I hope this isn’t the end of Brian’s career but if there’s something people can do, it’s use his material in your classes (thankfully carried on by @robbeewedow.bsky.social and company)

This is terrible. Brian's work has really shaped how I approach teaching genetics.

For each species dataset, an alignment of 10 random leaf outlines including 100 pseudo-landmarks extracted from each species dataset. The tip of each leaf is marked with an orange circle, and the base of each leaf is marked with a blue circle. The vertical black line next to each leaf represents a 1 cm scale bar. For each species dataset, the total dataset mean leaf is represented by a black outline, which is superimposed onto the colored species mean leaf. Image credit: Hightower et al., 2026

Procrustean pseudo-landmark methods in Python to measure massive quantities of leaf shape data

New in #AppsPlantSci by Hightower et al

doi.org/10.1002/aps3... @puffballove.bsky.social @andreacase.bsky.social @husbandslab.bsky.social @emjo.bsky.social @zoemig.bsky.social #botany #morphometrics

Replicated hybrid zones reveal genomic patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce Abstract. Hybridization between species can occur along repeated zones of contact, providing a natural laboratory for studying the interplay between migrat

Happy to share this paper with @samyeaman.bsky.social, now published in Molecular Biology and Evolution!

Using replicated hybrid zones, we explored patterns of local adaptation and introgression in spruce and found strong signals even at very fine geographical scales!

doi.org/10.1093/molb...

Hey Asia Hightower's @puffballove.bsky.social cool paper analyzing 1000s of leaf shapes in published in #AppsPlantSci doi.org/10.1002/aps3...

A purple crocus

Some small blue flowers

A small white flower

Spring is starting in the garden :)

Review: What happens when it gets too hot – the vulnerability of plant reproduction in a warming world | Plantae Climate change brings about higher temperatures, threatening plant populations worldwide. Higher temperatures interfere with reproductive processes such as pollen production or fertilization…

Review: What happens when it gets too hot – the vulnerability of plant reproduction in a warming world plantae.org/review-what-...

Pretty much the same at MSU -- 12 weeks for birthing parents, 6 for non-birthing parents. This predates our new faculty union.

New lab preprint from Maya Wilson Brown, with Adrian Platts & Rebecca Panko investigating genetic variation and introgression in NYC Capsella bursa-pastoris www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Can I join so I can put "its your Scrabble move" in your task list?

Introgression across ploidies contributes to genetic diversity in introduced urban Capsella bursa-pastoris www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03...

Oh wow, I'm glad everyone in your family is safe but can also imagine how upsetting this is for everyone directly connected to Temple Israel.

You might be surprised at how many American Jews are into concealed carry too (but on top of other security measures).

Heat alters fruit morphology and severely limits reproduction but not growth in a widespread urban weed. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03...

A plot showing aerial views of 5 locations within cities. One of them (NY63) appears to be in the median of a busy road.

This preprint includes one of my favorite figures -- aerial views of collection locations (what are you doing NY 63!?)

New preprint from Asia Hightower @puffballove.bsky.social showing that heat hurts reproduction + fruit development without affecting vegetative growth in Capsella bursa-pastoris www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Rapid evolution predicts demographic recovery after extreme drought Populations that are declining as a result of climate change may need to evolve to persist. Although evolutionary rescue has been demonstrated in theory and in the laboratory, its relevance to natural...

Big congrats to former Lowry Lab postdoc Daniel Anstett, who's paper: "Rapid evolution predicts demographic recovery after extreme drought" is out in Science today. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

I'm grateful that the security kept these kids safe + wish we lived in a world where we didn't need it.

My kid goes to preschool in a church and I was shocked that you could just walk into the sanctuary and other non-school parts of the church whenever. I think many Christians would be shocked that you can't do this in a synagogue.

Wow what a dream team 😍

I had this exact conversation today 🫠

Introgression and parental conflict shape repeated occurrences of postzygotic isolation in Mimulus Postzygotic reproductive isolation is often thought to accumulate as a byproduct of neutral divergence. Yet it frequently evolves rapidly, in line wit…

I am SO THRILLED to share our first fully-lab lab paper!!!!!! Led by @hybridzones.bsky.social & @hagarsoliman.bsky.social, w/ a major assist from @pfschwarz.bsky.social!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read more below, if you're curious (you should be- it's AWESOME!!!!!!!)

link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A speaker on the steps of the Michigan capitol

A group of protestors with signs under a cloudy sky

Braving the gloomy weather to stand up for science in Lansing MI.

MICHIGAN STATE CAPITOL, EAST LAWN 1:00pm - 3:00pm STAND UP FOR SCIENCE NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION MARCH 7TH

LANSING! Join your local March 7th rally to take back our science! Learn more at standupforscience.net/march7

#March7
#rally
#standupforscience
#March7Lansing
#science

Friends, we need to set the bar higher than this.

The way my brain just went "Novacaaaiiine for the soul"

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... from @quercus62.bsky.social (ok just read the intro so far, unsure when I'll get to the rest, but so far it's very cool!!)

Altitude adaptation in Tibetans caused by introgression of Denisovan-like DNA - Nature Admixture with other hominin species helped humans to adapt to high-altitude environments; the EPAS1 gene in Tibetan individuals has an unusual haplotype structure that probably resulted from introgre...

And you can follow up with www.nature.com/articles/nat...

I teach this in my undergrad genetics class (although students don't read the paper) -- the figures are great: Xin Yi et al. ,Sequencing of 50 Human Exomes Reveals Adaptation to High Altitude.Science329,75-78(2010).DOI:10.1126/science.1190371