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Fernando Villanea

@fervillanea.bsky.social

650 followers 500 following 210 posts

He/Him. Assistant Professor of Anthropology at CU Boulder. March Mammal Madness Genetics Team. Population genetics of Neanderthals and other people. Latino in STEM 🇨🇷

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Fernando Villanea @fervillanea.bsky.social · Aug 21

Our paper on the evolution of MUC19 in humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans is finally out today in Science!

This has been a six-year effort by 13 authors to weave together 3 separate but related evolutionary stories around this one gene (more on thread 🧵).

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

The MUC19 gene: An evolutionary history of recurrent introgression and natural selection

We study the gene MUC19, for which some modern humans carry a Denisovan-like haplotype. MUC19 is a mucin, a glycoprotein that forms gels with various biological functions. We find diagnostic variants ...

www.science.org

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Jake Holland-Lulewicz @archaeojake.bsky.social · 3d

Don’t be puzzled by the lack of deadline in the ad. This is an imposed HR quirk. Reviews will begin c. November 1st! Happy to field any questions! #archaeology

Jake Holland-Lulewicz @archaeojake.bsky.social · 11d

🚨 Hey!! We’re hiring an archaeologist!! Come hang out with us!!

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...

Assistant Professor of Archaeology

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 3d

Hey Folks! the fancy pigeon of @veppart.bsky.social has some unexpected veterinary costs so Valeria is extra enthusiastically welcoming art commissions!

a slide with with a cartoon of a sick pigeon and gorgeous illustrations of a vulture and an owl to showcase the incredible visual artistic talents of Valeria Pellicer- she does digital and traditional paintings and can be contacted via email vpellicer.art@gmail.com

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David Castellano @castellanoed.bsky.social · 4d

Working link: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Interpreting supervised machine learning inferences in population genomics using haplotype matrix permutations

Abstract. Supervised machine learning methods, such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), that use haplotype matrices as input data have become powerful

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Anahí Espíndola (she/ella) @analyssi.bsky.social · 5d

Do you want to support Hispanics and Native Americans in #STEM? If you said yes, become a member of @sacnas.bsky.social. You don't have to be a member of those communities to be a part of #SACNAS, but being a member helps you support and celebrate them.
👉https://www.sacnas.org/memberships

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 5d

The most important paper in evolutionary biology I'd never heard of:

1/

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Charles C Roseman @evoroseman.bsky.social · 8d

Do you know anyone with an interest in pursuing a PhD studying the genetics, development, and evolution of skeletal morphology and life history? If so please encourage them to apply to work with me through any of the University of Illinois' EEB or PEEC programs. 1/4 🧪🦷🦴🐭🐒

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 8d

Hear! effing Hear!

[Gift link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Centre for Palaeogenetics @cpgsthlm.bsky.social · 16d

🧬🧬🧬 🦣❤️🦣 🧬🧬🧬

New #CpgSthlm paper led by @maridehasque.bsky.social published in Biology Letters!

Genomic and morphological analysis reveals long-term mammoth hybridization in British Columbia, Canada
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

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Erin 🦇🎃EEK🎃🦇 Kane @dianamonkey.bsky.social · 10d

In 2016, Jane Goodall spoke at the International Primatological Society meetings. She closed her talk asking everyone to thank the primates we studied not with applause, but with their calls. And so a room full of Very Eminent Primatologists made delighted monkey noises to Jane Goodall. ⚱️🐒🧪🌍

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Fernando Villanea @fervillanea.bsky.social · 10d

💔

Erin Sikorsky @erinsikorsky.bsky.social · 10d

Oof, one of my heroes.

Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91

www.nytimes.com

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 10d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Dr. Arun Sethuraman @arunsethuraman.bsky.social · 11d

Do check out our new manuscript, now out in G3 on modelling theoretical expectations of ghost introgression in sampled genomes. Just in time for Halloween! 🎃 👻

Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · 11d

New in #G3journal: @arunsethuraman.bsky.social et al. describe biases in summary statistics, such as genetic differentiation, diversity, Tajima’s D, and estimates of theta, migration rates, and divergence for understanding genomic signatures from extinct ghost populations. buff.ly/7fGnPXj

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Seema Sheth @seemasheth.bsky.social · 14d

Tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Bioinformatics in the Department of Biology at the University of San Francisco
usfca.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/USF_Fu...

Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, Department of Biology, University of San Francisco

Job Title: Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track, Department of Biology, University of San Francisco Job Summary: The Department of Biology at the University of San Francisco invites applications for a fu...

usfca.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Dr. Elizabeth Santos @lizmillermacroevo.bsky.social · 15d

2nd year grad students are no longer eligible to apply. Currently enrolled grad students must be in their first year, whether in a MS, BS-MS, or Ph.D.

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Mark Hibbins, Great Lakes Swashbuckler @rejectresubmit.bsky.social · 17d

UR Biology is hiring an Assistant Professor in mathematical/computational evolutionary genetics. Join us!

apply.interfolio.com/173431

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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John Moe @johnmoe.bsky.social · 19d

But does Tylenol PM cause Night Autism?

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Andres Bendesky @bendeskylab.com · 21d

Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Computational Ecology and/or Evolution @columbiauniversity.bsky.social.
Deadline to apply September 30.
Reach out if you have questions.

apply.interfolio.com/172496

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

apply.interfolio.com

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Corrie Moreau @corriemoreau.bsky.social · 22d

UPDATE: The 2025-2026 list of faculty and postdoc positions in ecology and evolutionary biology is out! Be sure to check out this active and helpful community run resources! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

ecoevojobs.net 2025-26

docs.google.com

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Dr. Jasmina Wiemann @jwiemann.bsky.social · 22d

We have a new paper out - spearheaded by the brilliant Madison Tripp and Kliti Grice at Curtin in Western Australia:

Biomarkers preserve exceptionally well in diagenetic carbonates rather than phosphates.
#paleontology #astrobiology #geochemistry

Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Sebastian Soyk @sebastiansoyk.bsky.social · 24d

Our department of Plant Molecular Biology at the University of Lausanne @unil.bsky.social is recruiting a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in the field of Plant-Organism Interactions 🌱🐛🦠🍄! Application before November 30, 2025. See the official job ad for more details: tinyurl.com/mtxdcz6p

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Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Camille Roux @crouxevo.bsky.social · 29d

Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants

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Yun S. Song @yun-s-song.bsky.social · Sep 11

SINGER, our ARG inference method, is finally published and freely available online:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

It was a long journey – 16 months from initial submission to acceptance. Is it just me, or has peer review gotten more arduous lately? 4+ rounds of review isn't so unusual these days...

Robust and accurate Bayesian inference of genome-wide genealogies for hundreds of genomes - Nature Genetics

SINGER is a method for creating ancestral recombination graphs to understand the genealogical history of genomes. The method has increased speed, and thus scalability, without sacrificing accuracy.

doi.org

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Fernando Villanea @fervillanea.bsky.social · Sep 10

I'm re-teaching an R class from four years ago and found out today qplot was deprecated to encourage me to learn ggplot, which like, fair point since I've had four years to improve the class and clearly didn't.

Reposted by Fernando Villanea

Moose Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · Sep 9

I hope this ishmael finds you whale

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Science Magazine @science.org · Sep 5

“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, social insects reveal another surprise.” https://scim.ag/47sVFyS

Ant queen lays eggs that hatch into two species

Bizarre discovery of interspecies cloning “almost impossible to believe,” biologists say

scim.ag

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