Aide Macias-Muñoz
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aidemm.bsky.social
Aide Macias-Muñoz
@aidemm.bsky.social
Evolutionary Biologist at UCSC | Assistant professor | Interested in genes, genomes, and #evolution of complex traits 🧬 | EvoDevo Regeneration


https://macias.sites.ucsc.edu/

📸 IG: @cnidolab_ucsc
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Ward et al. characterized duplications in the SERPINA gene subfamily, finding evidence of diversifying selection on rodent genes, with experimental evidence suggesting an adaptive role in snake venom inhibition.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf290

#evobio #molbio #venome #adaptation
Tandem Duplication of Serpin Genes Yields Functional Variation and Snake Venom Inhibitors
Abstract. Tandem duplication of genes can play a critical role in the evolution of functional novelty, yet our understanding is limited concerning the role
doi.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Are you a postdoc or assistant professor on the job market? Reminder that our department is hiring! We are a scientifically diverse department looking for a colleague that is excited about science, teaching, and potential collaborations! Please apply by 12/5/25!
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Our Degree-Defining Experiences program at @ucscscience.bsky.social is now a year old, and the results have been transformational! As Zimin Cohen puts it: “This is the kind of science I want to do.”

Read more: news.ucsc.edu/2025/11/degr...
Are you experienced? Students from first year of immersive-learning initiative share stories of profound impact
From aquatic adventures and mountaintop stargazing to lab work aimed at saving lives, students describe how the Degree-Defining Experiences Program fosters unforgettable moments and deepens meaning
news.ucsc.edu
November 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
SAVE THE DATE! Stoked to organize the 2026 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social, @lowelab.bsky.social, and Shelbi Russell. Come learn about Biomedicine, Biomechanics, and the Biosphere, August 24-28, 2026. Registration dates, etc., coming soon! Please RT
November 19, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
COME ON...between the cost of living and these tuition hikes, public higher education in California is increasingly out of reach for Californians. The state needs to prioritize support like it used to when a UC education was affordable and accessible.
Students from nine UC campuses plan to rally this week against a regents vote on tuition hikes, arguing possible increases make education more inaccessible. UC officials say changes will shield against inflation & make costs more predictable over time:

www.latimes.com/california/s...
Students oppose UC tuition hikes. Leaders say campuses need money in the Trump era
The University of California board of regents will vote on whether to increase overall tuition and renew program that keeps tuition costs the each for each new enrolling class. Student leaders strongl...
www.latimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Wisconsin Evolution is accepting applications for our Seminar Series' Early Career Scientist Award. Come share your evolution research and visit UW-Madison's evolution community. Open to grad students and postdocs (<5 yrs post PhD) from outside UW-Madison.

Apply by Dec 15th here: shorturl.at/4a4O6
Early Career Scientist Awards 2026
Application to the UW-Madison Evolution Seminar Series - Early Career Scientist Awards.
urldefense.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Drawing together findings from several projects over many years, we make a case that neural cell types in the Clytia larva have two embryological origins: i-cells and ectodermal.
bioRxiv 2025.11.17.688882; doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
November 19, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Chicago has had one 9/11 worth of people disappeared since the attacks began in September. Los Angeles has had two 9/11s since June.
November 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Thank you to the incredible team of people--many of them former PPFP fellows--that REFUSED to take no for an answer and brought back a program that strengthens us all.
November 18, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
WE JUST KEEP WINNING. (UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program RESTORED!!!!)
November 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Announcing the Inaugural Fluorescence Advanced Imaging Research Workshop
sites.uci.edu/aimlfdworksh... A joint effort between UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, bringing together the cutting edge talks of AIM and the intensive hands-on experience of the LFD Workshop. #microscopy #fluorescence
LFD/AIM Workshop 2026
sites.uci.edu
November 18, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Our paper on the role of neurons in Nematostella head regeneration is now out at @currentbiology.bsky.social Big thank you to all collaborators, it was a pleasure!

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone
Via genetic ablation of neurons, Mazloumi Gavgani et al. show that the nervous system is essential for defining axial polarity during whole-body regeneration in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.
www.cell.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Instead, we usually just keep paying them but reduce their teaching and service load to zero 🤷🏼‍♀️🙃
Faculty discipline committees should really normalize de-tenuring/dismissal investigations for the sort of behavior described in the Summers case
A senior academic using mentoring as leverage to obtain sex is a contemptible abuser of power.
November 18, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbioti...
link.springer.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Thrilled to finally share the magnum opus of my PhD that focuses on the genetic basis of evolutionary change! Specifically, we know we can map the genetic basis of a trait, but can we tell which genes will underlie the trait shift when it evolves? doi.org/10.1101/2025...
High-resolution mapping of a rapidly evolving complex trait reveals genotype-phenotype stability and an unpredictable genetic architecture of adaptation
The extent to which adaptation can be predicted, particularly for traits with complex genetic bases, is unknown. Here, we leveraged a model complex trait, model species, and high-powered longitudinal ...
doi.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.

Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 16, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣

"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu
November 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Come be my colleague at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. We're hiring an assistant professor in Ocean Biogeochemical Modeling. 🌊
Career Opportunities at the University of Hawai'i | University of Hawai'i
www.schooljobs.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Hydra (Hydra vulgaris) ✨Small but mighty! Hydra can regenerate its entire body, even its head 🧠 A classic model for regeneration, stem cell dynamics, and body axis patterning 📸 Image by Daniel Bressan de Andrade #ModelMonday #DevBio #Regeneration
November 11, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Building a strong neuroscience community means actively supporting emerging researchers.

Tonight’s Early Career Poster Session offers the perfect opportunity to connect, encourage, & invest in the scientists who will carry the field forward.

Drop by! 🔗 sfn.org/ecps

#neurosky #SfN25
November 15, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Please reshare! My department at the University of Vermont is hiring for an Assistant Professor of #Soil #Ecology! Here is the link: www.uvmjobs.com/postings/83858
Assistant Professor of Soil Ecology
Officers of Instruction - Tenure Track
www.uvmjobs.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
Happy to share Jialin's first publication. She did a great job exploring the transition to land in animals. Co-supervised by the great Jordi Paps and me and in collaboration with Davide Pisani and @phil-donoghue.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Aide Macias-Muñoz
This is an INCREDIBLE advance in our understanding of coral diversification. 🪸🎉 Fantastic new work led by @claudiavaga.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A global coral phylogeny reveals resilience and vulnerability through deep time - Nature
The most recent common ancestor of the stony coral Scleractinia dates to about 460 million years ago and was probably a solitary, heterotrophic and free-living organism.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM