Michela Leonardi
@mikleonardi.bsky.social
#Biodiversity modeller. Special focus on #paleoecology, #paleoclimate, #prehistory. Working at NHM London @nhm-london.bsky.social and Evolutionary Ecology Group @eegcam.bsky.social Cambridge University (UK). She/her
We're delighted to see Bridging Binaries LGBTQ+ Tours return to The Polar Museum! 🌈 @scottpolar.bsky.social Join a FREE tour this Saturday 9 May, 1pm, and discover fascinating queer stories from the collection based on new archival research. Book your place: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1988316268....
Bridging Binaries LGBTQ+ Tour
Explore the rich stories of queer and questioning individuals throughout polar history.
eventbrite.co.uk
UK folks: don't forget that today is elections day for some if you are able to vote. Polls are open from 7am-10pm & if in queue by 10pm you can still vote. Look up your polling site and candidate list here: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter... and don't forget to bring ID if in England!
Elections in your area
Find upcoming elections in your area, your polling station, candidates, and contact details for your local electoral services team
electoralcommission.org.uk
My episode of ABC Conversations aired again today. I spoke to Richard Fidler about the wonders of the #platypus, how Europeans came to know them, and how they've been unfairly written off as weird and primitive - all stories from my #PlatypusMatters book. Listen here: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Encore: The misfit mammal that defies biological conventions - ABC listen
It was love at first sight, when Jack Ashby first set eyes upon a platypus specimen as a young university student. The introduction set him on a lifelong mission to meet these quintessentially Austra...
abc.net.au
🦟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 agoMalaria 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
Compliments to your colleagues too. I'm a fan of History and Geography of Human Genes, so I found the history and stories you reconstructed fascinating. Knowing Cavalli Sforza a bit, I think he would have appreciated it too.
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 · 4mo agoI 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
#geoanthropology #genetics #evolution "It was not just humans who adapted to different regions and environments, their pathogens did too." Wonderful work indeed, and well-written paper, tks for the OA.
Michela Leonardi@mikleonardi.bsky.social · 4mo agoI 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
This is absolutely fascinating, and well worth a read.
Michela Leonardi@mikleonardi.bsky.social · 4mo agoI 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
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
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/...
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
🦟 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/...
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 ago1/5 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/...
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 ago1/5 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/...
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...
Just heard of another major British Palaeolithic site falling through the planning & protection net and being green-lit for development. That's 3 confirmed in 3 years, with 2 others I'm investigating. The failure to schedule Palaeolithic sites & the erosion of planning protections are to blame. 🚨🦣🏺
1/3 New recommendation: Fusco, Habte, Leplongeon, Ménard, Manica, Spinapolice, Leonardi (2025). The environmental context of the Middle-to-Late Stone Age Transition in eastern Africa: seasonality as a key factor. v2 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Archaeology doi.org/10.1101/2024...
I am so happy that the work done by @mariannafusco.bsky.social is now accepted on @pciarchaeology.bsky.social 🌟 We explore potential links between the shape and size of #MSA lithic tools and #climate variability through the year 🌧️🌞🪨 I loved working with Marianna and @enzaspinapolice.bsky.social !❤️
PCI Archaeology@pciarchaeology.bsky.social · 5mo ago1/3 New recommendation: Fusco, Habte, Leplongeon, Ménard, Manica, Spinapolice, Leonardi (2025). The environmental context of the Middle-to-Late Stone Age Transition in eastern Africa: seasonality as a key factor. v2 peer-reviewed and recommended by PCI Archaeology doi.org/10.1101/2024...
The revelation that endometriosis is linked to autoimmune disorders is opening up a whole new way to treat this painful and poorly understood condition
A deeper understanding of endometriosis is suggesting new treatments
The revelation that endometriosis is linked to autoimmune disorders is opening up a whole new way to treat this painful and poorly understood condition
newscientist.com
I couldn’t be more excited about being given the chance to present some of the work we do at @eegcam.bsky.social this November & to listen to the talks by such an incredible line up of speakers! 🤩
CChris Stringer@chrisbstringer.bsky.social · 11mo ago
London November 14th 2025
The distribution of early human settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa might have been influenced by avoidance of mosquitoes that spread malaria A new #prelight of Alejandra Leffer's group talks about the preprint by @margheritac17.bsky.social , and the team.
Malaria shaped human spatial organisation for the last 74 thousand years - preLights
The distribution of early human settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa might have been influenced by avoidance of mosquitoes that spread malaria
prelights.biologists.com
🚨🧬New #preprint and R package from the lab out in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social🧬🚨: 'tidygenclust' combines the functionality of ADMIXTURE, fastmixture and Clumppling into R - allowing for reproducible clustering analyses and plotting all in one place! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
tidygenclust: Clustering for Population Genetics in R
Background Population structure analysis is crucial for evolutionary research and medical genomics. Clustering methods, broadly categorized as model-based (e.g. ADMIXTURE) or non-model-based (e.g. SCO...
biorxiv.org
Thank you @prelights.bsky.social & Alejandra Leffer's group for choosing our preprint on @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social and for this chance to talk about human- #malaria coevolution!🦟 @eegcam.bsky.social @elliescerri.bsky.social @MPI_GEA
preLights@prelights.bsky.social · 12mo agoThe distribution of early human settlements in Sub-Saharan Africa might have been influenced by avoidance of mosquitoes that spread malaria A new #prelight of Alejandra Leffer's group talks about the preprint by @margheritac17.bsky.social , and the team.
News flash! ⚡ GBIF establishes an international task group led by Dr Lydia Jennings on Indigenous data governance to offer input and guidance for implementing the #CAREPrinciples within the GBIF network 🌱 Read more: 🔗 https://gbif.link/IDG @localcontexts.bsky.social
#Newpaper: the African Humid period through the lenses of pollen-based and mechanistic-based #palaeoclimate reconstructions! Thanks @ecologypast.bsky.social, @markuslfischer.bsky.social, @paleoclimategirl.bsky.social and all coauthors!
A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period
During the last c. 20,000 years, African climates experienced temperature shifts related to the last period of global deglaciation and moisture availa…
sciencedirect.com
Pollen-based reconstructions and a mechanistic climate model tell a similar story on the Africa Humid Period; @mikleonardi.bsky.social and Andrea contributed to a proxy-model comparison paper led by @ecologypast.bsky.social in Quatern. Int.: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
It’s our most controversial episode yet! What do Josh and Natalie think is OVERRATED? Do you agree??? m.youtube.com/watch?v=2IKx...
Josh doesn't care about T. rex lips | The 'Perfect' Specimen Ep5
YouTube video by Natural History Museum
m.youtube.com
Hindcasted species distribution modelling of baboons illuminates potential refugia across Africa and Arabia, with predicted maxima and minima of habitable ranges pulsed by orbital precession and obliquity expressed within the last precessional cycle. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Identifying late Pleistocene and Holocene refugia for baboons - Communications Biology
Hindcasted species distribution modelling of baboons illuminates potential refugia across Africa and Arabia, with predicted maxima and minima of habitable ranges pulsed by orbital precession and obliq...
nature.com
US EPA science shutdown endangers health of people and planet 🌎 🌐 theconversation.com/the-us-envir...
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s retreat from science endangers the health of people and the planet
From detecting pollutants to assessing health risks, the US EPA’s Office of Research and Development has long ensured that environmental decisions are grounded in credible, cutting-edge science.
theconversation.com
You can also now see it as part of the Richard Owen: A Natural Legacy display in the @nhm-london.bsky.social ‘s free Images of Nature gallery alongside other original #illustrations from Owen’s fascinating drawings collection #naturalhistory #art #gallery #echidna #anatomy
NHM Library and Archives@nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social · last yr.It's #WorldEchidnaDay so here's a drawing by Joseph Wolf (1820-1899) of this extraordinary egg laying mammal. It was published by Richard Owen in the Philosophical Transactions (Pl.39, 1865). If you look closely, you can see a young baby in the pouch and a small outline sketch of it! buff.ly/8ErERyK
