Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Sep 4

Lab milestone: My first (now graduated) student's first genome assembly is now publicly available! Well done, @tliesenfelt.bsky.social !!

You can read the companion article below!

Screenshot of NCBI genome database showing the newly added mealybug genome.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 30

Shout out to the weird biology of mealybugs and the folks who study it!

Arkadiy Garber @ironark.bsky.social · Aug 30

Re-watched this one - even after working in this system for 7 years, can't believe how this biology naturally evolved. Amazing system: cells inside cells inside cells

Mark O. Martin @markowenmartin.bsky.social · Jul 4

It's another week. Another episode of #MattersMicrobial! Dr. John McCutcheon of Arizona State University discusses fascinating symbioses between insects & bacteria that shed light on endosymbiosis: how eukaryotic cells originated. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord!

youtu.be/HZ9X6V7rpVk?...

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Aug 29

Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew
Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.

Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students

Trump officials have proposed a new rule limiting international students to fixed periods of entry, making a U.S. education more precarious.

www.forbes.com

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 23

Wish I could be there with the rest of the crew!

Tree of Sex @treeofsex.bsky.social · Aug 23

Tree of Sex annual workshop started today. It will be two days packed with reproductive biology.

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · Aug 20

Just in time for her #eseb2025 poster on Thursday, @squarehare.bsky.social 's paper on the Poecilia bifurca sex chromosomes was published today academic.oup.com/g3journal/ad...

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 17

I tend to be the nice reviewer 😅

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 17

Nate Silver: "journalists have much better bullshit detectors [than academic reviewers]"

Me, an academic reviewer: that's a bold claim that sounds like the author's opinion. It needs either supporting citations or removal from the manuscript. Revise and resubmit.

Dr Ellie Murray, ScD @epiellie.bsky.social · Aug 17

Nate Silver thinks academic journals are a lost cause.

But they aren't. If anything, the real problem is that these journals are *too* profitable.

Which means no one bothers to dream up other ideas, only variations on the theme.
🧵

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Petr Nguyen @petrnguyen.bsky.social · Aug 12

Another paper on polyommatine blue butterflies just published in @genomebiolevol.bsky.social. Blues have high chromosome numbers associated with increased diversification and their karyotypes reveal strategies to maintain genomic integrity amidst profound karyotypic changes doi.org/10.1093/gbe/...

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 11

A truly great group of folks to work with!

Armando Rosario-Lebrón @rosariolebronentomology.com · Aug 11

FL Dept of Agriculture seeks an entomologist (Someone in Coccomorpha (scale insects) and Aleyrodidae (whiteflies)) in Gainesville for regulatory #Hemiptera identification
Closes August 20th, 2025
🧪
jobs.myflorida.com/job/GAINESVI...
#sciencejobs #entomology #science #bugsky

A close-up macro photograph of an empty whitefly puparium on a holly leaf surface. The puparium, positioned in the center of the image, is a dark brown to black oval-shaped case approximately 1-2 millimeters in length, representing the empty pupal shell left behind after an adult whitefly has emerged.

The puparium is surrounded by distinctive white, waxy secretions that form delicate, cotton-like filaments extending radially outward in all directions. These bright white waxy threads create an almost starburst or flower-like pattern against the green background, characteristic of the protective waxy material produced by whitefly nymphs during development.

The holly leaf surface displays the typical texture of this plant species, with a bright green coloration and numerous small bumps and indentations creating a stippled appearance across the leaf surface. Fine, translucent trichomes (plant hairs) are visible extending from various points on the leaf.

To the left of the puparium is a brownish, irregularly-shaped discolored area on the leaf surface, likely representing tissue damage from whitefly feeding activity during the insect's development. Small dark spots and debris are scattered across the leaf surface.

The photograph is captured with shallow depth of field, keeping the puparium and surrounding waxy secretions in sharp focus while the edges gradually blur. Natural, even lighting illuminates the scene, creating strong contrast between the dark empty pupal case, bright white waxy filaments, and vibrant green holly leaf surface.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Aug 6

A very cool bug! Genome coming soon from my lab!

Nash Turley @nashturley.bsky.social · Aug 5

Jagged ambush bugs (genus Phymata) are nifty rugged little tank-like bugs that sit on flowers waiting to catch pollinators, they are so cool! I saw this one on a hike near State College, PA, last week. Check out those chunky raptorial front legs!

yellow brown and green chunky bug with raptorial front legs sitting on a green stem below a white flower with blue sky in background

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Aug 5

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · Aug 5

Release from HHS: HHS will wind down its development of the mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

HHS Winds Down mRNA Vaccine Development Under BARDA

WASHINGTON, DC—AUGUST 5, 2025—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), including the cancellation and de-scoping of various contracts and solicitations. The decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jul 31

This is what I've been calling the 3rd (4th?) Genomic Revolution. When I was in grad school the model was to use a few species' genomes to make generalized inferences about whole groups. Now if you want to do a genomic study of a group you just...look at the whole group, no generalizing assumption!

Eliot Miller @eliotmiller.bsky.social · Jul 31

🫠. A tree came out today with 9,072 bird species, all placements based on actual DNA. It looks like they used eBird 2022 taxonomy; 10,096 were recognized back then. That means these folks just dropped (molecularly well informed) knowledge on 83% of the world's birds.

www.cell.com/current-biol...

A new time tree of birds reveals the interplay between dispersal, geographic range size, and diversification

Flight may affect the dispersal and evolution of birds. Using a new evolutionary tree, Claramunt et al. find that efficient fliers have broader geographic ranges, and speciation reduces range size, bu...

www.cell.com

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jul 26

Also I have seen this movie fully way too many times and I swear the audio mixing is flubbed in that scene. Lex shouts "Timmy" when he blasts off but it's so loud and distorted it sounds like dino screeches.

Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Petr Nguyen @petrnguyen.bsky.social · Jul 24

Excited to share our new paper in #MolEcol on sex chromosome evolution in African killifish! 🐟 A great collaboration with @alexandrsember.bsky.social . We uncovered ≥4 sex chromosome turnovers across Nothobranchius spp. using cytogenetics & genomics.
👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jul 9

Such a fun and productive trip! Be on the lookout for more on evolutionary genomics and systematics of bagworms from my lab and @dr-akito.bsky.social 's lab soon!

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 27

I love the idea of someone going through this list in order and doing a double feature of Anchorman straight into Melancholia..

Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Tree of Sex @treeofsex.bsky.social · Jun 22

Good to see some of our US-based ToS members at #Evol2025! If you're at the meeting and interested or just curious about the project, say hi to @ajmongue.bsky.social @nicolevalenzuela.bsky.social @ideaspermatheca.bsky.social @emistasis.bsky.social, Mike White or Louise Heitzmann!

A non-random sample (spatially structured) of Tree of Sex 2.0 members at the SSE Evolution conference in Athens, Georgia.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 19

Getting ready for #Evol2025. If you see me say hi!

I'll be doing a very preliminary talk on bagworm moth evolutionary genetics on Sunday at 11:45 as well!

Two evergreen bagworm larvae on juniper.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 19

For sure! Send me a message once you're over here!

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 18

Congratulations! Happy to have a new evolutionary genetics colleague!

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 12

Well if that's the game of the game...here's a shot of Fulgora lanternaria from a recent trip to Costa Rica.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 11

It's finally out! This paper took quite a while but I'm so excited to share now! For anyone who studies sex chromosomes, take note: we found a rare "slower X"! (dN/dS_X < dN/dS_Autos) 👀

Andy Gardner @andygardner.bsky.social · Jun 11

New paper: "Faster adaptation but slower divergence of X chromosomes under paternal genome elimination" (Open Access)

w/ Robert Baird, @imprintedgene.bsky.social‬, Jan Ševčík, Katy Monteith, @laurarossevo.bsky.social‬ & @ajmongue.bsky.social‬

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

‪@natcomms.nature.com‬

Faster adaptation but slower divergence of X chromosomes under paternal genome elimination - Nature Communications

X chromosomes evolve faster than autosomes, but confounding factors make this a difficult phenomenon to study. Utilising the unusual sex determination system of Sciaridae flies, this study finds a slo...

www.nature.com

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 11

Re-upping this thread on PGE in mealybugs because the results are finally published in Molecular Ecology:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Reposted by Andrew Mongue

Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · Jun 5

In full sincerity, now is the moment to emphasize that undoing the changes implemented by DOGE is good for America, and increasing investment into NASA, NSF, NIH and other agencies will keep Elon from profiting off taxpayers.

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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · Jun 2

How do you differentiate species when the most visible lifestage is a featureless brown rugby ball?

You sequence it and place it with phylogenomics!

Read all about this and the evolutionary genetics of a moth-infecting apicomplexan #parasite in our pre-print here:
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Brown, oval oocysts are the most visible lifestyle of the Helicoverpa-infecting Ophryocystis. Sorry for the lack of scale bar!

Sequencing places this parasite (outlined in green) as sister to the Ophryocystis that infect milkweed butterflies.