Wildlife trade drives animal-to-human pathogen transmission over 40 years
New in @science.org ‼️ In the most comprehensive study to date, we show that wildlife trade is driving animal-to-human zoonotic spillover at a planetary scale, with +1 spillover per host every 10 years. Live animal markets and illegal trade pose even greater risks. 🔓 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Alex Kramer, Alan Zhang and friends posted our preprint today. In it, we introduce Panmap, a tool for phylogenetic placement, assembly, lineage abundance estimation, and eDNA assignment using phylogenetic pangenomes.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We are destroying species' habitats, leading to a mass extinction event.
This habitat destruction also reduces the genetic diversity _within_ species.
Our latest work develops quantitative models to predict how much genetic diversity has been and _will be_ lost.
🧬🧪🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Really excited that this major work from my PhD is finally published in @plosbiology.org ! In it, we were trying to tackle a fundamental question in evolution - how do genetic mutations map onto evolutionary fitness? (1/n)
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Introduced [fish] species can wreak havoc on native ecosystems. Many states are flooding their waterways with them. www.vox.com/climate/4831...
Proud that this work is now published!
We hope it helps orient future #Nanopore long-read sequencing studies hunting for structural variants
Also really happy to share eight new high-coverage (>100x) long-read read pools and assemblies with the #Drosophila community!
doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...
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...
The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building looms in the background of the camp at Coldwater Spring, or Mni Owe Sni, at Fort Snelling along the Mississippi River — where the U.S. government in the mid-1800s killed hundreds of Dakota people and imprisoned more than 1,600 in a concentration camp.
How do compartmentalization & loop extrusion organize eukaryotic genomes beyond classical model organisms?
Hi-C analysis of silkworm chromosomes by Drinnenberg, Muller, Mirny et al reveals new combination of these mechanisms, and a new, secluded “S” compartment
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
New paper out in @funecology.bsky.social y.social: Warm waters undermine cryptic female choice! We find ovarian fluid only has a positive effect on sperm function at colder temperatures and that sneaker males have faster sperm than dominant nesting males at warmer temperatures. (1/3)
Really excited to share our new paper in @nature.com! We uncovered how a physical instability of the cytoplasm coupled with the cell cycle drives cytoplasmic partitioning in early embryos #zebrafish #drosophila. Read more in this🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🤩
@poldresden.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de
I came to Minneapolis to report on what's going on, and one of the main questions I showed up with is "just what is the scale of the resistance?" After all, we're all used to the news calling Portland a "war zone" or whatever when it's just some protests in one part of town.
Our new paper is online! We found that 1) today's shark & ray diversity was already reached ~100Ma; 2) that the K/Pg extinction was not catastrophic; 3) that the max diversity was reached ~50Ma; and 4) that today's diversity is depleted compared to the past.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
A graph showing daily temperature anomalies since the 1940s
Not a single day in 2025 was cooler than the 1991-2020 average, on a global scale. @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
Consulted with our entomologist at SUFS on what kind of invertebrate Thom Tillis is:
My name is Mary Peltola, and I'm running for U.S. Senate to fight for fish, family, and freedom – and that begins with fixing the rigged system in DC that’s shutting down Alaska.
We need systemic change if we're going to lower costs, save our fisheries, and fill our homes with abundance again.
🧪New preprint! tinyurl.com/mr7km2pv
When & why do predators share social information? Blue whales produce foraging calls when prey (krill) are abundant & dense, conditions arising from physical oceanographic forcing across temporal scales. Variation in ocean physics shapes blue whale communication!
This seems like a really great initiative! If you know any Trans scientists who might be interested in joining a broader community, please pass along!
transscientistcollective.carrd.co
Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.
Pew Research Center is seeking a Data Archivist to support our commitment to open science and data transparency. This newly created role will play a key part in enhancing the accessibility, usability, and reproducibility of our research data while continuing to protect the privacy and identity of our survey participants. As Data Archivist, you will lead efforts to create and implement best practices for preparing, documenting, and disseminating datasets. These best practices should maximize FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles while minimizing disclosure risk. You will work across teams to ensure our data is well-organized and thoroughly documented. You will serve as an internal advocate for data users, helping to ensure that our datasets are not only accurate and comprehensive but also easy to discover and reuse by researchers, journalists, and the public. This is a full-time, Pew Research Center position. The position is funded by an external grant and limited to a two-year term.
Primary Responsibilities Develop optimization procedures to improve discoverability of our datasets on internal and external platforms Develop and maintain standards to improve accessibility of our microdata and tab plans by changing/adding formats and/or adding documentation Identify metadata documentation best practices and a process to implement those best practices at the Center Work with Legal to evaluate most appropriate license to publicly share the Center's survey data, including Creative Common options Identify and correct processing inefficiencies in our data publication process Sit on the internal Disclosure Risk Taskforce Document analytical decisions and code to support transparency and replicability, including the development of a RACI chart for publishing code to recreate derived variables that are used in reports but are not included in the microdata Manage/create merged time series datasets for select Center datasets Identify a process for internally archiving data and projects that are no longer in active use Identify and implement a process to assign Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to microdata Prepare and upload public-facing datasets and restricted-use datasets for external sharing. Train staff on FAIR principles and best practices in data archiving.
Education/Training/Experience Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in library sciences, organizational management, or a related field. 5-7 years of experience with data archiving, database management, or survey research. This may include graduate training at the MA/PhD level or equivalent experience in an applied setting. At least 3-5 years of experience applying FAIR and open science principles. Background in social science research or data curation. Experience in data management, archiving, or research support. Familiarity with FAIR principles, Creative Common licensing, data privacy principles, and exposure risk. Proficiency in metadata standards and documentation tools. Experience managing research projects, including working collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team. Experience with statistical software (e.g., R, Python, Stata) and reproducible research workflows. Knowledge, Skill and Workplace Requirements Strong organizational and communication skills. Detail oriented with exacting standards to maintain accuracy and impartiality in all work products. Ability to work independently to carry out special projects from start to finish. Ability to balance numerous tasks simultaneously. Ability to work collaboratively and collegially with other team members, as well as with staff from other Pew Research Center teams. Ability to balance competing priorities and identify optimal solutions FLSA Status: Exempt Compensation: Starting salary is commensurate with experience within the range of $100,000 - $120,000. Hybrid Work Schedule: Pew Research Center staff are required to be present in the Center’s Washington, D.C., office three core days weekly (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Staff may work virtually from remote locations on other days in a typical work week.
Please share - @pewresearch.org wants to hire a data archivist who will be an advocate for data users, helping to ensure that our datasets are easy to discover and reuse by researchers, journalists, and the public.
pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CenterExtern...
If this makes you mad…turn your anger into action.
There are articles of impeachment against RFK jr. in the House.
Sign the petition, call your rep, send a quack-o-gram, and share with LITERALLY EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
This isn’t going to stop unless we make it.
Standupforscience.net/impeach-rfkjr
Image of an Alaskan bog with water and red moss in the foreground and trees in the background.
Let’s make 2026 the year of the bog. The world’s most unique and interesting plants, clean water, cooler climate. Bogs deserve our thanks, care, and deep respect. Please join me and love a bog today.
Friendly neighborhood biologist here. I see a lot of people are talking about biological sexes right now. Lots of folks make biological sex seem really simple. Well, since it’s so simple, let’s find the biological roots, shall we? Let’s talk about sex...[a thread]
(Reposted from the other site)
Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies an ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12...
No contest. Just read the first two sentences of the abstract. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Population genetics analysis in a phylogenetic framework shows convergent evolution in the genomes of five brood-parasitic species, including selection on genes involved in spermatogenesis, sperm function and nervous system development 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Grateful to share our paper on gene-specific selective sweeps in human gut microbiomes, now out in Nature! It has been a joy to work with @rwolff.bsky.social, whose insights and hard work made this possible.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Recently had the chance to hear @carlbergstrom.com on information foraging in the current space of LLMs.
He and @jevinwest.bsky.social have crafted a course that touches various facets of LLMs. Just finished reading through its 18 modules. Absolutely loved it!
thebullshitmachines.com
