New preprint on the effect of ancient admixture / structure on genealogical trees. I introduce a new way of summarising reconstructed genealogies that captures a clear signal of ancient gene flow into the ancestors of modern humans. Feedback welcome!

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 3w ago

The distribution of integer partitions in human genome-wide genealogies reflects gene flow from a super-archaic lineage https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.14.738421v1

Fantastic dental calculus and where to find it! Now published (not quite with this title) @ecol-evol.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/ece3... @johnlrichards.bsky.social uncovers general rules for the formation of preserved oral microbiomes in mammals. With @markella-morait.bsky.social and many others

Dental Calculus Formation Is Linked to Diet and Phylogeny in Mammals

In a survey of > 1600 specimens across all mammalian orders, we found that most species present dental calculus. We found calculus production to be strongly associated with herbivory, and we provide ...

doi.org

Katerina Guschanski@kguschan.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Fantastic dental calculus and where to find it Johnny Richards and team (@markella-morait.bsky.social + curators from 5 museums) survey >140 mammalian species with >1,600 specimens to understand what factors determine dental calculus formation. #aDNA #museomics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

If you are interested in fitness and microbiomes in wild animals, you should definitely check this one out. New @sihorses.bsky.social preprint by @mstothart.bsky.social

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · last wk.

Host genetics and social relationships jointly shape fitness-associated microbiome variation in a population of feral horses https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.27.740960v1

Interested in animal urbanization and human wildlife co-existence, join our team this fall 👇🏼

Urban Vervet Project@urbanvervetproject.bsky.social · 2w ago

🚨🐒Join the Urban Vervet Project! We are currently looking for a research assistant to strengthen our on-site team at the beautiful Simbithi Eco Estate in South Africa. More info below 👇 @sofiaforss.bsky.social

When you (an editor or a critique partner or a classmate) comment on someone's writing, you can absolutely deal them a disabling injury if you're thoughtless about it. I'm not saying anyone should be dishonest or refrain from pointing out issues. I'm saying

Holes xkcd.com/3266/

Japanese artist Akie Nakata (known as Akie) turns found stones and rocks into animal paintings #WomensArt

Come check out our #SMBE2026 animal #aDNA session tomorrow organised by @aarc-community.bsky.social committee members @germanha.bsky.social, @jolijnerven.bsky.social, Laura Viñas Caron and me at 13:20 in Vandsalen!

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution@official-smbe.bsky.social · 2mo ago

#SMBE2026 L03: Beyond limits: unlocking the potential of ancient animal genomics 🗓️ Wed Jul 1, 1:20pm 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme

I talked about these papers #smbe2026. If you are interested in doing research (PhD or Postdoc) on this topic, get in touch! (if were there, sorry for the abrupt end; somehow timing got off) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41763210/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39146405/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41699381/

Nadia Aubin-Horth@naubinhorth.bsky.social · last mo.

Really enjoyed @christianlandry.bsky.social talk on Evolutionary biochemistry of gene duplication at #smbe2026 (yes he’s my husband but the second part of the talk was new results I hadn’t seen!)

#ExE2026 Come chat with us about wildlife microbiomes 😊 Poster session is tonight! #microbiome

We endured strong winds & sleet showers, we were wet and cold, but the light made it worth it. The skies opened, the magic happened, & we rushed to capture the awe inspiring beauty! Tombstone, Yukon, Canada.⁠ #photography #nature #bluesky #naturephotography #landscapephotography #mountains #travel

There is ONE thing I am looking forward to this heatwave: Pictures of paschal candles that have melted in churches. Here's an example from a few years ago. It's my favourite phenomenon. Because, well... Look at it.

Couldn’t be happier about contributions by group members at #ICP2026 #museomics session! @markella-morait.bsky.social presented on oral #microbiome evolution in mammals, @johnlrichards.bsky.social talked about historical #AMR & @anniegwest.bsky.social had a poster on microb in declining populations

Great intro from @kguschan.bsky.social on the wonderful world of museomics at #ICP2026 @palaeogenomics.bsky.social. My poster is tonight if you want to come have a chat, stop by board 160 😁

Cool new study on display #ICP2026 #SMBE2026! @markella-morait.bsky.social on why oral microbiomes matter in mammalian evolution and adaptation #aDNA #metagenomics #museums: from okapis to orcas, from Alpine marmots to African elephants Read more in the new pre-print: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Museum specimens reveal evolutionary drivers and functions of oral microbiome in mammals

The microbiomes of wild animals, despite being integral to host survival, remain largely unexplored, particularly beyond the gut. Here, using > 450 museum-preserved dental calculus samples from 34 eco...

biorxiv.org

Markella Moraitou@markella-morait.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am looking forward to presenting our findings at #ICP2026, Stockholm (Museomics session, Tues 23/06) and #SMBE2026, Copenhagen (L04: Understanding adaptive evolution through the lens of hologenomics, Mon 29/06). If you are attending either conference and want to learn more, come say hi!

What principles govern the evolution of host-associated microbiomes? Are they the same for all microbial communities? The brilliant @markella-morait.bsky.social turns to #museums to study dental calculus oral microbiomes in #mammals with #aDNA #metagenomics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Markella Moraitou@markella-morait.bsky.social · 2mo ago

My main PhD paper is out on bioRxiv! 🎉 The microbiomes of wild animals, besides the gut, remain unexplored. To help remedy this, we used museum-preserved dental calculus to characterise the oral microbiome of 34 diverse mammal species. 💀🦠🦷 Read here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We are advertising a 3-year Evolution Education Trust funded #PhD studentship at @ugiatucl.bsky.social UCL to investigate the genomic history of infectious diseases preserved within historical pathology collections. Details: www.findaphd.com/phds/project.... #findaphd #EET

Unlocking the Genomic History of Pathogens Through Pathology Archives at University College London on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Unlocking the Genomic History of Pathogens Through Pathology Archives at University College London, listed on FindAPhD.com

findaphd.com

'The jump' quilt by Spanish quilter and textile artist Cristina Arcenegui Bono, inspired by an illustration by Ukrainian artist Svetlana Dorosheva #WomensArt

I am recruiting a PhD student (fully funded, 4yrs) to analyze modern 🧬 and ancient 🦴 genomic data from humans and domestic animals 🐑 Please share, I am happy to chat at #ICP2026 or #SMBE2026 this summer www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

"Whose Larva Is This?" A quick guide to figure out what you're looking at when you find something that resembles a worm or a Zerg unit crawling around. #insect #bug #education #SciArt

Talks by: @cpogoreutz.bsky.social Irina Velsko Søren B. Hansen Julien Martinez Amalia Bogri @mmontonerin.bsky.social Qing Xiang Charles Mak Linnéa Ekström André Bourbonnais Maximiliana Bogan @markella-morait.bsky.social

#SMBE2026 L04: Understanding adaptive evolution through the lens of hologenomics 🗓️ Mon Jun 29, 10:20am 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme

“In other words, unwritten science is not just incomplete; it simply does not exist for the purposes of the field. When you look at it this way, the job of a scientist - having ideas, testing them, and persuading others they are right - turns out to be, fundamentally, an act of writing.”

Ran Blekhman@blekhman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Just start writing. My new post: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Lalla A. Essaydi, Moroccan-born photographer and artist who.explores such areas as Orientalism and cultural stereotypes #womensart

Wait. For. It. NASA animation shows Global temps warm slowly at first, then rapidly. Warming is accelerating! Here’s the truth. It’s real. It’s us. And we have to come to terms with it, and deal with reality, rather than deceiving ourselves, and hoping it goes away. It won’t… without intervention.

Lochside mornings

🧬Join our online course Population Genomics Using Ancient DNA Data (21–25 Sept) with @arunsethuraman.bsky.social and @cegamorim.bsky.social & learn how ancient genomes are processed, authenticated, and analysed to reconstruct population history, migration, demography & selection shorturl.at/tXl7p

Quilt art by Spanish quilter and textile artist Cristina Arcenegui Bono #WomensArt

Very cool to see that the forensic tool is now actively being used and the first conviction of poachers through individual identification of the poached lion is a fact. 🦁 🧬 👮 Read the whole story on our website: tinyurl.com/3vybce3b #LeoFoundation #StichtingLeo

CSI-style ‘lion DNA fingerprinting’ leads to conviction of poachers - Leo Foundation

Wildlife crime is a multi-billion-dollar industry. After drug, arms, and human trafficking, the illegal trade in wildlife is among the most lucrative forms of crime, with an estimated value of over $2...

tinyurl.com

This has picked up >10k signatures in the last 24h, and passed 100k signatures total. Worth spreading around!

Mark A. Hanson@hansonmark.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Official petition for the UK to rejoin the EU, open to UK citizens and residents: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74... Takes literally 1 minute, very quick. With changing political climate, worth making your UK voice heard if this is your view. Petition closes June 8th 2026.