Andrew Roger
@andrewjroger.bsky.social
deep-time evolution, phylogenetics, anaerobic protists, the tree of Life. Science depends on vigorous respectful debate and evidence-based reasoning. This is my personal page and what I post here has nothing to do with my employer.
Here we go! Another new paper on the sponges vs. ctenophores dispute!!!! Buy your storm chips or popcorn now! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree
Determining whether sponges or ctenophores root the animal tree has important implications for understanding early animal evolution. Here, we examined support for these competing hypotheses by constru...
www.science.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Here we go! Another new paper on the sponges vs. ctenophores dispute!!!! Buy your storm chips or popcorn now! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposting the finding of a Heimdallarchaeon with internal membrane vesicles. Those of us who thought this was a likely possibility -- and there were many of us -- can now safely ignore the dogmatic claims that "Asgards don't have endomembrane systems" that were made based on very limited data.
Was a wild journey also with @magdalechowska.bsky.social @joeparham19.bsky.social @iainrichard.bsky.social @emaguilarpine.bsky.social @archaeal.bsky.social Heimdallarchaeia are beautiful!
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 26, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposting the finding of a Heimdallarchaeon with internal membrane vesicles. Those of us who thought this was a likely possibility -- and there were many of us -- can now safely ignore the dogmatic claims that "Asgards don't have endomembrane systems" that were made based on very limited data.
Whaaatttt?
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
November 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Whaaatttt?
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Is it a flagellate? A tiny ball with tentacles? Contamination in my ciliate culture? NEW SUPERGROUP OF EUKARYOTES? Yes to all 4! Meet Solarion - just out in #Nature doi.org/10.1038/s415... Huge congrats to Marek Valt, Cepicka Lab & the star team! Very happy to be part of this project. #ProtistsOnSky
November 19, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Is it a flagellate? A tiny ball with tentacles? Contamination in my ciliate culture? NEW SUPERGROUP OF EUKARYOTES? Yes to all 4! Meet Solarion - just out in #Nature doi.org/10.1038/s415... Huge congrats to Marek Valt, Cepicka Lab & the star team! Very happy to be part of this project. #ProtistsOnSky
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Come join the Workshop on Phylogenomics in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia, from January 25 through February 7, 2026!
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Apply: Workshop on Phylogenomics 2026 - Evolution and Genomics
Application for the 2026 Workshop on Phylogenomics Use this form to apply for the 2026 Workshop on Phylogenomics being held in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia from 25th January through 7th February, ...
evomics.org
October 29, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Come join the Workshop on Phylogenomics in Cesky Krumlov, Czechia, from January 25 through February 7, 2026!
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Applications close November 15!
#phylogenetics #evolution #genomics #ai
evomics.org/apply-worksh...
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
Three more summaries added below!
We'll return when more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
Three more summaries added below!
We'll return when more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
November 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
Three more summaries added below!
We'll return when more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
Three more summaries added below!
We'll return when more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
Reposted by Andrew Roger
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
November 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
Reposted by Andrew Roger
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 AM
An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Andrew Roger
#APSPM2026 is open to anyone curious about combining protein structure and evolution. Learn where to start in our workshops and discover how structure meets phylogenetics.
Feb 15 - 18, 2026
Brisbane, Australia
Register here: biosig.lab.uq.edu.au/strphy26/reg...
(in-person only)
Feb 15 - 18, 2026
Brisbane, Australia
Register here: biosig.lab.uq.edu.au/strphy26/reg...
(in-person only)
October 30, 2025 at 12:55 AM
#APSPM2026 is open to anyone curious about combining protein structure and evolution. Learn where to start in our workshops and discover how structure meets phylogenetics.
Feb 15 - 18, 2026
Brisbane, Australia
Register here: biosig.lab.uq.edu.au/strphy26/reg...
(in-person only)
Feb 15 - 18, 2026
Brisbane, Australia
Register here: biosig.lab.uq.edu.au/strphy26/reg...
(in-person only)
We just received an email from the Provost about a potential CUPE strike that mentioned: "our academic community is still navigating the impacts of the recent DFA labour disruption." I'm confused, wasn't it the Dalhousie Board that locked us out?
@dalfaculty.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social
@dalfaculty.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social
October 20, 2025 at 11:57 AM
We just received an email from the Provost about a potential CUPE strike that mentioned: "our academic community is still navigating the impacts of the recent DFA labour disruption." I'm confused, wasn't it the Dalhousie Board that locked us out?
@dalfaculty.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social
@dalfaculty.bsky.social @dalhousieu.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Roger
New week, new tool: Find our Protein Domain Designer tool to generate publication-ready protein domain diagrams here: domaindesigner.farnunglab.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:01 PM
New week, new tool: Find our Protein Domain Designer tool to generate publication-ready protein domain diagrams here: domaindesigner.farnunglab.com
Reposted by Andrew Roger
I am extremely happy to see that our review on fossil tip-dating is out in early view in Systematic Biology! A huge thanks to all the authors of this massive project (@heckeberg.bsky.social, @basantakhakurel.bsky.social, Gustavo Darlim, and @hoehna.bsky.social)! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
September 25, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I am extremely happy to see that our review on fossil tip-dating is out in early view in Systematic Biology! A huge thanks to all the authors of this massive project (@heckeberg.bsky.social, @basantakhakurel.bsky.social, Gustavo Darlim, and @hoehna.bsky.social)! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Massive investment in science in the upcoming Canadian budget would send a strong message that rationality and reason should lead the world, not charlatanism. People will return to science-based policies and health measures, and countries that have not given up will have a strong economic lead!
“Antiscience has gone beyond U.S. borders to Europe, Australia, and Africa. Defeating it will require unprecedented commitment and international cooperation, not only between scientific organizations, but also their host governments.”
🧪 #Disinformation #AntiScience
time.com/7317436/scie...
🧪 #Disinformation #AntiScience
time.com/7317436/scie...
Antiscience Is an Existential Threat
The ideologically-motivated assault on science threatens us all.
time.com
September 18, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Massive investment in science in the upcoming Canadian budget would send a strong message that rationality and reason should lead the world, not charlatanism. People will return to science-based policies and health measures, and countries that have not given up will have a strong economic lead!
This is really interesting work!!
Douglas et al. challenge common amino acid substitution models that assume a constant coding alphabet over time. Their analyses indicate that ancient proteins dating from before the last universal common ancestor support a two-alphabet hypothesis.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf197
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf197
#evobio #molbio
Reduced Amino Acid Substitution Matrices Find Traces of Ancient Coding Alphabets in Modern Day Proteins
Abstract. All known living systems make proteins from the same 20 canonically coded amino acids, but this was not always the case. Early genetic coding sys
doi.org
September 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
This is really interesting work!!
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Sounds familiar. Is this the same playbook used by the Dal BoG in the current labour dispute with @dalfaculty.bsky.social Dalhousie faculty members? What's the role of the NS govt? @keepdalstrong.bsky.social
“Why are they spending so much money to make the school beautiful...but not offering the very core, the purpose of what a community college is for?”
Great article breaking down the manufactured crisis in the Ontario college system:
www.thegrindmag.ca/the-manufact...
Great article breaking down the manufactured crisis in the Ontario college system:
www.thegrindmag.ca/the-manufact...
The Manufactured Crisis in Ontario Colleges
Are college finances really so bad that huge cuts are needed, or is Doug Ford up to something else? Ben McCarthy, a college contract faculty worker and OPSEU member, breaks it down.
www.thegrindmag.ca
September 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Sounds familiar. Is this the same playbook used by the Dal BoG in the current labour dispute with @dalfaculty.bsky.social Dalhousie faculty members? What's the role of the NS govt? @keepdalstrong.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrew Roger
I've written a short follow up to this post, addressing the possibility that Dalhousie is, in fact, hiding money from operations in the capital budget. I hope someone shows me I'm wrong.
September 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I've written a short follow up to this post, addressing the possibility that Dalhousie is, in fact, hiding money from operations in the capital budget. I hope someone shows me I'm wrong.
A very interesting post discussing: "Is Dalhousie diverting investment income to capital spending?" @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalfaculty.bsky.social
mchugh-russell.ca/2025/09/15/i...
mchugh-russell.ca/2025/09/15/i...
Is Dalhousie diverting investment income to capital spending? | Liam Mchugh-Russell
mchugh-russell.ca
September 15, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A very interesting post discussing: "Is Dalhousie diverting investment income to capital spending?" @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalfaculty.bsky.social
mchugh-russell.ca/2025/09/15/i...
mchugh-russell.ca/2025/09/15/i...
Here is a detailed and truthful account of what is going on with the Dalhousie labour dispute. @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalfaculty.bsky.social #keepdalstrong www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/...
From the Dalhousie community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Dalhousie community
www.reddit.com
September 12, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Here is a detailed and truthful account of what is going on with the Dalhousie labour dispute. @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalfaculty.bsky.social #keepdalstrong www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/...
Reposted by Andrew Roger
"Here we are, with a legally-trained President once again electing to violate the duty to bargain in good faith as a tactic". Every member of the @dalfaculty.bsky.social wants to work. Stop this nonsense @dalhousie.bsky.social & bargain in good faith! #KeepDalStrong www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/...
September 12, 2025 at 10:41 AM
"Here we are, with a legally-trained President once again electing to violate the duty to bargain in good faith as a tactic". Every member of the @dalfaculty.bsky.social wants to work. Stop this nonsense @dalhousie.bsky.social & bargain in good faith! #KeepDalStrong www.reddit.com/r/Dalhousie/...
I teach phylogenetics in my BIOC 4010/5010 "Bioinformatics" course to students in the basic biomedical sciences. For those who wonder about the relevance of these 'evolutionary' techniques to medical research, this excellent seminar showcases their application in public health settings.
Arianna Miles-Jay (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) will be speaking in 24 hours on "Applying phylogenetics in public health: Past, present, and potential for the future." Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMqj...
Phyloseminar #150: Arianna Miles-Jay (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services)
Applying phylogenetics in public health: Past, present, and potential for the futureWith the rapid growth of pathogen genomics in public health comes the inc...
www.youtube.com
September 10, 2025 at 6:21 PM
I teach phylogenetics in my BIOC 4010/5010 "Bioinformatics" course to students in the basic biomedical sciences. For those who wonder about the relevance of these 'evolutionary' techniques to medical research, this excellent seminar showcases their application in public health settings.
Reposted by Andrew Roger
I’m hopeful this will finally be resolved, but am increasingly frustrated by the lose-lose position faculty are in.
In addition to the institutional damage, which impacts us all, every week delay means we’ll have to work twice as hard to cover the required material in fall term.
#KeepDalStrong
In addition to the institutional damage, which impacts us all, every week delay means we’ll have to work twice as hard to cover the required material in fall term.
#KeepDalStrong
The Dal Board of Governors and the DFA has issued a joint statement:
“The Dahousie Board of Governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) met this morning to resume discussions. As of 11:00 pm, the Conciliator has directed the parties to return to the table at 1 pm Tuesday September 9.”
“The Dahousie Board of Governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association (DFA) met this morning to resume discussions. As of 11:00 pm, the Conciliator has directed the parties to return to the table at 1 pm Tuesday September 9.”
September 9, 2025 at 11:50 AM
I’m hopeful this will finally be resolved, but am increasingly frustrated by the lose-lose position faculty are in.
In addition to the institutional damage, which impacts us all, every week delay means we’ll have to work twice as hard to cover the required material in fall term.
#KeepDalStrong
In addition to the institutional damage, which impacts us all, every week delay means we’ll have to work twice as hard to cover the required material in fall term.
#KeepDalStrong
Reposted by Andrew Roger
With several grant deadlines coming up in the next few days, @dalfaculty.bsky.social researchers remain locked out by @dalhousieu.bsky.social and won’t be able to submit. #keepdalstrong
September 10, 2025 at 12:55 PM
With several grant deadlines coming up in the next few days, @dalfaculty.bsky.social researchers remain locked out by @dalhousieu.bsky.social and won’t be able to submit. #keepdalstrong
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Another day of #DalLockout2025 means another day of research lost. @dalfaculty.bsky.social members want to get back to work asap. @noreenkamal.bsky.social shares the impacts of the lockout on her research program and long term consequences that @dalhousieu.bsky.social faces #keepdalstrong
September 10, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Another day of #DalLockout2025 means another day of research lost. @dalfaculty.bsky.social members want to get back to work asap. @noreenkamal.bsky.social shares the impacts of the lockout on her research program and long term consequences that @dalhousieu.bsky.social faces #keepdalstrong
Reposted by Andrew Roger
Global segment focusing on the impact of the @dalhousieu.bsky.social lockout on nursing. #keepdalstrong
September 10, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Global segment focusing on the impact of the @dalhousieu.bsky.social lockout on nursing. #keepdalstrong
Reposted by Andrew Roger
It’s disappointing that some of these so called leaders are in the health care industry. Yet their failure to negotiate & faculty lockout has crippled our ability to advance biomedical research & educating health care professionals. They are causing lasting damage to @dalhousie.bsky.social
DFA is new to LinkedIn. Connect with us and read the article related to this image. Hint: Its about how a reputation that took 200 years to build has been destroyed in just 3 weeks. @KeepDalStrong
September 7, 2025 at 11:40 AM
It’s disappointing that some of these so called leaders are in the health care industry. Yet their failure to negotiate & faculty lockout has crippled our ability to advance biomedical research & educating health care professionals. They are causing lasting damage to @dalhousie.bsky.social