📣 EvolDir is now managed by @eseb.bsky.social!

We are delighted to be taking the reins and express our gratitude to both Brian Golding who began this service to the community in the mid-1980s and to @rdmpage.bsky.social who ran this account until now 👏

You can now find evoldir here: evoldir.net

Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expr…

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it.
A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

Asymmetric biparental and inefficient horizontal transmission of paralysis-causing sigmavirus in Queensland fruit fly - Heredity Heredity - Asymmetric biparental and inefficient horizontal transmission of paralysis-causing sigmavirus in Queensland fruit fly

Asymmetric biparental and inefficient horizontal transmission of paralysis-causing sigmavirus in Queensland fruit fly www.nature.com/articles/s41...

PLEASE SHARE. PhD Opportunity with me, Ben Raymond and Jan Engelstaedter and Andrew Letten at University of Queensland.

Experimentally testing mechanisms of how temperature may change selection and spread of AMR in E. coli. Coupled with some advanced modelling and sequencing.

🧪🦠 #microsky

🔊 Looking for a Research Assistant in Bacterial Evolution to join my lab 🦠
🥼Main duties: Research (AMR + microbiome) + lab assistance.
⏲️ Post duration: 30 months
🗓️ Closing date for applications: 20th April 2026
💰 Salary: ~£35k

Details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/2a3v66y7

Please share!

IMPACT OF PARENTHOOD ON UNIVERSITY EMPLOYMENT. Line graph shows how the probability of holding a research position changes from four years before to seven years after having children.

Becoming a parent is much more detrimental to women’s academic careers than it is to men’s

Read the full story: go.nature.com/4v4rxmQ

An ecologist’s guide to the animal model 1. Efforts to understand the links between evolutionary and ecological dynamics hinge on our ability to measure and understand how genes influence phenotypes, fitness and population dynamics. Quanti...

this looks v useful! Jarrod is finally updating MCMCglmm course notes that I think will include some comparative methods. I keep thinking that a phylo mixed model version of besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... might be useful - you've got a lot of the bones here!

Plastic frogs sitting round a key board

My "Introduction to Phylogenetic Comparative Methods in R" online book is now available here: nhcooper123.github.io/pcm-primer-o... Note it only deals with basic methods and was mostly written in 2020 if you're wondering why your awesome new method/paper is missing! Please cite it if you use it :)

Can also check out on www.instagram.com/uk_mvp/ with links to artists

New outreach project as part of a NERC @ukri.org grant on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of viromes in #moths at @uniexecec.bsky.social ecec.bsky.social w @savebutterflies.bsky.social
More on the science ➡️
benlongdon.com/uk-moth-viro...
Artists ➡️ thentrythis.org/notes/2026/0... (or ⬇️)

Photo of Jasmine with three overlaid simple moth illustrations

Jasmine Saunders is a ceramicist and Natural Science student who loves supporting people in learning through tactile creativity. Together, we will get our hands stuck in carving and moulding clay to each make small moth sculptures. Using plant imprint […]

[Original post on social.thentrythis.org]

Photo of Melanie with two simple overlaid moth illustrations

Melanie Hyo-In Han will be working on a poetry pamphlet about moths and the viruses that affect them. In Korean culture, moths have long been associated with spirits and memory; drawing on these symbolisms, as well as her own experiences with migration […]

[Original post on social.thentrythis.org]

Photo of Charlotte with some overlaid moth illustrations

Charlotte Evans lost her dad 4 years ago to Motor Neurone Disease - she’s done a lot of thinking over the past few years on freedom, movement and illness. Charlotte looks to draw a comparison between humans and moths with the aim to educate people […]

[Original post on social.thentrythis.org]

1 week left to submit your abstract for #ExE2026
sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/

Join us for 3 days of cutting edge evolutionary ecology research in beautiful Cornwall this summer 🐬🏖️🏄‍♀️

yes just found out :(

realise abstract submission closes today but is registration open for a bit longer still (too many things to juggle and this has slipped down the list) - thanks!

Pathogen host jump risk is not predicted by spillover rate, but rather by novelty Host jumps pose major risks to health, but predicting them remains challenging due to complex spillover dynamics. This study shows that pathogen novelty, rather than spillover rate, is a stronger pred...

Neat looking modelling paper by Brandon Simony and Dave Kennedy: Pathogen host jump risk is not predicted by spillover rate, but rather by novelty - journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

If you think your toddler’s often ill, you’re right – what going to nursery means for catching colds and building immunity Having an under five in your household increases your risk as an adult of having diarrhoea and vomiting.

@oldenoughtosay.com I see that your house has recently been visited by the Bad Enterovirus Fairy, aka Hand, foot and mouth disease. I got so het up about baby germs that I wrote a 9.5k word review article on them (800 word version here theconversation.com/if-you-think...). Normal response, right?!

Species phylogeny, genomic and transcriptomic data, and Ne proxies used in the present study. Left: Phylogenetic tree of the 100 metazoan species considered. Middle: Available genome and transcriptome datasets of each species concerned, including CAGE-seq, 3′-end-seq, RNA-seq, coding genes, and BUSCO genes. Right: Ne and proxies.

What is the evolutionary significance of alternative #transcription initiation, #splicing & #polyadenylation? This study of 75 metazoan species suggests that most transcript diversity reflects deleterious RNA processing errors rather than adaptive function @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3Pcs2e6

fab - looks great!

Capturing dynamic phage–pathogen coevolution by clinical surveillance @nature.com @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Why do gulls steal our food? Scientists experimented with French fries to find out. Gulls are often seen as intruders in our daily lives. But researchers are discovering what really motivates them—and strategies to keep them away from your lunch.

Nice article by the wonderful Marlene Zuk in National Geographic, featuring my and @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social research on Cornish herring gulls, and how kids got us into gulls 😊 @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

We already have more than 💯 participants for #ExE2026, but there are still places available.

Once you have registered, you have until April 1 to submit an abstract, so don’t miss out and register now at sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/registra...

Everything you need to know is 👇 and at evoxeco.uk!

Welcome ExE 2026 is a 3-day conference aimed at evolutionary ecologists from around the world, hosted by the University of Exeter in beautiful Cornwall. It provides a friendly and inclusive platform for all c...

For folks in #Ecology and #Evolution, we are hosting a conference here in Cornwall UK! Great chance for a summer staycation June 29-July 3.

Plus, we've managed to make it affordable: £250 + £49/night for accommodation.

#EvolBiol #EcoEvo

sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/

And why not stay a bit longer and attend one of many #ExE2026 pre- and post-conference workshops, including a publishing workshop by our sponsor @royalsocietypublishing.org sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/post-con...

In addition to great science 🧪🧬🌳🪰, this is your chance to explore some of the best places in #Cornwall, such as Kynance Cove and the Lizard, Glendurgan Gardens, the Helford River by boat! 🥾⛴️ 🔭 sites.exeter.ac.uk/exe/excursio...

Our stellar 🤩 list of invited speakers #ExE2026: @danielbolnick.bsky.social Trine Bilde, Dan Nussey, @sevans.bsky.social @andrewfoote.bsky.social @cleliagasparini.bsky.social Sarah Knowles, @liamlachs.bsky.social, Lizy Mittell, @keesvanoers.bsky.social, Alex Popadopolous & Katja Räsänen. evoxeco.uk

ExE 2026

Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Then you cannot miss #ExE2026! Hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall, this #conference has a stellar line-up of speakers and lots of pre-and post-conference workshops. Space is limited, so register now at evoxeco.uk!

Fresh buffer won't have the residual EtBr mixed in with it, so can sometimes cause a front (where EtBr migrates out of gel) that can look something like this - but this seems quite extreme! Mix a little EtBr into negative end of gel tank and see if it resolves?

Are you adding EtBr to the gel or post-staining? And is it fresh buffer?