Short time ago, we, the Evolutionary Immunogenomics Research Group, organized the 29th DZG Graduate Meeting in Evolutionary Biology @dzg-evol.bsky.social at the IZS, University of Hamburg @uni-hamburg.de, bringing together early-career researchers for inspiring talks, discussions, and networking.
Job Summary: The FlyBase project is an international collaboration of ~35 people distributed at several sites. This position is located at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. All FlyBase staff work as a part of a team, in which curators and software engineers collaborate extensively. Each site has its own set of responsibilities. The Harvard FlyBase curators focus on curation/annotation of literature and high-throughput data pertaining to the Drosophila genome, transcriptome and proteome. FlyBase is constantly evolving, seeking both to improve and to expand its role within the Drosophila and wider scientific communities. The ideal applicant will be enthusiastic about participating in this process, bringing to the FlyBase group expertise and ideas concerning emerging directions in Drosophila biology and genomic/proteomic analysis. FlyBase is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning tools into its curation workflows. The ideal candidate will be open-minded and enthusiastic about exploring AI-assisted approaches to biological data curation, including the use of large language models and AI coding assistants to accelerate and enhance curation tasks.
Job-Specific Responsibilities: • Reading and abstracting of data from the current Drosophila literature, including its relationship to human disease, physical interactions, and gene expression • Evaluating and validating AI generated annotations and curation suggestions, ensuring accuracy and biological relevance before integration into the database • Using AI coding assistants (e.g. Claude Code, Codex, Gemini) to write scripts for data wrangling, format conversion, and routing curation tasks • Providing feedback on AI model outputs and refining prompts to help improve automated curation pipelines and annotation quality over time • Annotation and analysis of the Drosophila melanogaster genome, including gene models, mapped mutations, and regulatory features • Together with curators and developers at other sites, interact with broad research community by answering helpmail and giving presentations and tutorials at research conferences • Handling high-throughput datasets and associated metadata
FlyBase is seeking a new scientific curator at our Harvard University site.
More information here: wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
🪰🧬 What a fantastic start! Yesterday kicked off #DrosEU2026 at #Genopolys in Montpellier, France 🇫🇷
Exciting discussions on #Drosophila research, #genomics, #evolution, and #CitizenScience.
Love to see moving sperm on the stage #DrosEU2026 #Drosophila #Malejaculate #sperm @emmawhitt.bsky.social 👏
🪰 🧬16th #DrosEU2026 Workshop & Satellite #DrosophilaSuzukii Meeting Conference will take place 13–17 April 2026 in #Montpellier, France 🇫🇷.
We look forward to connecting with colleagues across Europe to discuss new research in #Drosophila #genomics #evolution & #CitizenScience +info 👉 droseu.net
The 16th DrosEU Meeting kicks off this Monday, April 13! 🧬
A great scientific program and discussions await: droseusuz.sciencesconf.org
#DrosEU2026 @droseu.bsky.social
With support from @occitanie.bsky.social, @umontpellier.bsky.social, GIS Fruit, IGH, GenoPolys, and @sfgenetique.bsky.social
Inbreeding depression persists even without genetic variation in identical snail genomes. This new paper suggests epigenetic mechanisms beyond classic mutation-based explanations. Image credit: Robert Aguilar, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center @wikimedia doi.org/10.1093/evle...
Are you looking for a PhD position, hoping to learn sexual selection theory from one of the true experts in the field? Lehtonen's work is awesome - Look at this and apply!
ats.talentadore.com/apply/doctor...
Figure showing the evolutionary diversification of Lepidopteran larval appendages.
Really excellent paper on the genetics of caterpillar butt ornaments
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Mating-dependent lifespan cost of sterol depletion in male Drosophila melanogaster osf.io/preprints/os...
If you’re giving a talk in Istanbul Uni, you can count on cats, they will attend and a room full of people who care deeply about science!
We completed a whole-day workshop on Sexual selection theory, its biology, history and philosophical roots, which was a great fun! #istuni.evrimtoplulugu
First BYOF Seminar of 2026!
🗓️ Wed. March 4 @ 16 pm CET.
Join us for two 10 min talks about social transfers:
🐀 Coprophagy (Amlie Baud @ameliebaud.bsky.social)
🪰 Ejaculate (Bahar Patlar @baharpatlar.bsky.social)
📨 Email hello@socialtransfer.net for the Zoom link!
@socialtransfernet.bsky.social
Sensory Perception in a Changing World graphic. The graphic has a black background. The text in the top right says: Special Issue. Next line: Sensory Perception in a Changing World Next line: Guest Editors: Almut Kelber, Kathleen M. Gilmour and Sanjay Sane Next line: the Journal of Experimental Biology logo Left of graphic: image showing a moth drinking nectar from cluster of white flowers against two circular green leaves
Artificial light at night, urban noise, psychoactive pollutants, agriculture, introduced species & a warming world are making it difficult to sleep. John Lesku & Anne Aulesebrook review how species are affected & suggest ways to minimise the impact #SensoryPerceptionInAChangingWorld
bit.ly/469cNrT
question to those doing sperm motility analysis. Are there any recent resources/reviews you'd recommend? What software are you using? Thanks
Excited to spend 28 Feb at Istanbul University discussing sexual selection with students. From Darwin to modern days, we'll talk about history, biology and philosophy of sexual selection theory.
📆TODAY! @baharpatlar.bsky.social will present her work on "The genetics and function of the male reproductive tract from ejaculate to producing tissues in Drosophila" as part of our #Goenomix series. Join us via Zoom. More: pad.gwdg.de/s/a_5KCo2cq & www.uni-goettingen.de/de/624201.html
The Effect of Differing Levels of Intrasexual and Intersexual Selection on Survival and Reproduction Under a Heatwave Ecol&Evol
Thanks @baharpatlar.bsky.social, too kind! Leigh's survey was a highlight of last year's Biology of Sperm meeting, great to see this in print. Thanks to @rhondasnook.bsky.social, John Fitzpatrick and all who make BoS such an inspiring meeting and community.
An important study maps how nerves control the Drosophila male reproductive tract, revealing two types of glutamatergic neurons that also release serotonin or octopamine.
🔗 buff.ly/3PV2YQW
Honoured to be mentioned in Leigh Simmons’ 30-year reflection on sperm biology. Very grateful to THE mentor: @steveramm.bsky.social
Really grateful to the people in Hamburg for hosting the graduate meeting this year. Join them it will be great!
A fantastic meeting is coming 🥳
This year DZG Evo Bio Graduate meeting will be in Hamburg, chase the red queen 🍎 @dzg-evol.bsky.social
Can sexual selection alone drive divergence? Experimental evolution in seed beetles shows that strong sexual selection accelerates divergence in reproductive traits and gene expression, even without environmental differences. Image credit: Udo Schmidt Wikimedia
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
While most of us are burning out in the horse race of proposals, funding, and contracts, it’s easy to forget what real science is! What a delight to see a highly intellectual exchange among some of the great minds in #sexualselection studies @timjanicke.bsky.social academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...
