Some polar bears are adapting to their melting habitat. Will it be enough to save the iconic species? Bears in Svalbard, Norway, are fatter than expected, and others in Greenland are showing signs of genetically adapting to climate change — but the signs elsewhere are not good.

Some polar bears in Svalbard are fatter than expected, and others in Greenland are showing signs of genetically adapting to climate change. Will it be enough to save them? 🧪 #arctic #climatechange

It was fascinating digging into this for @livescience.com

www.livescience.com/planet-earth...

Polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level – and it could help them avoid extinction Polar bears are expected to become extinct but there are some signs their DNA is changing and they are adapting to new temperatures.

🐻‍❄️ Some polar bears are adapting to climate change at a genetic level – and it could help them avoid extinction, according to research by @alicegodden.bsky.social, researcher at the @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social, spotlighted in @uk.theconversation.com ⬇️

Reimagining Women's Health | Norwich Science Festival Join members of the University of East Anglia’s Women’s Health Network and leading experts from across Norfolk for an engaging and inspiring look at the future of women’s healthcare.

✨Reimagining #Women’s #Health at Norwich Science Festival!
Join us on 14 Feb, 10:30–12:00 The Forum, #Norwich for an inspiring conversation with clinicians & researchers
🎟️ Free, booking essential
#NorwichScienceFestival #UEAResearch
@biouea.bsky.social @theforumnorwich.bsky.social
#Menopause

Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load Reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) robustly extends lifespan and enhances somatic stress resistance across taxa, yet its consequences for germline genome integrity remain unclear. Here we combine ...

1/6 New preprint!
Do changes to insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) that extend lifespan also protect the germline, or do they come with a mutational cost?

led by @eduxbury.bsky.social with @alicegodden.bsky.social @immler.bsky.social Johnny de Coriolis Hanne Carlsson

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Delighted to see our work picked up by @theguardian.com this is a real window of opportunity for us to reduce carbon emissions to give the bears a hope at survival before it really is too late.

Polar bear DNA could be adapting to warmer climates, UEA study University of East Anglia says polar bears are learning to adapt to warmer climates.

And in the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Changes to polar bear DNA could help them adapt to global heating, study finds Scientists say bears in southern Greenland differ genetically to those in the north, suggesting they could adjust

Also featured in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

> Bears in South-east Greenland in warmer climate more like end of century for other bears
> Bears jumping genes more mobile in southern bears
> Changes in gene expression linked to health and metabolism

Diverging transposon activity among polar bear sub-populations inhabiting different climate zones - Mobile DNA Mobile DNA - A new subpopulation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) was recently discovered in the South-East of Greenland. This isolated colony inhabits a warmer climate zone, akin to the predicted...

🐻‍❄️❄️ New paper alert! From me Ben & @immler.bsky.social
“Diverging transposon activity among polar bear sub-populations inhabiting different climate zones” (Godden, Rix & Immler, 2025). 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A thread 🧵.
#climate #transposons #TESky #polarbear #ursus
@biouea.bsky.social

They had a line we are currently investigating- but does not express reporter in adult stages- still very useful- thank you for sending this on slack- best fishes :)

🐟 We’re looking for a zebrafish line similar to Tg(vasa:eGFP) that could potentially be shared with us in the UK. This would greatly support some exciting experiments we have planned. If anyone is able to help or point us in the right direction, we’d be very grateful! 🐟
@zebrafishrock.bsky.social

Gave a talk at UEA Norwich Med School:
“Selfish Elements and Selective Sperm: Impact of Haploid Selection on Zebrafish Fitness.”
Part of my broader focus on genomics and fertility/reproduction for all—exploring how genetics shapes reproductive success. Great discussion! @slicescienceuea.bsky.social

Historical genomics of the declining red squirrel in Britain | Aries Dr Anders Bergström, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia Professor Cock van Oosterhout, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Dr Selina Brace…

A PhD project on historical genomics in the declining red squirrel in Britain is available in my group, through the @aries-dtp.bsky.social. Use historical genomes to track the effects of decline and genetic rescue in this charismatic species. aries-dtp.ac.uk/studentships...

3-Why does this matter?
Heat stress doesn’t just tweak physiology—it can reshape heritable genomic features, influencing adaptation across generations.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

2- The hot queen effect:
♀ Ovaries = resilient!
✅ Strong miRNA/piRNA defence against transposable elements
✅ Boosted protein-processing pathways

♂ Testes = vulnerable
❌ Reduced piRNA output
❌ More TE insertions + immune signatures

1-We tested zebrafish germ cells under elevated temperatures and found sex-specific molecular strategies for survival.
🧬 Genomics
🧪 Transcriptomics
🎯 Small RNAs

Sex-specific responses of small RNAs and transposable elements to thermal stress in zebrafish germ cells Environmental fluctuations influence heritable phenotypes through complex molecular mechanisms. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), the interplay between temperature variation, transposable element (TE) activ...

🚨 New preprint alert!
Our latest work from @immler.bsky.social lab 🐟🧬

Sex-specific responses of small RNAs and transposable elements to thermal stress in zebrafish germ cells

#TESky #TE #piRNA #miRNA #zebrafish #DanioDigest
🔗 Read here www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A thread 🧵...

📢🚨Please share! We’re hiring! 📢🚨Have a strong interests in wildlife ecology and gut microbiome bioinformatics? 3 year Senior Research Associate for NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant. Apply here: vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/18.... Informal enquiries welcome! drgldavidson.github.io/ACMEresearch

Takeaway: even “simple” dietary fibres can ripple across the microbiota–gut–brain axis — and dosage + sex differences matter. 🐟

And it wasn’t the same for everyone:
♀️ High gum Arabic had negative impacts on female reproductive fitness.
♂️ But in males, effects were mostly beneficial.

🐟 Gum Arabic reshaped the gut microbiome (↓ Proteobacteria, ↑ Cetobacterium).
🧠 Changed brain metabolism (↑ acetate at high doses).
🧬 Altered gene expression linked to appetite + energy use.

Gum Arabic modulates the microbiota-gut-brain axis and affects general fitness in zebrafish - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Gum Arabic modulates the microbiota-gut-brain axis and affects general fitness in zebrafish

🧬 Our latest paper out in Scientific Reports!
We explored how Gum Arabic (a dietary fibre) affects the microbiota–gut–brain axis and whole-organism fitness in zebrafish.

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@immler.bsky.social @biouea.bsky.social

What we found ⬇️

Schematic overview of our project. Dissection of Xenopus neural crest following morpholino knockdown of miRNA, then extraction of RNA for RNA-seq

Our new paper is out in Dev Biol! 🎉 🐸🧬
We show #miR-196a directs #neural crest fate in #Xenopus by repressing immature neural #ectoderm — evidence #miRNAs can potentially drive, not just fine-tune, early patterning
👉 Read more here: doi.org/10.1016/j.yd...
@devbiol.bsky.social @biouea.bsky.social

Big thanks to the organisers and chairs for accepting my abstract, this was such a great session to be a part of 🧬🔥🌎🐟

Join Join Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology (SORTEE)

Thanks to all those that attended the @sortee.bsky.social led symposium at #ESEB2025 and for those that met up on Wednesday!!

If you’re interested in joining SORTEE and supporting open science in EcoEvo, consider becoming a member!

sortee.org/join/

a wolf is standing in the snow with its mouth open and looking at the camera . ALT: a wolf is standing in the snow with its mouth open and looking at the camera .

Screaming into the blue void: anyone out there interested in some long-read #pacbio #european #wolf #sequence data? We have too much data from a pilot to not use, but it is too little data to assemble a #T2T on our own. Open to #collaboration. Get in touch!

Thank you, what a cool session!

Now on my way to #ESEB2025, Barcelona here we come!

Photo shows Jean-Baptiste Raina, a smiling man wearing round glasses, with a dark, trimmed beard and a dark cap.

Today’s the day! Our 2025 Research Colloquium, celebrating the research taking place here in BIO, starts at 09:30 in the Thomas Paine Study Centre. A fantastic day of talks awaits us, including our guest speaker Jean-Baptiste Raina of the University of Technology, Sydney!
#UEABioResearch
#UEAScience

🔍 From the origins of life to cutting-edge genomic tools, the hashtag#ESEB2025 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝.

With more than 50 symposia led by international experts, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭.

📖 Explore the full list of symposia:
🔗 https://lnkd.in/da5JU3mv