Kudos to @science.org for this self-analysis of the peer review process. These kind of data are never shared and don't have to be. Wildly refreshing to see it out in the open. Editorial and peer review dynamics at elite general science journals | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Editorial and peer review dynamics at elite general science journals

Analyses of deidentified data reveal complex interactions that quantify success at elite general science journals.

science.org

Using the epigenome as a telescope? 🧬 🔭 In our new paper, we show that the epigenome can work like a telescope: just as telescopes capture light from stars that no longer exist, DNA methylation patterns in adulthood carry the “light” of early-life environments that are long gone.

Inferences from epigenetic information in an ecological context: a case study of early-life environmental effects on DNA methylation in zebra finches

Abstract. DNA methylation (DNAm) plays a key role in mediating phenotypic responses to environmental variation. Various approaches exist to link DNAm varia

royalsocietypublishing.org

In #zebrafinches, telomere shortening - not absolute telomere length - best predicts lifespan, with the strongest effect seen among the longer telomeres in the distribution: @mtangili.bsky.social @gelifes.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...

Telomere dynamics, not absolute telomere length, predicts lifespan in adult zebra finches

Abstract. Telomeres shorten with age, and telomere length (TL) can predict lifespan. In vitro studies have established that the shortest telomeres in the g

doi.org

Excited to share that our special issue "Ecological epigenetics at the intersection of behaviour and life history variation in non-model animals", will be coming out in about a week. It's been great to co-edit it with @markravinet.bsky.social @keesvanoers.bsky.social &J.Martínez-Padilla. Stay tuned!

Avian epigenetic clocks: state of the art and call to action doi.org/10.32942/X22...

Avian epigenetic clocks: state of the art and call to action

This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint.

doi.org

New preprint 🐦🧬 ⏰ "Avian epigenetic clocks: state of the art and call to action" I had a lot of fun writing this with @sarahewolf.bsky.social! doi.org/10.32942/X22...

Utilizing longitudinal telomere data from captive zebra finches, we have shown that birds with shorter lifespans show faster telomere shortening, particularly among the longer telomeres in the genome. 🐦🧬⌛ academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

Telomere dynamics, not absolute telomere length, predicts lifespan in adult zebra finches

Abstract. Telomeres shorten with age, and telomere length (TL) can predict lifespan. In vitro studies have established that the shortest telomeres in the g

academic.oup.com

Larger broods beg more, parents feed more – but chicks still grow more slowly, suggesting that the energetic costs of competition are to blame. 🐣 brill.com/view/journal... @gelifes.bsky.social @rug.nl

New research in #Behaviour: “Begging efficiency rather than food received causes brood size effect on growth in zebra finches” by Marianthi Tangili, Michael Briga and Simon Verhulst. @mtangili.bsky.social

New paper out on the begging behavior of cross-fostered zebra finch nestlings raised in small and large broods 🐣 brill.com/view/journal...

Congratulations to Dr @euantheyoung.bsky.social who defended his PhD yesterday on 'Family matters: The role of trade-offs in shaping human life-histories and health' research.rug.nl/en/publicati... @rug.nl supervised with @erikpostma.bsky.social @lummaalab.bsky.social 🎉

"Asynchrony of ageing among traits in a wild bird population" doi.org/10.32942/X27...

Extremely proud of my good friend and colleague @euantheyoung.bsky.social whose work is featured in @nrc.nl. Read bellow for some excellent science and fascinating results. 👪🤰👶🧬

NRC@nrc.nl · 9mo ago

Hoe meer kinderen een moeder krijgt, hoe minder lang ze zelf leeft. Tenminste, dat gold voor Finse moeders ten tijde van de Grote Finse Hongersnood. Deze en andere opmerkelijke feiten destilleerde Euan Young uit grote historische bevolkingsregisters. buff.ly/Y1VNbQO

13/ And since I have you here, it's time for some shameless plugging! I defend my PhD ( :O ) next week, and if you are interested in more of what I got up to over the past few years, you can check out an @nrc.nl here: www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

De risico’s en voordelen van oudere broers en zussen

Jong Geleerd: Hoe meer kinderen een moeder krijgt, hoe minder lang ze zelf leeft. Tenminste, dat gold voor Finse moeders ten tijde van de Grote Finse Hongersnood. Deze en andere opmerkelijke feiten de...

nrc.nl

1/13 New paper out! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Historical records across thousands of women showed that mothers with more children had shorter lifespans during a famine, fitting an evolutionary explanation for why we age @hannahdugdale.bsky.social @lummaalab.bsky.social @erikpostma.bsky.social

Very excited about this work now out in @molecology! We test whether🐦with ⬆️dispersal propensity differ in the nº CpGs across the genome, with the hypothesis that⬆️CpGs allow for⬆️epigenetically-driven plasticity facilitating environmental coping onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Epigenetic Potential and Dispersal Propensity in a Free‐Living Songbird: A Spatial and Temporal Approach

Natal dispersal is a key life history trait determining fitness and driving population dynamics, genetic structure, and species distributions. Despite existing evidence that not all phenotypes are eq...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🚨 New paper alert! We find a small fraction of all CpG sites to show age-related changes in DNA methylation with the majority of them being located on the haploid, female-specific W chromosome in two passerines. 🐦🧬⌛ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Sex‐Chromosome‐Dependent Ageing in Female Heterogametic Methylomes

Recent research in humans and both model and non-model animals has shown that DNA methylation (DNAm), an epigenetic modification, is one of the mechanisms underlying the ageing process. DNAm-based in...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Come & work with us - fully funded 4 year PhD on Social Ageing: Social environment effects on senescence, using an epigenetic clock www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor... @rug.nl @david-s-richardson.bsky.social @keesvanoers.bsky.social @seychelleswarbler.bsky.social photo: @charlisdavies.bsky.social

Having older siblings affects a child’s chance of survival – but the precise effect depends on the older siblings’ sex and age go.nature.com/46oaaCU

Will a child survive? Older siblings have a powerful influence

Swiss birth data from 1750 to 1870 reveal that girls who had lots of older brothers close to their own age were less likely to survive than were those who did not.

go.nature.com

Long-term effects of early-life adversity on DNA methylation in zebra finches https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.23.649997v1

How did the #COVID-19 pandemic shape scientific productivity? Stephanie Meirmans, @maurineneiman.bsky.social, Shalene Singh-Shepherd @royalsocietypublishing.org and I crunched the submission and acceptance data for 25 journals in #Ecology&Evolution: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... @uniexecec.bsky.social

New paper alert🚨 We used calibrated Sentinel-1 backscatter coefficients to estimate grass biomass, woody canopy volume and tree basal area in the Greater Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem. zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Advancing the mapping of vegetation structure in savannas using Sentinel‐1 imagery

As vegetation structure monitoring is important for the understanding and conservation of savanna ecosystems, we explored the utility of C-band synthetic aperture radar imagery for mapping both grass...

zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

In my ✨academic influencer ✨ era #TopViewedArticle @wiley.com

Glad to see that our efforts for accessible, transparent and reproducible research are being recognized! @unigroningen.bsky.social #openresearch #openscience #rug

1/11 New preprint out with @hannahdugdale.bsky.social, @lummaalab.bsky.social, and @erikpostma.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Why do we age? And can a “natural experiment” during the Great Finnish Famine with long-term data help provide some answers?

Begging costs rather than food received cause brood size effect on growth in zebra finches https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.29.635459v1

🚨 New preprint alert! More siblings, fiercer competition, extra food—but stunted growth! 🐦🍕📏 In zebra finches raised in large broods, increased energy spent on begging—not less food—causes reduced growth. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Begging costs rather than food received cause brood size effect on growth in zebra finches

Altricial species rely on parental provisioning for early-life sustenance, and a larger brood size leads to higher levels of competition between siblings for food provided by the parents. Early-life s...

biorxiv.org