Guys, I’m not doing this!!! Julia is lovely but I’m not chatting to her about her book! 😉

My lovely friend, Jonathan Milner, has a powerful regenerative farming project: Sapperton Wilder. It's a science-based case study for nature-friendly farming. Excited to see their new video - such a wonderful project! Help us get the word out!
youtu.be/uPmyu5Du8T8/...

@chrisgpackham.bsky.social

Detective who first used DNA to catch killer Colin Pitchfork dies David Baker led the hunt for rapist and murderer Colin Pitchfork.

So very sad to hear that David Baker has passed away. It's hard to overstate the impact he made in his life. Not only did he help change the face of policing but he was a dear and lovely man. My heartfelt condolences to the family.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

We tried to contact close family for a DNA test but with no reply we turned to genetic genealogy and I built out the family trees for her based on her DNA matches to provide the genetic proof of her parentage. 3/5

Her father was no longer alive to take a DNA test and her solicitor and barrister needed a way of proving who her father was so she came to me. 2/5

Oooo! @waterstones.bsky.social is running a big pre-order promotion of various books including mine! Running until 23:59 on Feb 20th, you can get 25% off by using FEB26 at the checkout! Book out May 28th!

Every now and again I get asked, ‘but didn’t a DNA test in 2007 prove that those weren’t her remains in the cellar?’ If you have the same question, I would urge you to read @turiking.bsky.social assessment of the (problematic) findings in the white paper, in the appendix of Story of a Murder.

Nice article in @thetimes.com by @hackblackburn.bsky.social about my unusual career path and how I came to be involved leading the genetic analysis of Hitler's DNA.

This him not having the understanding of a geneticist.

Saturday c4 at 9pm for Ep1. Can then watch the second ep right after on 4 on demand

The news is out! Really nice piece by Jack Blackburn of @Times about the genetic study been leading into Hitler’s DNA. It’s been a massive group effort as part of a documentary with the team Blink Films & a huge number of experts! We have to put the caveats in and the article does that nicely.

Rosalind Franklin knew DNA was a helix before Watson and Crick, unpublished material reveals A new paper based on long-lost documents confirms that DNA discoverer Rosalind Franklin should be credited for discovering the double helix.

A new paper [2023] based on long-lost documents confirms that DNA discoverer Rosalind Franklin should be credited for discovering the double helix.

www.livescience.com/health/genet...

the expertise and contributions of so, so many people to make the project the success it was. 3/3

vast majority of the project or have the expertise to lead and run either the excavation or the post excavation analysis anymore than I have the expertise to do your root canal for you. 😉 But this in no way diminishes her part in it. No one individual could have carried it out. It took
2/3

Will court settlement finally lay Richard III saga to rest? Former Leicester administrator who sued Steve Coogan says ‘we need more trust in expertise’ after actor backs inquiry into university’s actions during ‘tumultuous period’

An interesting piece in @timeshighered.bsky.social about the recent settlement. The project was a huge collaboration. I'm always at great pains to say that Philippa instigated the project & fund-raised for part of it - but she didn't pay for the
1/3
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/will-co...

further to this, here's a thread (sorry, from Over There) by Mike Pitts, who followed the whole process closely, on some of the, um, discrepancies in the film (via @turiking.bsky.social) x.com/pittsmike/st...

I was wrongly painted by Steve Coogan as a pantomime villain The wilful destruction of Richard Taylor's reputation began when actor Steve Coogan (pictured, with Sally Hawkins in the film) decided to cast him as a grotesque 'pantomime villain'.

Good article by Steve Boggan about Richard Taylor about the impact on Richard & his family as a result of him being defamed in The Lost King. It's taken years to resolve. A judge ruled the film was defamatory last year but settlement only this week.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

There were a whole bunch of really cool women who led various aspects of the project all of whom were mysteriously absent from the story. 😉😉

I am SO pleased to see this! Richard Taylor has quite rightly won his case. I was shocked at how the project and people, Richard T in particular, were so falsely portrayed in the film. Good to see it’s being put right. Do see Richard T’s X thread below. 👇

x.com/richardtaylo...

How the Vectors of Antibiotic Resistance Have Evolved - Professor Zamin Iqbal YouTube video by Milner Centre for Evolution

Podcast with me and @turiking.bsky.social for the @milnerevolution.bsky.social series, on plasmid evolution over the last 100 years, talking about our ( @cazares-adr.bsky.social , Nick Thomson, @sarah1alexander.bsky.social & co) recent paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
youtu.be/Mzr3TD4ijs0?...

Um. There’s a woman presenting this too.

Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians! 🍁🇨🇦

I did! After going to three stores on my ‘turkey-quest’!

New Channel 4 Documentary Analyzes A Sample Of Adolf Hitler’s DNA & Promises “Surprising Results” Channel 4 & History have greenlit 'Hitler’s DNA: Blueprint of a Dictator', which will analyze a sample of Adolf Hitler's DNA.

So, I've been rather quiet of late as been working incredibly hard on something fairly big with BlinkFilms and @channel4.bsky.social

deadline.com/2025/10/chan....

Celebrating six decades of research in the Adrian Building and 40 Years of Genetic Fingerprinting – Public Event, October 11th | News | University of Leicester

Heading back to the University of Leicester for a celebration of the Adrian Building (which was basically my second home) ahead of its closure & celebrating 40 years since invention of DNA fingerprinting! An afternoon of interesting talks. Free to attend! Deets here le.ac.uk/news/2025/se...

My amazing kids got me a Book Spa gift at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath. What a treat! The lovely team there fed me tea & cake, nattered to me about my book tastes & then brought me a stack of books they thought I would like! Heaven! Reader, I bought several!

mrbsemporium.com

Super proud of this! Still top 10 on Audible. It follows two families brought together by an unexpected discovery that changes everything they thought they knew about their father & takes us into the stories of the Home Children.
Listen now on Audible: adbl.co/orphansmith

Super proud of this! Our Audible @bbcstudios.bsky.social
podcast series, Orphan Smith, is in the top ten! We tell the story of the Home Children in Canada through the moving experience of one family. Get your tissues!
You can listen here 🎧
www.audible.co.uk/.../Orphan-S...

Power and Limitations of Inferring Genetic Ancestry Background The recent emergence of technologies that capture and analyse genetic variation patterns obtained from a person's DNA sample has led to numerous academic and commercial endeavours to infe...

An Early View: Dr @nancybird1.bsky.social , Prof @turiking.bsky.social, & Prof Hellenthal examine the methodological advances and interpretive limits of genetic ancestry inference. The authors emphasize the need for a stronger focus on conveying uncertainty to mitigate risks of over-interpretation.

Hang on, I’m getting whiplash! We were GGB when I left! 😀