World’s oldest dog identified at ancient hunter-gatherer site Bones of 15,800-year-old puppy push confirmed origin of our canine companions back nearly 5000 years

Lovely story by David Grimm at Science too:

www.science.org/content/arti...

Dogs were widely distributed across western Eurasia during the Palaeolithic - Nature Analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes from archaeological canid remains found across Europe and Anatolia shows that a genetically homogeneous dog population was already widely distributed acro...

Oh hey. Look at that! So many fabulous ancient doggies! We love our dogs and so did our palaeolithic ancestors.

Huge congrats to the amazing people who contributed to the sister studies revealing the deep time of fuzzy tummies.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Come to think of it. What the hell is a dog anyway. And how do we recognise them or the relationships they’ve had with humans. We demand answers!

You have a time machine. You go back 15 and a half thousand years ago. So people have dogs? Are they fed what people eat and are they buried alongside their humans?

We need answers to these burning doggy questions!

Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific Several millennia of human-mediated translocation of non-native pig species (genus Sus) to the islands of Wallacea and Oceania have considerably altered local ecosystems. To investigate the timing and...

Starting off 2026 in a highly porcine manner. The story dropped on Jan 1 when a lot of the planet was focussed more on a hangover cure (myself included), than on the latest in human-pig research. Huge congrats to the dozens of amazing scientists and hooray for pigs!

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

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...

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...

Imputation of ancient canid genomes reveals inbreeding history over the past 10,000 years | PNAS The multi-millennia-long history between dogs and humans has placed them at the forefront of archaeological and genomic research. Despite ongoing e...

A PNAS Special Feature exclusively about dogs? Woof!
Here are 3 of the 8 that we were involved with. Congrats to @lachiescarsbrook.bsky.social & @undeaddandy.bsky.social
Dingoes!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
German Shepherds!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Imputation!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

The emergence and diversification of dog morphology Dogs exhibit an exceptional range of morphological diversity as a result of their long-term association with humans. Attempts to identify when dog morphological variation began to expand have been con...

In the immortal words of Sir Mix-a-Lot: "And ugh, double-up, ugh, ugh".

2 doggy papers are so much better than 1. Both studies a testament to slow science & international collaboration between brilliant people. What it's all about.

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

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

Ancient Genomics Reveals the Origin, Dispersal, and Human Management of East Asian Domestic Pigs Abstract. Pigs are the most commercially important modern livestock animal in East Asia. Numerous aspects of their domestication history remain unclear, ho

What's that? The story of East Asian pig domestication as told through ancient DNA? Yes please! Congrats to everyone on such a fantastic and overdue story! Pigs are so great.
doi.org/10.1093/molb...

The sessions are co-organised by:

@gregerlarson.bsky.social
@elliecat.bsky.social
@mishaploid.bsky.social
@makenziemabryphd.bsky.social
@johnneddermeyer.bsky.social
@frozen-zoo.bsky.social
@undeaddandy.bsky.social

&
Jennifer Meadows
Evangelos Dimopoulos

Interested in giving a talk at the Plant and Animal Genome conference (PAG 33) in San Diego?

Together with several colleagues, we are arranging 5 interconnected sessions.

To submit an abstract, please fill out this Google Form before Oct 12th, 2025:
forms.gle/q7j275Di6umY...

So it turns out that "small-island populations can provide long-term insurance against human-driven extinction". And as a result, "conservation efforts should prioritize habitat management over translocations". Super fun new paper from Aninta et al.!

www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10....

Dogs? Dogs dogs dogs.

South American dogs? Ancient South American dogs?

Lots and lots of Ancient South American Dogs!

Huge effort by so many great people!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

MFaDNA YouTube video by Greger Larson

Then, Greger and Beth performed an original song entitled:

MFaDNA
youtu.be/Z62RTsgpHc4

You Work in Ancient DNA YouTube video by Greger Larson

Greger Larson and Beth Shapiro were asked to roast the field of ancient DNA at a conference in Stockholm on May 29, 2025.

First, a spoken work guide to help you know if you work in the field.

youtu.be/zSwmq0DUa8U

Uh oh. What's this? Two unabashed extroverts given guitars and a remit to roast the field of ancient DNA? Sounds like trouble. One can only hope that if there is video footage, the people responsible have the good sense not to upload it for public viewing. No one wants to see this!

Wolf to woof: Did we make dogs? - ABC listen The relationship between humans and big scary wolves has come a long way to give us tiny fluffy lap dogs with very discerning tastes in expensive food. Whose idea was it? Was it the wolves who wanted...

Dogs. Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs. Dogs? Dogs!

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

You know what the world absolutely does not need? Yet another definition for domestication. Get over yourselves people. C'mon!

Ok, maybe just one more. So much fun working with @elinork.bsky.social, Kathryn and Robin. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

It’s here! Find out what we’ve been up to for the last 4 years #archaeology #earlymodern #shakespeare #boxofficebears

BBC Radio 4 - Why Do We Do That?, Series 2, 4. Why do we love dogs? Ella Al-Shamahi asks why do we love dogs?

More dog chat! Ella Al-Shamahi and I had a blast chatting about dogs and evolution and love and lots more. Enjoy our episode of the Why Do We Do That podcast on Radio 4 BBC sounds: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... And the director's cut here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

What About... Artificial Selection w/Greger Larson Danny and Jason put their best traits forward in a conversation with evolutionary geneticist Greger Larson on the topic of ARTIFICIAL SELECTION.

It is impossible to get tired of talking about dogs and domestication. What a thrill to chat with Danny Nucci and Jason Burns on their What About... podcast. Enjoy all the serious silliness here:
thewhataboutpodcast.com/2025/02/13/w...

Evolution and genetic architecture of sex-limited polymorphism in cuckoos Ancient haplotypes maintained via maternal inheritance govern female-limited color polymorphism in two cuckoo sister taxa.

Evolution and cuckoos! So fun!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Good day for zombies! Braaiiiinnnsssss!
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

Who loves ancient DNA and domestication? We do we do! Congrats to Lachie Scarsbrook on this super fun review. Lots more to come! doi.org/10.1016/B978...