Alec Downie
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aedownie.bsky.social
Alec Downie
@aedownie.bsky.social
140 followers 170 following 35 posts
Postdoc studying evolutionary ecology, trait evolution, and immunity at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social‬; he/him
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aedownie.bsky.social
Alec Downie @aedownie.bsky.social · 8d
Two weeks ago now @jennytung.bsky.social and I published a new review in Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, entitled “Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A thread below...
Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems
Immune genes show remarkably consistent evidence of selection, modification, and diversification across the tree of life. Parasites are a key force in…
www.sciencedirect.com
Reposted by Alec Downie
delphinedemoor.bsky.social
Excited to introduce the Latent Layers Framework – now out in @behavecol.bsky.social – to help think through when and why network differences confound inference in (comparative) social network analysis! 🧵

tinyurl.com/3k3yahwy
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
arsweeny.bsky.social
Interested in how life history may shape the gut microbiome of a wild mammal? Keen on getting to work with an iconic long-term study system in Scotland?

Check out this PhD opportunity with me, Josephine Pemberton and @gfalbery.bsky.social

Reach out to chat more!

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
November 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
sashagusevposts.bsky.social
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
fernpizza.bsky.social
When different kinds of mobile genetic elements get together, they become even more powerful catalysts for microbial evolution! In this work we discovered a mechanism by which Insertion Sequences drive their spread across Plasmids, which helps explain this evolutionary potential!
kepatitis-c.bsky.social Everyone's least favorite lab mate @kepatitis-c.bsky.social · 5d
What is the best strategy to win any contest?

Eliminate your opponents of course.

Recently, my friend @fernpizza.bsky.social showed how plasmids compete intracellularly (check out his paper published in Science today!). With @baym.lol, we now know they can fight.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 21, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
baym.lol
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Lifetime fitness and annual survival are heritable and highly genetically correlated in a wild primate population https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.688343v1
November 14, 2025 at 8:31 AM
aedownie.bsky.social
Two weeks ago now @jennytung.bsky.social and I published a new review in Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, entitled “Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A thread below...
Evolutionary genetics meets ecological immunology: insights into the evolution of immune systems
Immune genes show remarkably consistent evidence of selection, modification, and diversification across the tree of life. Parasites are a key force in…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
evoldir.bsky.social
Fully funded PhD at the University of Exeter exploring immunogenetic variation in bank voles. Ideal for candidates interested in wildlife disease ecology and genomics. Apply by Jan 8, 2026: https://tinyurl.com/2prtr893 #phd
NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship | University of Exeter
NERC GW4+ DTP PhD studentship | University of Exeter
tinyurl.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
ecoevorxiv.bsky.social
Microevolutionary consequences of social structure in wild spotted hyenas
doi.org/10.32942/X2Z...
Multi-panel diagram showing summary plots describing the distribution of individuals and genetic variation across the population of spotted hyenas in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.
November 15, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
animal-sounds.bsky.social
🚨Who wants to work with Kalahari meerkats? A MSc project with @mathildemartin.bsky.social at the University of Zurich.
#bioacoustics 🧪
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
danielbolnick.bsky.social
Happy to share this AREES paper on Evolutionary Immunology
www.annualreviews.org/docserver/fu...
Now "officially" published OA. Hope its useful... it was a joy working w great colleagues on this one. @nataliesteinel.bsky.social @grahammunology.bsky.social @laurenfuess.bsky.social
www.annualreviews.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
fidydvm.bsky.social
The Department of Biology at @eastcarolinauniv.bsky.social seeks to fill a tenure-track faculty at the Assistant Professor level with expertise in evolutionary Biology! Come join us!

ecu.peopleadmin.com/postings/89839
Assistant Professor
The Department of Biology at East Carolina University (http://www.ecu.edu) seeks to fill a tenure-track faculty position (9-month appointment) at the Assistant Professor rank with expertise in evoluti...
ecu.peopleadmin.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
domcram.bsky.social
🚨Fully-funded PhD opportunity in my group🚨

🧬How does parental ageing shape the next generation?🐾

Find out by studying meerkats!

🧪Epigenetic clocks
✨Bioinformatics
📊Long-term data
🌍Kalahari fieldwork
💡Big evolutionary questions

Get in touch or APPLY NOW
Please share!
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
A collage featuring some laboratory analyses, a schematic of the structure of DNA, a pocket watch in an elderly person's hand, and a family of wild meerkats.
October 17, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
yukihaba.bsky.social
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?

Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.

🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
gcbias.bsky.social
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
October 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
jamescdownie.bsky.social
In 1948, the GOP-controlled Congress spent 109 days in session, a post-WW2 low. They lost both chambers that fall.

Under Mike Johnson, the House has been in session just 20 days of the last 103. And staying home isn't working any better for him. My latest for MSNBC: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Concerns about Congress’ shrinking role in running the country long predate Johnson and the rest of this generation of congressional leaders, on both sides. But just 20 days in session in more than three months is an astonishingly small number — a rate of less than 80 days in session in a calendar year. The lowest since World War II, for comparison, was the 80th Congress, which had 109 days in session in 1948. But unlike this 119th Congress, the “Do Nothing” Congress (as President Harry Truman famously deemed it) had two excuses. First, it was in opposition to the sitting president, limiting the chances for legislation. Second, 1948 was an election year, and Congress typically spends less time in session when its members are campaigning. Just as the White House has been sending mixed messages — alternating between blaming Democrats for the shutdown and using it to fire thousands of federal employees — Johnson’s “stay home” approach has undercut his talking points. It’s difficult to argue that he is serious about swiftly reopening the government when his caucus is spread out around the country. Instead, Democrats seem to be winning the messaging war. The Washington Post reports, “The White House and a growing number of congressional Republicans are worried that Democrats’ demand to boost Obamacare as part of any bill to reopen the government is proving salient with voters — including their own.” Speaking of Obamacare, by keeping the House away, Johnson has hurt efforts to deal with expiring subsidies for plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. “That’s a Dec. 31 issue,” Johnson insisted last week. But that timeline is misleading. “While the enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, the start of open enrollment is around the corner on Nov. 1,” says Miranda Yaver of the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. If lawmakers don’t agree on a fix before the end of the year, it will be weeks after “marketplace insurers have submitted their initial premium rate proposals, suggesting dramatic premium increases faced by marketplace enrollees.” Without a fix to the subsidies soon, millions of people will be deciding in November whether to pay more next year or forgo coverage altogether. For them, a Dec. 31 deal would come far too late. As for the Epstein files, Johnson’s effort here seems especially futile. Clearly, neither the White House nor Republicans in Congress want a vote on releasing the files (though even if the bill passes the House, it will certainly die in the Senate). But efforts to derail the discharge petition seem to have failed, and at some point — whether for the ACA subsidies or some other legislation — the House will have to come back. By delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in, Johnson only deepens suspicions that the White House is hiding something.
October 14, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
jamescdownie.bsky.social
We don't know where Trump sees images of "bombed-out" Portland. Even Fox and far-right influencers don't make those claims.

Which leaves a disturbing question: "If Trump can be fooled by a fake video with his own face and voice, what else is fooling him?"

My latest: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | We don't know why Trump thinks Portland 'on fire.' That's frightening.
If Trump can be fooled by a fake video with his own face and voice, what else is fooling him?
www.msnbc.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
taurvil.bsky.social
🚨🧪 Interested in primate genomics and GxE interactions?

My lab is recruiting graduate students and postdocs to help start projects on primate gene regulation and immune evolution. Reach out if you would like to learn more, and please spread widely!

#ScienceJobs
October 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
fidydvm.bsky.social
🚨🚨 New Paper alert! 🚨🚨 :

Evolutionary history, longevity and terrestriality predict Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in primates 🌳🐈‍⬛️🦠🐒. #zoonosis #conservation #primates #wildlife #Madagascar #lemur #parasites

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Evolutionary history, longevity and terrestriality predict Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in free-ranging non-human primates
Evidence from captive populations indicates that lemurs are particularly vulnerable to toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii.…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social
Why women live longer than men. A new study #ScienceAdvances by an intl. research team led by Johanna Stärk and Fernando Colchero @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social traces the evolutionary roots of the #lifespan gap between women and men. tinyurl.com/yrt4ju9u & www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Why women live longer than men
Study traces the evolutionary roots of the lifespan gap between women and men
tinyurl.com
October 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Alec Downie
hasikadam.bsky.social
New paper alert! In my second first-author paper from my work on the Isle of Rum Red Deer Project @rumdeerresearch.bsky.social we show, for only the second time in a wild population, that parasites mediate inbreeding depression.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Parasite-mediated inbreeding depression in wild red deer
Heredity - Parasite-mediated inbreeding depression in wild red deer
www.nature.com
October 2, 2025 at 9:26 AM
aedownie.bsky.social
Once again a fascinating stickleback paper! I can't wait to dig in properly.
danielbolnick.bsky.social Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · Aug 29
In the earliest stages of adaptive introgression, beneficial immigration can drive genome-wide changes. In a new preprint www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... colleagues & I document exceptionally rapid genomic introgression in a lake population of stickleback.
September 1, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
jamescdownie.bsky.social
Trump says the DC occupation is about crime. Some pundits say the fed presence isn't noticeable, and life hasn't really changed.

I was born in DC, I've lived almost my whole life here, and I can tell you: all those claims are crap.

My latest for @msnbc.com www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Life under Trump’s D.C. takeover is not what you think
Pretty much anyone living in D.C. can see every day that the White House’s justification is a lie.
www.msnbc.com
August 31, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
perrybaconjr.bsky.social
Great @meredithshiner.com piece. newrepublic.com/article/1996...
August 28, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Alec Downie
ms.now
OPINION by @jamescdownie.bsky.social

"Whether it’s polls or jobs numbers, though, if Trump doesn’t like the numbers, he tries to change the rules."

READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | Trump’s Indiana redistricting push shows his fear of midterm voters
The president and his allies say he's very popular. Their actions suggest otherwise.
www.msnbc.com
August 27, 2025 at 7:31 PM