Christopher Wheat
@chriswheat.bsky.social
Ecological & Evolutionary Functional Genomics, mostly butterflies. Biology Professor, Stockholm University.
“His concealed weapon is found only after he is restrained on the sidewalk, the videos show, and taken from him before the agents opened fire.” Live Updates: Federal Agents Shoot and Kill a Person in Minneapolis, Officials Say www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Minneapolis Live Updates: Videos Appear to Contradict Federal Account of Killing
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 10:59 PM
“His concealed weapon is found only after he is restrained on the sidewalk, the videos show, and taken from him before the agents opened fire.” Live Updates: Federal Agents Shoot and Kill a Person in Minneapolis, Officials Say www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Morning lecture by Maliheh Mehrshad (@mehrshmali.bsky.social) on metagenomics and metatranscriptomics! 🧪🧬🦠 #evomics2026
January 24, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Morning lecture by Maliheh Mehrshad (@mehrshmali.bsky.social) on metagenomics and metatranscriptomics! 🧪🧬🦠 #evomics2026
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
We ended the day on Wednesday with a computer lab session on gene expression analyses with Rachel Steward 💻📊 #evomics2026
January 24, 2026 at 10:09 AM
We ended the day on Wednesday with a computer lab session on gene expression analyses with Rachel Steward 💻📊 #evomics2026
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Rosa Fernández (@rosafernandez.bsky.social) introducing the field of Phylogenomics to our participants 🙌🏽🧬🌳💻 #evomics2026
January 24, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Rosa Fernández (@rosafernandez.bsky.social) introducing the field of Phylogenomics to our participants 🙌🏽🧬🌳💻 #evomics2026
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Our closing lecture given by Nathan Clark, on Evolutionary Adaptation and Comparative Genomics 🌳🧬🙌🏽 #evomics2026
January 24, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Our closing lecture given by Nathan Clark, on Evolutionary Adaptation and Comparative Genomics 🌳🧬🙌🏽 #evomics2026
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
The 2026 Workshop on Genomics comes to an end! It has been two intense and inspiring weeks of Genomics in Český Krumlov. We hope everyone is going back home with a renewed excitement for science and new friends and collaborations around the world! 🙆🏻♀️🧬 #evomics2026
January 24, 2026 at 10:25 AM
The 2026 Workshop on Genomics comes to an end! It has been two intense and inspiring weeks of Genomics in Český Krumlov. We hope everyone is going back home with a renewed excitement for science and new friends and collaborations around the world! 🙆🏻♀️🧬 #evomics2026
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
This Saturday morning we have Chris Wheat (@chriswheat.bsky.social) on stage, with Lies, damn lies... and genomics! 📊📉⁉️ Can we trust the results we are generating? Always good to doubt yourself and be aware of your biases and possible errors 🧐
January 17, 2026 at 10:08 AM
This Saturday morning we have Chris Wheat (@chriswheat.bsky.social) on stage, with Lies, damn lies... and genomics! 📊📉⁉️ Can we trust the results we are generating? Always good to doubt yourself and be aware of your biases and possible errors 🧐
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
📢 I would be happy to host a 2-year DDLS Postdoc at my group using museum genomics to look at recent adaptation in insect pollinators 📉🐝🦋🧬
If you are interested in this (or have other project ideas) get in touch ASAP!
The application deadline is March 31.
INFO 👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
If you are interested in this (or have other project ideas) get in touch ASAP!
The application deadline is March 31.
INFO 👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
January 15, 2026 at 1:55 PM
📢 I would be happy to host a 2-year DDLS Postdoc at my group using museum genomics to look at recent adaptation in insect pollinators 📉🐝🦋🧬
If you are interested in this (or have other project ideas) get in touch ASAP!
The application deadline is March 31.
INFO 👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
If you are interested in this (or have other project ideas) get in touch ASAP!
The application deadline is March 31.
INFO 👉 www.scilifelab.se/data-driven/...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Last spring, I was asked to give carreer advice to grad students. And the one thing I told them was: our best skill is our ability to learn difficult things -- it's also the first skill you will lose unless you intentionally don't let yourselves go.
January 8, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Last spring, I was asked to give carreer advice to grad students. And the one thing I told them was: our best skill is our ability to learn difficult things -- it's also the first skill you will lose unless you intentionally don't let yourselves go.
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Steadily removing all writing assignments from my courses to avoid confronting AI-generated horseshit. This is the inevitable result of the embrace of AI by higher education. We will produce a generation of students that can't write or think for themselves.
January 8, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Steadily removing all writing assignments from my courses to avoid confronting AI-generated horseshit. This is the inevitable result of the embrace of AI by higher education. We will produce a generation of students that can't write or think for themselves.
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Lots of talk/mandates for open data but there should be more done by funders about the fragility of repositories - SRA, GISAID, flybase, etc.
As noted at our NA/RS data summit, everyone loves the glittering fountain the but no-one wants to pay for the plumbing...
www.science.org/content/arti...
As noted at our NA/RS data summit, everyone loves the glittering fountain the but no-one wants to pay for the plumbing...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Fresh conflicts erupt around giant database for flu and COVID-19 sequences
Critics say “autocratic” behavior by GISAID could hamper response to a future pandemic
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Lots of talk/mandates for open data but there should be more done by funders about the fragility of repositories - SRA, GISAID, flybase, etc.
As noted at our NA/RS data summit, everyone loves the glittering fountain the but no-one wants to pay for the plumbing...
www.science.org/content/arti...
As noted at our NA/RS data summit, everyone loves the glittering fountain the but no-one wants to pay for the plumbing...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
"Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them."
(Published Oct. 2025)
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them."
(Published Oct. 2025)
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM
"Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them."
(Published Oct. 2025)
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them."
(Published Oct. 2025)
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
What a breakthrough! Such a puzzle for 30 years, this is real progress!
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers
The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...
www.biorxiv.org
January 7, 2026 at 7:46 PM
What a breakthrough! Such a puzzle for 30 years, this is real progress!
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
In a new GBE Review, @david-peede.bsky.social et al. overview the SMC model and extensions, discuss examples of discoveries made with the help of SMC-based inference, and comment on the assumptions, benefits, and drawbacks of various methods.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#genome #evolution #compbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#genome #evolution #compbio
Not Just Ne Ne-More: New Applications for SMC from Ecology to Phylogenies
Abstract. Genomes contain the mutational footprint of an organism’s evolutionary history, shaped by diverse forces including ecological factors, selective
doi.org
January 8, 2026 at 8:02 AM
In a new GBE Review, @david-peede.bsky.social et al. overview the SMC model and extensions, discuss examples of discoveries made with the help of SMC-based inference, and comment on the assumptions, benefits, and drawbacks of various methods.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#genome #evolution #compbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...
#genome #evolution #compbio
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
💥 Are you interested in integrating multi-omics data using machine learning?
👉 Then have a look at our online course with @oskolkov.bsky.social
📅 2–4 February
⚠️ Almost full!
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
#MultiOmics #MachineLearning
👉 Then have a look at our online course with @oskolkov.bsky.social
📅 2–4 February
⚠️ Almost full!
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
#MultiOmics #MachineLearning
Machine Learning for Multi-Omics Integration
2-4 February 2026 To foster international participation, this course will be held online
www.physalia-courses.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:46 AM
💥 Are you interested in integrating multi-omics data using machine learning?
👉 Then have a look at our online course with @oskolkov.bsky.social
📅 2–4 February
⚠️ Almost full!
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
#MultiOmics #MachineLearning
👉 Then have a look at our online course with @oskolkov.bsky.social
📅 2–4 February
⚠️ Almost full!
www.physalia-courses.org/courses-work...
#MultiOmics #MachineLearning
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Final version of paper with @smishra677.bsky.social now published in a wonderful issue of GENETICS!
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
January 8, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Final version of paper with @smishra677.bsky.social now published in a wonderful issue of GENETICS!
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
academic.oup.com/genetics/art...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Is lifespan shaped by genetic conflict between the sexes? In wild marmots, longevity is heritable but negatively genetically correlated between males and females, implying selection for longer life in one sex favors shorter life in the other. Image Credit: Wikimedia
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
January 6, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Is lifespan shaped by genetic conflict between the sexes? In wild marmots, longevity is heritable but negatively genetically correlated between males and females, implying selection for longer life in one sex favors shorter life in the other. Image Credit: Wikimedia
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
academic.oup.com/evlett/advan...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Papers submitted on Tuesdays are more likely to be accepted by Nature whereas Wednesdays seem the most likely day to submit and secure acceptance to PLOS ONE. For Cell, Mondays and Tuesdays seem the best submission days in case of accepted papers.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
January 6, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Papers submitted on Tuesdays are more likely to be accepted by Nature whereas Wednesdays seem the most likely day to submit and secure acceptance to PLOS ONE. For Cell, Mondays and Tuesdays seem the best submission days in case of accepted papers.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
'Microchimerism also calls into question a central tenet of immunology: that the immune system works by classifying cells in a binary fashion, as ‘self’ or ‘non-self’. Under this simplistic model, microchimeric cells should trigger an immune response and be rejected by the body — but they do not'
Some of your cells are not genetically yours — what can they tell us about life and death?
A tiny population of cells that are passed across the placenta between mother and baby challenge basic tenets of human immunology.
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:42 AM
'Microchimerism also calls into question a central tenet of immunology: that the immune system works by classifying cells in a binary fashion, as ‘self’ or ‘non-self’. Under this simplistic model, microchimeric cells should trigger an immune response and be rejected by the body — but they do not'
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
How well does TWAS estimate a gene’s direction of effect on a trait? We think of this as an important stress-test for the accuracy of TWAS.
In a new pre-print, we find that TWAS gets the sign wrong around 20-30% of the time!
doi.org/10.64898/202...
1/n
In a new pre-print, we find that TWAS gets the sign wrong around 20-30% of the time!
doi.org/10.64898/202...
1/n
High false sign rates in transcriptome-wide association studies
Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) are widely used to identify genes involved in complex traits and to infer the direction of gene effects on traits. However, despite their popularity, it r...
doi.org
January 6, 2026 at 2:30 AM
How well does TWAS estimate a gene’s direction of effect on a trait? We think of this as an important stress-test for the accuracy of TWAS.
In a new pre-print, we find that TWAS gets the sign wrong around 20-30% of the time!
doi.org/10.64898/202...
1/n
In a new pre-print, we find that TWAS gets the sign wrong around 20-30% of the time!
doi.org/10.64898/202...
1/n
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
New PhD position: Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️
The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations.
DEADLINE: January 11, 2025
More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/
The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations.
DEADLINE: January 11, 2025
More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/
Join us
Opportunities Below are the positions currently open in our lab. Fully-funded PhD position The project aims to understand rapid evolution and adaptation in white butterflies flying at high elevatio…
pavelmatos.wordpress.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:44 PM
New PhD position: Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️
The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations.
DEADLINE: January 11, 2025
More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/
The project aims to understand the rapid evolution and adaptation of white butterflies at high elevations.
DEADLINE: January 11, 2025
More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
A Database of Academia-Friendly JourNals in Ecology and Evolution (DAFNEE), dafnee.isem-evolution.fr
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... | @jevbio.bsky.social
🧪🌍 📚 👀 #ecoevo #PlantScience #AcademicSky
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... | @jevbio.bsky.social
🧪🌍 📚 👀 #ecoevo #PlantScience #AcademicSky
DAFNEE, a Database of Academia Friendly jourNals in Ecology and Evolution
dafnee.isem-evolution.fr
January 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
A Database of Academia-Friendly JourNals in Ecology and Evolution (DAFNEE), dafnee.isem-evolution.fr
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... | @jevbio.bsky.social
🧪🌍 📚 👀 #ecoevo #PlantScience #AcademicSky
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... | @jevbio.bsky.social
🧪🌍 📚 👀 #ecoevo #PlantScience #AcademicSky
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Repeat after me: GENE 👏 EXPRESSION 👏 PROFILING 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 VIRTUAL 👏 CELL 👏 MAKE 👏
December 26, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Repeat after me: GENE 👏 EXPRESSION 👏 PROFILING 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 VIRTUAL 👏 CELL 👏 MAKE 👏
Reposted by Christopher Wheat
Excited about our new preprint showing bidirectional adaptive introgression between invasive and native crop pests over ecological timescales www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The collision of two genomes threatens global food security
Human activity alters selection pressures and species' ranges, creating opportunities for hybridisation through secondary contact. Ancient hybridization has enabled adaptive radiation, but its role in...
www.biorxiv.org
December 26, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Excited about our new preprint showing bidirectional adaptive introgression between invasive and native crop pests over ecological timescales www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...