Emily Lau, PhD
@emilylau.bsky.social
Postdoc @ UChicago studying the molecular evolution of bioluminescence in the Thornton Lab. Fan of convergent evolution, cats, the em dash, and Avenir.
Pinned
Emily Lau, PhD
@emilylau.bsky.social
· Nov 13
After a hiatus, I’m jumping back into Bluesky! Updates: I defended my PhD @ UCSB with @ostratodd.bsky.social in the spring and am now a postdoc @ UChicago continuing to study the convergent evolution of bioluminescence (and am now diving deeper into the molecular mechanisms)!
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
@emilylau.bsky.social @ostratodd.bsky.social et al. show that bioluminescent luciferases in brittle stars and octocorals evolved in parallel from haloalkane dehalogenases, highlighting how gene function and genomic availability shape convergent evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolbio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolbio #molbio
Functional Characterization of Luciferase in a Brittle Star Indicates Parallel Evolution Influenced by Genomic Availability of Haloalkane Dehalogenase
Abstract. Determining why convergent traits use distinct versus shared genetic components is crucial for understanding how evolutionary processes generate
doi.org
May 9, 2025 at 10:10 AM
@emilylau.bsky.social @ostratodd.bsky.social et al. show that bioluminescent luciferases in brittle stars and octocorals evolved in parallel from haloalkane dehalogenases, highlighting how gene function and genomic availability shape convergent evolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolbio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...
#evolbio #molbio
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Run, don't walk, to see this AMAZING video about the bioluminescent ostracods! As said at the end, "I want people to know about them"
A #Crustmas feature related to work of @ostratodd.bsky.social @nikohensley.bsky.social @emilylau.bsky.social @lisayetermesrop.bsky.social @emily-ellis.bsky.social 🧪🦑
A #Crustmas feature related to work of @ostratodd.bsky.social @nikohensley.bsky.social @emilylau.bsky.social @lisayetermesrop.bsky.social @emily-ellis.bsky.social 🧪🦑
December 11, 2024 at 10:08 PM
Run, don't walk, to see this AMAZING video about the bioluminescent ostracods! As said at the end, "I want people to know about them"
A #Crustmas feature related to work of @ostratodd.bsky.social @nikohensley.bsky.social @emilylau.bsky.social @lisayetermesrop.bsky.social @emily-ellis.bsky.social 🧪🦑
A #Crustmas feature related to work of @ostratodd.bsky.social @nikohensley.bsky.social @emilylau.bsky.social @lisayetermesrop.bsky.social @emily-ellis.bsky.social 🧪🦑
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
A video we made at @mbarinews.bsky.social explaining some functions of #fluorescence in the ocean, and how #bioluminescence is different… but related.
🦑🧪🌊
m.youtube.com/watch?v=whbe...
🦑🧪🌊
m.youtube.com/watch?v=whbe...
The allure of fluorescence in the ocean
YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)
m.youtube.com
December 2, 2024 at 3:07 PM
A video we made at @mbarinews.bsky.social explaining some functions of #fluorescence in the ocean, and how #bioluminescence is different… but related.
🦑🧪🌊
m.youtube.com/watch?v=whbe...
🦑🧪🌊
m.youtube.com/watch?v=whbe...
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
With the help of @ostratodd.bsky.social and @emilylau.bsky.social we have put together a Bioluminescence (etc) starter pack.
Please let us know if you would like to be added, especially as more people migrate here.
go.bsky.app/9wFuWB9
Please let us know if you would like to be added, especially as more people migrate here.
go.bsky.app/9wFuWB9
November 21, 2024 at 4:22 AM
With the help of @ostratodd.bsky.social and @emilylau.bsky.social we have put together a Bioluminescence (etc) starter pack.
Please let us know if you would like to be added, especially as more people migrate here.
go.bsky.app/9wFuWB9
Please let us know if you would like to be added, especially as more people migrate here.
go.bsky.app/9wFuWB9
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Memories of warmer days. A gallery of fireflies. 🧪🦗
Phenomenal Fireflies - Alex Wild
Fireflies are a family (Lampyridae) of about 2,000 beetle species known for their ability to produce light through chemical reactions.
www.alexanderwild.com
November 15, 2024 at 2:05 PM
Memories of warmer days. A gallery of fireflies. 🧪🦗
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Being a deepsea bioluminescent fish is more than producing light - some have an internal house of mirrors, reflectors, dark rooms and more ...
Nice new paper on lanternfish photophores by Rene Martin and colleagues.
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Nice new paper on lanternfish photophores by Rene Martin and colleagues.
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Variation in lanternfish (Myctophidae) photophore structure: A comprehensive comparative analysis
The deep-sea open ocean habitat (below 200 m depth) is comprised of little-to-no light, near freezing temperatures, and vastly connected stratified waters. Bioluminescence is often linked to the succe...
journals.plos.org
November 18, 2024 at 12:41 AM
Being a deepsea bioluminescent fish is more than producing light - some have an internal house of mirrors, reflectors, dark rooms and more ...
Nice new paper on lanternfish photophores by Rene Martin and colleagues.
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Nice new paper on lanternfish photophores by Rene Martin and colleagues.
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
An amazing sight from my recent Brazil trip: bioluminescent termite mounds in Emas National Park. Tiny larvae of click beetles (Pyrearinus termitilluminans) glow steadily, hoping to attract flying insects (like winged termites & ants), which they then grab with their sharp mandibles. #insects 🐙🌿
November 15, 2024 at 8:38 PM
An amazing sight from my recent Brazil trip: bioluminescent termite mounds in Emas National Park. Tiny larvae of click beetles (Pyrearinus termitilluminans) glow steadily, hoping to attract flying insects (like winged termites & ants), which they then grab with their sharp mandibles. #insects 🐙🌿
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Our latest, by Emily Carlisle, Zongjun Yin, Davide Pisani and myself: Ediacaran origin and Ediacaran-Cambrian diversification of Metazoa www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 15, 2024 at 5:54 PM
Our latest, by Emily Carlisle, Zongjun Yin, Davide Pisani and myself: Ediacaran origin and Ediacaran-Cambrian diversification of Metazoa www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
After a hiatus, I’m jumping back into Bluesky! Updates: I defended my PhD @ UCSB with @ostratodd.bsky.social in the spring and am now a postdoc @ UChicago continuing to study the convergent evolution of bioluminescence (and am now diving deeper into the molecular mechanisms)!
November 13, 2024 at 3:50 AM
After a hiatus, I’m jumping back into Bluesky! Updates: I defended my PhD @ UCSB with @ostratodd.bsky.social in the spring and am now a postdoc @ UChicago continuing to study the convergent evolution of bioluminescence (and am now diving deeper into the molecular mechanisms)!
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
It only took 20+ years, but the "Mystery Mollusc" paper came out this week. It is a swimming nudibranch that gallops in slow motion through the deep water-column. To top it off, it is bioluminescent, and we were able to film its glow with our special low-light camera.🦑🧪
www.mbari.org/news/mbari-r...
www.mbari.org/news/mbari-r...
November 12, 2024 at 7:28 PM
It only took 20+ years, but the "Mystery Mollusc" paper came out this week. It is a swimming nudibranch that gallops in slow motion through the deep water-column. To top it off, it is bioluminescent, and we were able to film its glow with our special low-light camera.🦑🧪
www.mbari.org/news/mbari-r...
www.mbari.org/news/mbari-r...
I will be giving my dissertation seminar next Monday, 4/29 at 12 PM PDT! I'll be sharing some of my work on the convergent evolution of bioluminescence in ostracods and toadfishes. Please reach out if you'd like a zoom link!
April 22, 2024 at 10:03 PM
I will be giving my dissertation seminar next Monday, 4/29 at 12 PM PDT! I'll be sharing some of my work on the convergent evolution of bioluminescence in ostracods and toadfishes. Please reach out if you'd like a zoom link!
Hello #SICB2024 ! Check out our convergent evolution symposium tomorrow (1/5) in Ballroom B. We have an awesome line-up of presentations about evolutionary convergence in diverse study systems and across levels of biological organization
January 5, 2024 at 12:23 AM
Hello #SICB2024 ! Check out our convergent evolution symposium tomorrow (1/5) in Ballroom B. We have an awesome line-up of presentations about evolutionary convergence in diverse study systems and across levels of biological organization
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Today has been a kiln opening day. I now have my own tardigrade tealight holder. It’s thing of wondrous beauty. Thanks @bokarelli.bsky.social
November 20, 2023 at 8:55 PM
Today has been a kiln opening day. I now have my own tardigrade tealight holder. It’s thing of wondrous beauty. Thanks @bokarelli.bsky.social
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Recent PhD interested in deep-sea ecology, genomics, biochemistry, or bioluminescence? Apply for a postdoctoral fellowship at MBARI. Check out the sponsor list & e-mail me to discuss projects in my lab. Grad student position soon too.
www.mbari.org/about/careers/postdoc-fellowships/how-to-apply
www.mbari.org/about/careers/postdoc-fellowships/how-to-apply
September 28, 2023 at 2:20 PM
Recent PhD interested in deep-sea ecology, genomics, biochemistry, or bioluminescence? Apply for a postdoctoral fellowship at MBARI. Check out the sponsor list & e-mail me to discuss projects in my lab. Grad student position soon too.
www.mbari.org/about/careers/postdoc-fellowships/how-to-apply
www.mbari.org/about/careers/postdoc-fellowships/how-to-apply
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
New postdoc position available! Evolution of mutation rates! 🚨🚨🚨
Please apply, but also feel free to get in touch with me--or past and present members of the lab--directly.
(RTs [or whatevs] appreciated)
https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/19856
Please apply, but also feel free to get in touch with me--or past and present members of the lab--directly.
(RTs [or whatevs] appreciated)
https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/19856
August 10, 2023 at 9:16 PM
New postdoc position available! Evolution of mutation rates! 🚨🚨🚨
Please apply, but also feel free to get in touch with me--or past and present members of the lab--directly.
(RTs [or whatevs] appreciated)
https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/19856
Please apply, but also feel free to get in touch with me--or past and present members of the lab--directly.
(RTs [or whatevs] appreciated)
https://indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/19856
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Hello to all the evolutionary biologists that just joined in the past 2-3 weeks!
Connect with your people through the Evolutionary Biology feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...
It tracks posts with #evosky #evolsky #evolution #evobio #phylo #popgen #ecoevo #evodevo #molevol #paleobio #systematics
Connect with your people through the Evolutionary Biology feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...
It tracks posts with #evosky #evolsky #evolution #evobio #phylo #popgen #ecoevo #evodevo #molevol #paleobio #systematics
September 21, 2023 at 1:35 PM
Hello to all the evolutionary biologists that just joined in the past 2-3 weeks!
Connect with your people through the Evolutionary Biology feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...
It tracks posts with #evosky #evolsky #evolution #evobio #phylo #popgen #ecoevo #evodevo #molevol #paleobio #systematics
Connect with your people through the Evolutionary Biology feed: bsky.app/profile/did:...
It tracks posts with #evosky #evolsky #evolution #evobio #phylo #popgen #ecoevo #evodevo #molevol #paleobio #systematics
Reposted by Emily Lau, PhD
Interested in carcinization? 🦀🧪🦑
Check out the new Crab Time feed by liking/pinning here,
bsky.app/profile/did:...
and let me or @lucidillusions.in know if you want to post crabs!
Check out the new Crab Time feed by liking/pinning here,
bsky.app/profile/did:...
and let me or @lucidillusions.in know if you want to post crabs!
Why Do Things Keep Evolving Into Crabs?
Check out our podcast Eons: Mysteries of Deep Time: http://ow.ly/2J4450Iu69UFor some reason, animals keep evolving into things that look like crabs, independ...
youtu.be
September 9, 2023 at 6:15 PM
Interested in carcinization? 🦀🧪🦑
Check out the new Crab Time feed by liking/pinning here,
bsky.app/profile/did:...
and let me or @lucidillusions.in know if you want to post crabs!
Check out the new Crab Time feed by liking/pinning here,
bsky.app/profile/did:...
and let me or @lucidillusions.in know if you want to post crabs!
My first post here!! Hello world, I study the molecular evolution of bioluminescence in ostracods (shown below), other invertebrates, and toadfishes. Follow for cool bioluminescence/evolution posts, stay for the bad puns 😊
September 7, 2023 at 4:38 AM
My first post here!! Hello world, I study the molecular evolution of bioluminescence in ostracods (shown below), other invertebrates, and toadfishes. Follow for cool bioluminescence/evolution posts, stay for the bad puns 😊