Ian Dworkin
LightNews LightNews
banner
idworkin.bsky.social
Ian Dworkin
@idworkin.bsky.social
2.3K followers 410 following 33 posts
Evolutionary biologist in love with morphology, especially size and shape. Drosophila Quantitative/Statistical geneticist. Dabbler in Development. Occasional genomicist.

Thinking about cell size a lot lately.

Lab website: https://dworkinlab.github.io
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
genetics-gsa.bsky.social
New research in #G3journal highlights the distinct roles of individual #insulin-like peptides in regulating growth and development time in response to changes in dietary macronutrients in #Drosophila. buff.ly/J6SO9BQ
January 17, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
friedmanlab.bsky.social
Congratulations to UMMP Associate Research Scientist Miriam Zelditch on the release of the third edition of the indispensable "Geometric Morphometrics for Biologists" (a.k.a. the green book)! #FossilFriday
December 6, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Evolutionary Divergence of mTOR-mediated Transcriptional Regulation Between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans is Modulated by Sex and Tissue https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.699128v1
January 13, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
gregpriest.bsky.social
OTD 1908 Willhelm Weinberg gave a talk to the Society for the Natural History of the Fatherland in Württemberg giving the population genetics equations GH Hardy would independently publish 5 months later. It was 35 years before his work was recognized in the Anglophone world.

🐋🌱🥢🧪 #EvoBio #HistSTM
Photo of Weinberg. Photographer unknown.
January 13, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Behavior evolves as a correlated response to selection on cuticle color in Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.13.699118v1
January 14, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Nucleotide diversity is a poor predictor of short-term adaptive potential https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.05.697705v1
January 5, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
evodevo-papers.bsky.social
Morphomechanics and Developmental Constraints in the Evolution of Ammonites Shell Form https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27921363/ #EvoDevo
January 2, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
bruceslieberman.bsky.social
Here is our introductory paper to the Paleobiology special volume @paleosoc.bsky.social celebrating the 50th anniversary of #punctuatedequilibria #macroevolution #paleobiology #palaeontology #paleontology @nilese.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Punctuated equilibria at 50: half a century of stasis, cladogenesis, and macroevolutionary insights | Paleobiology | Cambridge Core
Punctuated equilibria at 50: half a century of stasis, cladogenesis, and macroevolutionary insights - Volume 51 Issue 4
www.cambridge.org
January 2, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Fast phylogenetic generalised linear mixed-effects modelling using the glmmTMB R package https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.20.695312v1
December 23, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
aaronquinlan.bsky.social
We are thrilled to announce the first official release (v0.1.8) of #𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿, the successor to one of our flagship tool, #𝗯𝗲𝗱𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀! Based on ideas we conceived of long ago (!), this was achieved thanks to the dedication of Brent Pedersen.

1/n
Intro to Bedder – The Quinlan Lab
quinlanlab.org
December 2, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
sse-evolution.bsky.social
The Undergraduate Community at Evolution program provides travel funding, mentoring, and a presentation opportunity at #Evol2026. Please share with undergrads in your lab! www.evolutionsociety.org/content/educ...
@asn-amnat.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social @evolmtg.bsky.social
Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Undergraduate Community at Evolution Program. Applications due January 20, 2026.
November 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
jarome.bsky.social
Why did I only just find out that that there are water striders that live IN (ON!!) THE OPEN OCEAN? 🧪

OCEAN STRIDERS!!
Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas?
Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and house a dizzying array of organisms, including five species of the peppercorn-sized ocean-skater Halobates, which live exclusively at the ocean surface...
journals.plos.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
alanrogers.bsky.social
#popgen #evbio
ahancock.bsky.social Angela Hancock @ahancock.bsky.social · Nov 8
I recently moved my lab to Purdue University and am looking for graduate students. We are working at the interface of population genomics, quantitative genetics and functional genomics to understand how plants adapt to extreme environments. Reach out if you would like to discuss potential projects.
PhD advert
November 8, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
juanmartin-serrano.bsky.social
these are really sad news. Antonio Garcia Bellido was a scientific giant, he paved the way to world class science in Spain. His pioneering work in Developmental Biology was truly revolutionary
November 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
fly-eds.bsky.social
The European Drosophila Society #flyEDS extends the condolences on the passing of Antonio García-Bellido, considered the founder of the Spanish school of #Drosophila genetics and an influential figure in developmental biology research worldwide. May he rest in peace.
November 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
cahirokane.bsky.social
Part of the undergrad Cell/Developmental Biology lab, waiting for the first group of students to arrive and generate their own GAL4 enhancer traps yesterday.... the results of their labours at the end of the day... and a whale keeping its beady eye on me during a short lunch break at the Whale Cafe.
November 8, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
journal-evo.bsky.social
Editor's Choice article in our latest issue:
"The genetic basis of natural variation in sociability " by Arteen Torabi-Marashi, Dania Daanish, Andrew M Scott, Reuven Dukas, & Ian Dworkin.
academic.oup.com/evolut/artic...

@idworkin.bsky.social
The genetic basis of natural variation in sociability
Abstract. Sociability, defined as individuals’ tendencies to affiliate with conspecifics, is widespread among animals, including species not traditionally
academic.oup.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
Distinct genomic architectures but the same gene underlie the convergent evolution of a plant supergene https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.01.679701v1
October 1, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
molbioevol.bsky.social
Fischer et al. characterize differences in gene network connectivity and density, suggesting that flexibility in gene coexpression relationships could promote evolvability.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf194

#evobio #molbio
Flexibility in Gene Coexpression at Developmental and Evolutionary Timescales
Abstract. The explosion of next-generation sequencing technologies has allowed researchers to move from studying single genes to studying thousands of gene
doi.org
October 2, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
fly-broadcast.bsky.social
Continent-wide differentiation of fitness traits and patterns of climate adaptation among European populations of Drosophila melanogaster
#Drosophila
Continent-wide differentiation of fitness traits and patterns of climate adaptation among European populations of Drosophila melanogaster #Drosophila
PubMed link
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
September 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
molbioevol.bsky.social
Brubaker et al. investigated the role of redundancy in cis-regulatory evolution in sexually dimorphic abdomen pigmentation of Drosophila melanogaster.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molb...

#evobio #molbio #drosophila
Redundant and Singular Regulatory Elements Underlie the Rapidly Evolving Pigmentation of Drosophila
Abstract. A major hurdle in understanding the molecular changes responsible for metazoan diversity is the characterization of cis-regulatory elements (CREs
doi.org
September 22, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
molbioevol.bsky.social
Heitzmann et al. compared brain transcriptomes of four sexual genotypes of the African pygmy mouse, showing how sex and neo-sex chromosomes impacted transcriptomes to reflect their transmission mode, evolutionary trajectories, and genomic conflicts.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf208

#evobio #molbio
MBE | Influence of Gonadal and Chromosomal Sex on the Brain Transcriptome in a Mouse Species with Natural Sex Reversal
September 23, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
xkcd.com
Tukey

xkcd.com/3104/
Comic. [block quote] “Far better an approximate answer to the *right* question, which is often vague, than an *exact* answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.” -John W. Tukey, The Future of Data Analysis (1962) [caption] Happy Approximate Birthday to John Tukey, author of my favorite statistics quote, who was born 110.000 years ago sometime this week.
June 23, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
molbioevol.bsky.social
@jcbnunez.bsky.social et al. present an expanded release of the community-generated resource Drosophila Evolution over Space and Time (DEST 2.0), and showcase it by studying the species' demographic history and signatures of adaptation.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf132

#evobio #molbio #drosophila
MBE - Footprints of Worldwide Adaptation in Structured Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Through the Expanded DEST 2.0 Genomic Resource
August 20, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Ian Dworkin
jcbnunez.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1093/molb...
Thrilled to share our new paper in MBE! 🎉 Presenting DEST 2.0: 530 pooled Drosophila populations spanning 12 years across 6 continents. We map genomic footprints of adaptation, from pesticide resistance to seasonal changes. #PopulationGenetics #Drosophila #Genomics #Evolution
Footprints of Worldwide Adaptation in Structured Populations of Drosophila melanogaster Through the Expanded DEST 2.0 Genomic Resource
Abstract. Large-scale genomic resources can place genetic variation into an ecologically informed context. To advance our understanding of the population g
doi.org
August 19, 2025 at 1:34 AM