still figuring out what to attend at #SMBE2026 ? come check out our ancient plants session #aDNA #herbariomics #botany 🌾🌱🌻🌿🌸 🫛🧬

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

#SMBE2026 L02: Ancient plant DNA in the genomic era 🗓️ Tue Jun 30, 1:20pm 🔗 smbe2026.org/programme Talks by: Logan Kistler @tpinotti.bsky.social Benjamin Blackman Rafal Gutaker @plantricia.bsky.social @pnovik.bsky.social @hernanaburbano.bsky.social @natalia-asp.bsky.social @rucouwes.bsky.social

🌱🌾🌍🌺🍄🧪🌳🐝 Botanical University Challenge #BUC2026. All this year's teams signed-up; a record 32 from around the UK and Ireland. Some new, some returning, some regular, two present in every competition since the start in 2016! Welcome to all! Which ones are you supporting?

MAJOR NEWS! We just launched an awesome new tool! The illustrated Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer lets users trace any bird’s lineage, compare species relationships, and explore major evolutionary milestones with a click of a button. SHARE and EXPLORE! birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/phy...

📢 Announcing the speakers for the @aarc-community.bsky.social TikTalk seminar for January 2026! Look forward to hearing from @tatianafeuerborn.bsky.social and Arianna Weingarten, presenting on their work on Greenland Sled Dog 🐶 and Middle Pleistocene (!) horses 🐴 respectively. Exciting! Join us!

Some people think science is just for nerds, but science is the foundation of the modern world and science is what made America great. Even though many of us don’t work directly in space science, we were inspired to become scientists by NASA. Destroying it makes zero sense.

NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts

nytimes.com

What's that? 5 ancient doggy papers in 10 days is too many dogs? Can I interest you in some cats? Perhaps a complete retelling of cat domestication, dispersal, and replacement across Eurasia? As you wish! Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Cell Genomics www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

The dispersal of domestic cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 years ago

The domestic cat (Felis catus) descends from the African wildcat Felis lybica lybica. Its global distribution alongside humans testifies to its successful adaptation to anthropogenic environments. Unc...

science.org

Our paper is out! Although wolves and dogs can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, hybridization between the two is rare. We found that most dogs today have low but detectable levels of post-domestication wolf ancestry that has shaped their evolution in human environments. tinyurl.com/yt4x4r7n

A legacy of genetic entanglement with wolves shapes modern dogs | PNAS

Dogs evolved through interactions between people and gray wolves during the Late Pleistocene and have been ubiquitous in human societies ever since...

pnas.org

⏰ The clock is ticking❗ LESS THAN 10 DAYS LEFT to submit your abstracts (30th Nov). Do it here👉 icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/ Many of you are asking for the registration fees 💸. We are still working out the details, but we estimate 400-500€ for regular attendees and 300-400€ for students.

1/🧵 Today at #BOUasm25, I’m presenting on the ‘ō‘ū 🦜 a parrot billed-like #Hawaiian #honeycreeper, last seen in 1989. We dive into its population ecology and investigate – did it interbreed with other parrot-billed Hawaiian honeycreepers prior its extinction? doi:10.1098/rsbl.2025.0265 #ornithology

1/6 Today I will be presenting my masters research on the #phylogeny of the waterfowl family Anatidae via the #BOUasm25 conference on BlueSky. What came first, the duck, the goose or the swan? #ornithology #systematics #waterfowl #ducks #geese #swans 1/6

Cassie Stoddard'a talk was really insightful and colorful: "sure, we're living exciting times to study the genome, but also to study the phenome, the birds' phenotypes using collections" #BOUasm25 #ornithology #evolution @bou.org.uk

A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...

Historical genomics of the declining red squirrel in Britain | Aries

Dr Anders Bergström, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Professor Cock van Oosterhout, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Dr Selina Brace…

aries-dtp.ac.uk

Exciting fully-funded PhD project in my group, working with #ChelseaPhysicGarden @acmjulier.bsky.social to explore plant-insect interactions in urban gardens, and for urban planting schemes. Funded through NERC TREES DTP, all details here: tinyurl.com/mr3u42b8 Pls repost + email me if interested!

Deciphering plant-insect interactions in a diverse urban botanical garden and the implications for developing urban planting schemes at Birkbeck, University of London on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Deciphering plant-insect interactions in a diverse urban botanical garden and the implications for developing urban planting schemes at Birkbeck, University of London, listed on FindAPhD...

tinyurl.com

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A legendary request for narwhal DNA

science.org

looking forward to presenting at this NHM event next month! 🦜

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU)@bou.org.uk · 10mo ago

⏰ DEADLINE TODAY! #BOUasm25 A day at the museum | 18 Nov 2025 | Natural History Museum, London Register now to attend in-person or online Early-bird rates available until midnight bou.org.uk/event/a-d... #ornithology 🪶

🌱 Applications are now open for the @ukri.org NERC TREES DLA! Join a vibrant research community tackling key challenges in environmental science, from climate change to biodiversity and geospatial analysis 🔗 Apply now: trees-dla.ac.uk/apply #PhD #EnvironmentalScience #Climate

"In Aotearoa New Zealand, hapori Māori (tribal groups) are the kaitiaki (guardians) of many threatened taonga (treasured) species. There is growing international interest in the resurrection of some of New Zealand’s extinct birds...despite Māori concerns." theconversation.com/return-of-th...

Return of the huia? Why Māori worldviews must be part of the ‘de-extinction’ debate

There is nothing to stop de-extinction companies using specimens from museum collections, despite little Māori support for reviving lost native species.

theconversation.com

New funded PhD opportunity at Kew Gardens/LSE: Planting Decolonization: Plantation Science and Empire in the Twentieth Century. Closes 14/1/26: www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse...

LSE Collaborative Studentship with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

LSE Collaborative Studentship with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

lse.ac.uk

This is extremely cool: 700 years worth of archaeological artefacts being collected from old nests of bearded vultures (strong contender for the best vulture) www.popsci.com/environment/...

Multi-generational vulture nests hold 700 years of human artifacts

Crossbow bolts, sandals, slingshots, and more.

popsci.com

What an amazing woman, at last honoured for her work. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Nearly 100 years after her death, Oxford’s first female Indigenous scholar honoured

Mākereti Papakura died weeks before handing in her thesis at Oxford university documenting the life and customs of her tribe, work that is still used by Māori today

theguardian.com

Join us on 31st October to celebrate Día de los Muertos with some #ancientDNA from Mexico! Two very exciting talks on 🦣 and 🪴, by Federico Sánchez-Quinto and Marcela Sandoval-Velasco of LIIGH UNAM. Note the later 3pm London time! #aDNA @aarc-community.bsky.social

grateful for the opportunity to present in this fantastic session on plants animals and epidemics at ISBA last month @isbarchaeology.bsky.social

Shameless promotion from #isba11 - I'll be hiring PhDs to start early 2026 (plus postdocs starting later), using #adna to study livestock and pathogen coevolution, particularly looking at inbreeding and immune gene evolution! Contact me at kevin[at]palaeome.org, full ad to come. Please share!

What a week! 🎉 Big thanks to @isba11.bsky.social for hosting an incredible ISBA conference — so well organized and full of great science.

www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/see... advertising this with @vorontsovams.bsky.social sign up to SEEDS mailing list (links below) if interested in applying to internship scheme, DM one of us for project-specific details! 🌾

Trees DLA@treesdla.bsky.social · last yr.

We are sowing the SEEDS for our NERC-funded summer internship programme—Supporting Equity, Engagement and Development in Science ... (SEEDS). For information about SEEDS, please visit www.trees-dla.ac.uk/seeds-summer... The page includes a link to sign up to the SEEDS mailing list.

Hi Bluesky! While some of you are already on holidays (and others waiting to start them), here is a reminder about our awesome #AaRCTikTalks for this month. Save the date!

Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth, OECD research finds. Well who knew. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth, OECD research finds

Third of global GDP could be lost this century if climate crisis runs unchecked, says report

theguardian.com

Scientists used archaeological remains to reconstruct Atlantic sturgeon populations from 200 CE to today. The findings show stark genetic differences between fall and spring spawning groups. buff.ly/tofO1HL @natalia-asp.bsky.social & Logan Kistler, Smithsonian Institution #archaeology

Atlantic sturgeon were fished almost to extinction − ancient DNA reveals how Chesapeake Bay population changed over centuries

Research that combined archaeology, history and ecology provides a nuanced understanding of the past that could help conservationists better plan for the future.

buff.ly

This #TaxonomistAppreciationDay we're celebrating the long list of taxonomists that have worked hard to name and classify plants the world over. Without #Taxonomy, species #Conservation would be impossible.