsky.social and colleagues about the role of sexual selection in animal speciation. academic.oup.com/evlett/artic.... The beautiful illustration is by Katharina Bóth.

Male Reproductive Senescence in Mammals Is Pervasive and Aligned With the Slow-Fast Continuum onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Male Reproductive Senescence in Mammals Is Pervasive and Aligned With the Slow‐Fast Continuum

We found evidence of male reproductive senescence in 59.6% of the mammalian studied species, with a detection probability increasing with larger sample sizes and a longer age range relative to lifesp....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Cover of the new issue of Evolution Letters @evolletters.bsky.social featuring our stickleback-tapeworm paper. academic.oup.com/evlett What happens to immunity and infection prevalence in the 50 years after a host invades a new location

This is just B A N A N A S. Hymenopteran genetics, amirite? www.science.org/content/arti...

Ant queen lays eggs that hatch into two species

Bizarre discovery of interspecies cloning “almost impossible to believe,” biologists say

science.org

Agreed, but learned society journals should strive to become more open and inclusive! Is this OK for our journals to hide behind paywalls that preclude free access by researchers from low income countries? More here: trulyopenscience.blogspot.com/2025/09/why-... #SocietyJournals #SciPub

Great talk and suggestions (!!!) for a responsible open publishing by @jacek-radwan.bsky.social

#eseb2025 talks were great so far. Subjective ranking of the most common quotes: - theory and modeling: "with this very simple approach" - genomics: "using methodology you all know" - plenaries: "Nature/Science" in the bottom right of a slide - posters: "una cerveza por favor"

#OnThisDay in 1858, a seminal journal article comprised of papers by Alfred Russel Wallace FRS and Charles Darwin FRS on the theory of evolution by natural selection was published by the Linnean Society, the first public announcement of the theory of evolution. bit.ly/3k8fq4u

Not only fantastic #ESEB2025 talks, but also great posters. Józefina presented her work on Borelia, Neha on sexual selection and populations dynamics, Sebastian on bulb mite genomics, Mateusz on genetic load in guppies and Jacek on CFH gene in bank voles. Our diversity unleashed!

If you are frustrated with the quality of reviews and excessive article processing charges, take a minute read: trulyopenscience.blogspot.com/2025/07/a-si... We researchers really have a power to change this! #ScientificPublishing