Milton Tan
@mtanichthys.bsky.social
Fish biodiversity, genomics. Illinois Natural History Survey Asst Research Scientist. Also aquarium fish hobbyist and plant parent. Profile pic: With a tamandua knifefish. He/him
Reposted by Milton Tan
🚨Awards Alert 🚨
Its award season here at SSB!
First up: Graduate Student Research Awards. Due March 20, these awards are for collecting data or otherwise enhancing your dissertation. Open to graduate student society members
Apply here:
www.systbio.org/graduate-stu...
Its award season here at SSB!
First up: Graduate Student Research Awards. Due March 20, these awards are for collecting data or otherwise enhancing your dissertation. Open to graduate student society members
Apply here:
www.systbio.org/graduate-stu...
Graduate Student Research Awards
The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) Graduate Student Research Awards assist graduate students conducting research in systematics. These grants are for collection of preliminary data or to...
www.systbio.org
February 16, 2026 at 2:02 PM
🚨Awards Alert 🚨
Its award season here at SSB!
First up: Graduate Student Research Awards. Due March 20, these awards are for collecting data or otherwise enhancing your dissertation. Open to graduate student society members
Apply here:
www.systbio.org/graduate-stu...
Its award season here at SSB!
First up: Graduate Student Research Awards. Due March 20, these awards are for collecting data or otherwise enhancing your dissertation. Open to graduate student society members
Apply here:
www.systbio.org/graduate-stu...
Reposted by Milton Tan
New preprint! We produced a chromosome-level reference genome for Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) from the Bering Sea. Our genome is 795 Mb and organized into 26 chromosomes. 🐟🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 16, 2026 at 1:58 PM
New preprint! We produced a chromosome-level reference genome for Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) from the Bering Sea. Our genome is 795 Mb and organized into 26 chromosomes. 🐟🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Milton Tan
This remarkable set of genetic screens done both in the Nüsslein-Volhard & Driever & Fishman labs in Tübingen & Boston revolutionized our understanding of vertebrate development. This remembrance is worth a read-it was a long road, right up to the end 🧪 1/2
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
February 16, 2026 at 12:34 PM
This remarkable set of genetic screens done both in the Nüsslein-Volhard & Driever & Fishman labs in Tübingen & Boston revolutionized our understanding of vertebrate development. This remembrance is worth a read-it was a long road, right up to the end 🧪 1/2
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
Reposted by Milton Tan
🚨📢📄 Article in press in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
A reference-free pipeline for detecting shared transposable elements from pan-genomes to retrace their dynamics in a species - Genome Biology
Background The role of transposable elements (TEs) in host adaptation has gained interest in recent years. Individuals of the same species undergo independent TE insertions, providing genetic variabil...
doi.org
February 16, 2026 at 8:38 AM
🚨📢📄 Article in press in Genome Biology doi.org/10.1186/s130...
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
We introduce panREPET, a reference-free pipeline to detect shared transposable element (TE) insertions across pangenomes and retrace their evolutionary dynamics #TEsky 🧵👇
Reposted by Milton Tan
#TIL that Charles Darwin, yes: _our_ Chuck-D, is credited as being the innovator of the "office chair". Purportedly, he put wheels on the legs of his chair to more quickly move about his office whilst examining multiple specimens. 🧪
ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
February 16, 2026 at 1:32 PM
#TIL that Charles Darwin, yes: _our_ Chuck-D, is credited as being the innovator of the "office chair". Purportedly, he put wheels on the legs of his chair to more quickly move about his office whilst examining multiple specimens. 🧪
ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
Reposted by Milton Tan
Dear all, I'm happy to present you a side project done with @diegoharta.bsky.social @phylogenetrips.bsky.social & Lucas Baudouin regarding the publication landscape in Biology: wheretopublish.github.io 1/4
Where to Publish?
wheretopublish.github.io
February 10, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Dear all, I'm happy to present you a side project done with @diegoharta.bsky.social @phylogenetrips.bsky.social & Lucas Baudouin regarding the publication landscape in Biology: wheretopublish.github.io 1/4
Reposted by Milton Tan
Hello Bluesky!
Does Nₑ really explain mutation rate (μ) or genome size (GS) in vertebrates?
We find the apparent Nₑ–μ link in Bergeron et al. (2023) is a “back-door” path via generation time, and GS is decoupled from both Nₑ and life-history traits.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#evobio #PNAS
Does Nₑ really explain mutation rate (μ) or genome size (GS) in vertebrates?
We find the apparent Nₑ–μ link in Bergeron et al. (2023) is a “back-door” path via generation time, and GS is decoupled from both Nₑ and life-history traits.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#evobio #PNAS
February 7, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Hello Bluesky!
Does Nₑ really explain mutation rate (μ) or genome size (GS) in vertebrates?
We find the apparent Nₑ–μ link in Bergeron et al. (2023) is a “back-door” path via generation time, and GS is decoupled from both Nₑ and life-history traits.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#evobio #PNAS
Does Nₑ really explain mutation rate (μ) or genome size (GS) in vertebrates?
We find the apparent Nₑ–μ link in Bergeron et al. (2023) is a “back-door” path via generation time, and GS is decoupled from both Nₑ and life-history traits.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#evobio #PNAS
Reposted by Milton Tan
Walking catfish, caught in Miami.
February 14, 2026 at 2:19 AM
Walking catfish, caught in Miami.
Reposted by Milton Tan
3/10 We discovered that sing different types of commonly used genome-wide markers, such as UCEs and BUSCO genes, produce fundamentally different hypotheses about shark and ray evolution! Depending on the type used, sharks are NOT necessarily their own clade!
February 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
3/10 We discovered that sing different types of commonly used genome-wide markers, such as UCEs and BUSCO genes, produce fundamentally different hypotheses about shark and ray evolution! Depending on the type used, sharks are NOT necessarily their own clade!
Reposted by Milton Tan
1/10 ⏰⏰ New stuff from me &
@tjnear.bsky.social
! We show that sharks themselves might not be a natural group ... it depends on what spots in the genome you analyze!
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@tjnear.bsky.social
! We show that sharks themselves might not be a natural group ... it depends on what spots in the genome you analyze!
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
1/10 ⏰⏰ New stuff from me &
@tjnear.bsky.social
! We show that sharks themselves might not be a natural group ... it depends on what spots in the genome you analyze!
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
@tjnear.bsky.social
! We show that sharks themselves might not be a natural group ... it depends on what spots in the genome you analyze!
Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Milton Tan
Native fishes on our money!
February 15, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Native fishes on our money!
Reposted by Milton Tan
Chromosomal rearrangements and segmental deletions contribute to gene loss in squamates https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41688983/
February 15, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Chromosomal rearrangements and segmental deletions contribute to gene loss in squamates https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41688983/
Reposted by Milton Tan
Pygmy seahorses, blending into their world
February 15, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Pygmy seahorses, blending into their world
Reposted by Milton Tan
The collections at @nhm-london.bsky.social are full of glorious specimens esp the Flies. But they also come with lots of extra information
Roger Crosskey wrote down his feelings 50 years ago about this species complex - his frustration evident
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social
Roger Crosskey wrote down his feelings 50 years ago about this species complex - his frustration evident
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social
February 10, 2026 at 8:12 AM
The collections at @nhm-london.bsky.social are full of glorious specimens esp the Flies. But they also come with lots of extra information
Roger Crosskey wrote down his feelings 50 years ago about this species complex - his frustration evident
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social
Roger Crosskey wrote down his feelings 50 years ago about this species complex - his frustration evident
@dipteristsforum.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social
Reposted by Milton Tan
The Natural History Museum Denmark seeks a Tenure Track Assistant Professor and Curator of Lepidoptera. Candidates should have a strong research background in Lepidoptera. Applications due March 22, 2026. Info: https://snm.dk/en/about-museum. #job
About the museum
Natural History Museum Denmark is beautifully located in the corner of the Botanical Garden near Nørreport Station. Until October 2022 the museum also welcomed guests at the Zoological Museum at Østerbro, which is now closed to the public in order to prepare for the new museum building that will open in the Botanical Garden in a few years time.
snm.dk
February 15, 2026 at 11:17 AM
The Natural History Museum Denmark seeks a Tenure Track Assistant Professor and Curator of Lepidoptera. Candidates should have a strong research background in Lepidoptera. Applications due March 22, 2026. Info: https://snm.dk/en/about-museum. #job
Reposted by Milton Tan
I've written a blog post about using @gbif.org to geocode localities (for some reason biodiversity people call this "georeferencing" 🤷♂️). Post is iphylo.blogspot.com/2026/02/gbif... (DOI coming soon once @rogue-scholar.wisskomm.social.ap.brid.gy picks it up). Tool at rdmpage.github.io/gbif-geocoder/
GBIF Geocoder: using GBIF to find places on a map
Blog by Rod Page on biodiversity informatics, taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, knowledge graphs, and other topics.
iphylo.blogspot.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:35 PM
I've written a blog post about using @gbif.org to geocode localities (for some reason biodiversity people call this "georeferencing" 🤷♂️). Post is iphylo.blogspot.com/2026/02/gbif... (DOI coming soon once @rogue-scholar.wisskomm.social.ap.brid.gy picks it up). Tool at rdmpage.github.io/gbif-geocoder/
Reposted by Milton Tan
So, once you start using @gbif.org as a source of "truth" for geocoding you discover just how messy the data is... apparently there's a forest in the ocean of the coast of Australia 🤦♂️
February 15, 2026 at 1:48 PM
So, once you start using @gbif.org as a source of "truth" for geocoding you discover just how messy the data is... apparently there's a forest in the ocean of the coast of Australia 🤦♂️
Reposted by Milton Tan
New from the #NearLab, Chase Brownstein chasedbrownstein.bsky.social takes the lead on Phylogenomics and the origins of sharks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
February 15, 2026 at 2:55 PM
New from the #NearLab, Chase Brownstein chasedbrownstein.bsky.social takes the lead on Phylogenomics and the origins of sharks.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Milton Tan
About NSF GRFP's being rejected without peer review:
[from submitted info to Grant Witness]
"12 RWRs as involving ecology, six in cell biology, five in psychology, four in neuroscience, and 14 in other subfields of biology"
www.science.org/content/arti...
[from submitted info to Grant Witness]
"12 RWRs as involving ecology, six in cell biology, five in psychology, four in neuroscience, and 14 in other subfields of biology"
www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF’s flagship fellowship program is rejecting applicants without peer review
Students seeking graduate research scholarships speculate that biology is being disfavored
www.science.org
February 15, 2026 at 1:53 PM
About NSF GRFP's being rejected without peer review:
[from submitted info to Grant Witness]
"12 RWRs as involving ecology, six in cell biology, five in psychology, four in neuroscience, and 14 in other subfields of biology"
www.science.org/content/arti...
[from submitted info to Grant Witness]
"12 RWRs as involving ecology, six in cell biology, five in psychology, four in neuroscience, and 14 in other subfields of biology"
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Milton Tan
Species delimitation based on phylogenetic analyses of males: A case study revealing the complex evolutionary history of giraffes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41687792/
February 15, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Species delimitation based on phylogenetic analyses of males: A case study revealing the complex evolutionary history of giraffes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41687792/
Reposted by Milton Tan
Comparing partition and mixture models with akaike information criteria https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41689510/
February 15, 2026 at 4:57 AM
Comparing partition and mixture models with akaike information criteria https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41689510/
Reposted by Milton Tan
FullSynesth: Syntenic Reconciliation of a Set of Consistent Gene Trees https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41684729/
February 15, 2026 at 5:47 AM
FullSynesth: Syntenic Reconciliation of a Set of Consistent Gene Trees https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41684729/
Reposted by Milton Tan
ARGformer: learning on ancestral recombination graphs with transformers https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.11.705405v1
February 15, 2026 at 12:21 AM
ARGformer: learning on ancestral recombination graphs with transformers https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.11.705405v1
Reposted by Milton Tan
An old quip: "All stories you read in the newspaper are completely true except those for which you have first-hand information." This has many corollaries, e.g. "All clades are purely diverging, without introgression, except for those for which you have the pertinent data." 🧪 #evolbio
February 14, 2026 at 10:20 PM
An old quip: "All stories you read in the newspaper are completely true except those for which you have first-hand information." This has many corollaries, e.g. "All clades are purely diverging, without introgression, except for those for which you have the pertinent data." 🧪 #evolbio
Reposted by Milton Tan
1/ Finally wrote up “The Story of Mendeley”! Most people know the tool, few know about its rise and fall. The Mendeley story provides important clues for how to build self-sustaining AND non-extractive knowledge commons, which is why I think it deserves more attention 🧵
What happened to Science Goodreads and how do we rebuild it? A 65 million dollar question (at least) - CAIROS Blog
The story of the rise and fall of Mendeley
cairos.leaflet.pub
February 13, 2026 at 8:55 PM
1/ Finally wrote up “The Story of Mendeley”! Most people know the tool, few know about its rise and fall. The Mendeley story provides important clues for how to build self-sustaining AND non-extractive knowledge commons, which is why I think it deserves more attention 🧵