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
In an era marked by rapid climate change and biodiversity loss, it is imperative that we continue to invest in the unique value of natural history collections data
"Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections" 🧪
"Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections" 🧪
Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections - Nature Communications
Natural history collections hold over two billion specimens representing Earth’s biodiversity, but their scientific value depends on continued specimen collection and digitisation. This study demonstr...
www.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 AM
In an era marked by rapid climate change and biodiversity loss, it is imperative that we continue to invest in the unique value of natural history collections data
"Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections" 🧪
"Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections" 🧪
Reposted by Milton Tan
Applications for student travel assistance to attend the #2026SFS annual meeting through the Instars program are now open.
Undergraduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds interested in freshwater science are eligible to apply. (1/2)
Undergraduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds interested in freshwater science are eligible to apply. (1/2)
November 26, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Applications for student travel assistance to attend the #2026SFS annual meeting through the Instars program are now open.
Undergraduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds interested in freshwater science are eligible to apply. (1/2)
Undergraduates from historically underrepresented backgrounds interested in freshwater science are eligible to apply. (1/2)
Reposted by Milton Tan
in other news: bagworm!
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 AM
in other news: bagworm!
Reposted by Milton Tan
More articles extracted from @biodivlibrary.bsky.social , this time "Flowering Plants of South Africa" biostor.org/issn/0015-4504 Tricky to work with these articles as no page numbers and page and plate ordering needs to be flipped. Nightmare, but at least we get to see the "pretty".
November 25, 2025 at 11:31 PM
More articles extracted from @biodivlibrary.bsky.social , this time "Flowering Plants of South Africa" biostor.org/issn/0015-4504 Tricky to work with these articles as no page numbers and page and plate ordering needs to be flipped. Nightmare, but at least we get to see the "pretty".
Reposted by Milton Tan
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.
Reposted by Milton Tan
“Overall, these findings suggest that the value of natural history collections as global research infrastructure is eroding due to decreased collecting of specimen data across species, locations, and time.“ doi.org/10.1038/s414... Interesting analysis based on @gbif.org data.
Global sampling decline erodes science potential of natural history collections - Nature Communications
Natural history collections hold over two billion specimens representing Earth’s biodiversity, but their scientific value depends on continued specimen collection and digitisation. This study demonstr...
doi.org
November 26, 2025 at 12:11 AM
“Overall, these findings suggest that the value of natural history collections as global research infrastructure is eroding due to decreased collecting of specimen data across species, locations, and time.“ doi.org/10.1038/s414... Interesting analysis based on @gbif.org data.
Reposted by Milton Tan
Bioinformatics of Combined Nuclear and Mitochondrial Phylogenomics to Define Key Nodes for the Classification of Coleoptera https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41288263/
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Bioinformatics of Combined Nuclear and Mitochondrial Phylogenomics to Define Key Nodes for the Classification of Coleoptera https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41288263/
Reposted by Milton Tan
Reposted by Milton Tan
Regretfully (for the sake of the authors and journal staff), I have this morning declined an invitation to review for a @royalsociety.org journal because of the Society’s continued refusal to stand up for its values in dealing with Elon Musk FRS.
November 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Regretfully (for the sake of the authors and journal staff), I have this morning declined an invitation to review for a @royalsociety.org journal because of the Society’s continued refusal to stand up for its values in dealing with Elon Musk FRS.
Reposted by Milton Tan
Introducing ** Incendiamoeba **, a eukaryote that can live at temperatures well beyond what we thought possible. 63C!!
Read @hbrappap.bsky.social thread to see what we’ve already started to learn from this amazing organism!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#MicroSky #protistsonsky 🧪 #evobio
Read @hbrappap.bsky.social thread to see what we’ve already started to learn from this amazing organism!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#MicroSky #protistsonsky 🧪 #evobio
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Introducing ** Incendiamoeba **, a eukaryote that can live at temperatures well beyond what we thought possible. 63C!!
Read @hbrappap.bsky.social thread to see what we’ve already started to learn from this amazing organism!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#MicroSky #protistsonsky 🧪 #evobio
Read @hbrappap.bsky.social thread to see what we’ve already started to learn from this amazing organism!
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
#MicroSky #protistsonsky 🧪 #evobio
Just watched a movie where a character goes to get an interview for a professor position and was offered the job before she got back
Seems unrealistic
Seems unrealistic
November 26, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Just watched a movie where a character goes to get an interview for a professor position and was offered the job before she got back
Seems unrealistic
Seems unrealistic
Reposted by Milton Tan
Did you receive a Student Research Award from the American Society of Naturalists @asn-amnat.bsky.social ? We'd love to hear what you achieved with those awards (or, please share with someone who had one), even going back many years:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
American Society of Naturalists Student Research Award Outcomes
The American Society of Naturalists (ASN) gives out student research awards (generally $2000 each) to support activities of our student members. We request that Student Research Award recipients provi...
docs.google.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Did you receive a Student Research Award from the American Society of Naturalists @asn-amnat.bsky.social ? We'd love to hear what you achieved with those awards (or, please share with someone who had one), even going back many years:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Reposted by Milton Tan
The last work of my PhD is finally out: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...! This work is about accurately estimating branch length in the Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG), which is achieved by a really simple framework with minimal assumptions. (1/n)
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The last work of my PhD is finally out: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...! This work is about accurately estimating branch length in the Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG), which is achieved by a really simple framework with minimal assumptions. (1/n)
Reposted by Milton Tan
Roses are red
That dino looks ill
That dino looks ill
November 25, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Roses are red
That dino looks ill
That dino looks ill
Reposted by Milton Tan
SNEAK PEEK of filming GarLab for IMAX!!!
Award-winning Director lan Shive and Cinematographer Toni Stintzing visit @garlab.bsky.social to shoot part of an upcoming nature documentary!
Award-winning Director lan Shive and Cinematographer Toni Stintzing visit @garlab.bsky.social to shoot part of an upcoming nature documentary!
November 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
SNEAK PEEK of filming GarLab for IMAX!!!
Award-winning Director lan Shive and Cinematographer Toni Stintzing visit @garlab.bsky.social to shoot part of an upcoming nature documentary!
Award-winning Director lan Shive and Cinematographer Toni Stintzing visit @garlab.bsky.social to shoot part of an upcoming nature documentary!
Reposted by Milton Tan
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
when we say we want more streets to be pedestrianized, this is what we mean
Reposted by Milton Tan
The peptide discussion highlights how little people know about chemistry. Peptides are such a huge group of chemicals treating them as one thing is absurd. Many peptides are perfectly safe. (Your food is full of peptides.) Others are toxic. Every peptide needs to be evaluated as its own thing.
"The growing popularity of these drugs [peptides]
shows that many people will experiment with them long before science confirms they work or are safe."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/w...
my review erictopol.substack.com/p/the-peptid...
shows that many people will experiment with them long before science confirms they work or are safe."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/w...
my review erictopol.substack.com/p/the-peptid...
The Internet Loves Peptide Therapy. Is It Really a Miracle Cure?
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
The peptide discussion highlights how little people know about chemistry. Peptides are such a huge group of chemicals treating them as one thing is absurd. Many peptides are perfectly safe. (Your food is full of peptides.) Others are toxic. Every peptide needs to be evaluated as its own thing.
Reposted by Milton Tan
Findings support the hypothesis that gene duplications, particularly in reproduction and development, contributed to termite eusociality academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Genomic Features Underlying the Origin of Sociality and the Diversification of Caste Systems in Termites
Abstract. Termite colonies consist of distinct castes whose developmental pathways fall into 2 types and vary among lineages. Understanding caste evolution
academic.oup.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Findings support the hypothesis that gene duplications, particularly in reproduction and development, contributed to termite eusociality academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
Reposted by Milton Tan
Saving the C-Gar!
“Cuban scientists race against time to save fish as old as the dinosaurs”
LINK: www.reuters.com/business/env...
“Cuban scientists race against time to save fish as old as the dinosaurs”
LINK: www.reuters.com/business/env...
November 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Saving the C-Gar!
“Cuban scientists race against time to save fish as old as the dinosaurs”
LINK: www.reuters.com/business/env...
“Cuban scientists race against time to save fish as old as the dinosaurs”
LINK: www.reuters.com/business/env...
Reposted by Milton Tan
🐟 Seasonal Aquatic Field Technician – Join @irbs.bsky.social and Illinois Natural History Survey! Assist large river ecologists collecting long-term river monitoring data. Based in Macomb, IL. Position opened until filled. 👉 blogs.illinois.edu/view/7426/16...
November 25, 2025 at 1:03 PM
🐟 Seasonal Aquatic Field Technician – Join @irbs.bsky.social and Illinois Natural History Survey! Assist large river ecologists collecting long-term river monitoring data. Based in Macomb, IL. Position opened until filled. 👉 blogs.illinois.edu/view/7426/16...
Reposted by Milton Tan
How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
How should you pick a PhD research topic?
38 years ago this fall (ouch!), I decided that I should pursue a PhD and I started thinking about where I’d do that, and what kind of research interested me. If you’re at that stage right now – or …
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
Reposted by Milton Tan
Delighted to see our paper characterising the inbreeding history of dogs and wolves over the past 10,000 years published this week in @pnas.org. Work led by the excellent @katiabou.bsky.social, and co-supervised by me, Laurent Frantz and Fernando Racimo www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 25, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Delighted to see our paper characterising the inbreeding history of dogs and wolves over the past 10,000 years published this week in @pnas.org. Work led by the excellent @katiabou.bsky.social, and co-supervised by me, Laurent Frantz and Fernando Racimo www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Milton Tan
What's that? You didn't know boxfish made sound? Me neither...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
November 25, 2025 at 8:30 AM
What's that? You didn't know boxfish made sound? Me neither...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
It turns out all species (Atlantic & Pacific) do, yet little is known about how this evolved. A novel structure found only in the Atlantic species offered the answer, but it isn't quite what you think...🌍 🧪
doi.org/10.1093/biol...
Reposted by Milton Tan
🌿Excited to share our new study in New Phytologist! 🌿
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 PM
🌿Excited to share our new study in New Phytologist! 🌿
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Polyploidy is a major force in plant evolution, but is understudied in the tropics. We find that polyploidy evolved multiple times in Inga, a characteristic Neotropical tree radiation (1/n) 🧵.
Full paper🔗: tinyurl.com/msnffhs8
Reposted by Milton Tan
The turtles will die at sea from cold shock in this season and this part of the world, so do not return them to the water! If you find a live turtle, contact your nearest aquarium or animal rescue service. If you find a dead one, contact your nearest natural history museum.
🧪🐢
🧪🐢
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
The turtles will die at sea from cold shock in this season and this part of the world, so do not return them to the water! If you find a live turtle, contact your nearest aquarium or animal rescue service. If you find a dead one, contact your nearest natural history museum.
🧪🐢
🧪🐢