Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Andy Foote @andrewfoote.bsky.social · 7d

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Erin Sikorsky @erinsikorsky.bsky.social · 7d

Oof, one of my heroes.

Jane Goodall, Eminent Primatologist Who Chronicled the Lives of Chimps, Dies at 91

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Andy Foote

ICP2026 Stockholm @palaeogenomics.bsky.social · 7d

🦴🧬🦴🧬🦴

Abstract submission is now open for the 1st International Conference on Palaeogenomics!

June 23–26 2026, in Stockholm.

Join researchers from across the field for 4 days and >100 talks (+ poster sessions)!

Submit abstracts here 👉
icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/

Deadline: Nov 30th

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Reposted by Andy Foote

POPGROUP59 @popgroup2026.bsky.social · 9d

Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.

This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.

More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

See you there !

Population Genetics group 59

populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Emma Luck @emmaluck22.bsky.social · 12d

I am pleased to share our new review paper detailing killer whale interactions with commercial fisheries in Frontiers in Marine Science!

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mar...

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Edward Elderman @elderman.bsky.social · 12d

This only happens to you once

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Darren Croft @darrencroft.bsky.social · 14d

We are hiring (Post number 2) - join us as a graduate research assistant to support killer whale research. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...

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Andy Foote @andrewfoote.bsky.social · 15d

This is a rare opportunity to work with an incredible dataset building on over five decades of field studies on the Southern Resident killer whale population, and led by an amazing team.

Darren Croft @darrencroft.bsky.social · 15d

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Anna Selbmann @annaselbmann.bsky.social · 15d

A killer whale PostDoc! 🤯😍

Darren Croft @darrencroft.bsky.social · 15d

We are hiring - PDRA position exploring how information access shapes social dynamics in killer whales. Collaboration with @samellisq.bsky.social @drwhale.bsky.social Prof Dan Franks (York) start 1st Nov (or ASAP) end 31st Oct 2028. Apps close on 19th Oct.

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOT336/p...

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Yun S. Song @yun-s-song.bsky.social · 17d

We are excited to share GPN-Star, a cost-effective, biologically grounded genomic language modeling framework that achieves state-of-the-art performance across a wide range of variant effect prediction tasks relevant to human genetics.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1/n)

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Reposted by Andy Foote

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 17d

Strong but diffuse genetic divergence underlies differentiation in an incipient species of marine stickleback https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677379v1

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Mark Ravinet @markravinet.bsky.social · 20d

A while back (maybe 3-4 years?) there was a paper on common misconceptions of the genetics of various traits. One of them was eye colour in humans. I have lost this reference and can't find it anywhere. Does anyone recognise what I mean?

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Rike Stelkens @stelkens.bsky.social · 20d

We have a new paper out in Molecular Ecology, led by @devinbendixsen.bsky.social ! Reproductive isolation due to divergent ecological selection is accompanied by vast genomic instability in experimentally evolved yeast populations onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Yun S. Song @yun-s-song.bsky.social · 28d

SINGER, our ARG inference method, is finally published and freely available online:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

It was a long journey – 16 months from initial submission to acceptance. Is it just me, or has peer review gotten more arduous lately? 4+ rounds of review isn't so unusual these days...

Robust and accurate Bayesian inference of genome-wide genealogies for hundreds of genomes - Nature Genetics

SINGER is a method for creating ancestral recombination graphs to understand the genealogical history of genomes. The method has increased speed, and thus scalability, without sacrificing accuracy.

doi.org

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Andy Foote @andrewfoote.bsky.social · Sep 8

This substack post by @erichhoyt.bsky.social reflects on the 1975 National Whale Symposium, describing the synthesis emerging around photo-id at that time:
substack.com/home/post/p-...

It's a wonderful read

Whales through a new lens, revisited, Part 2

Here’s my writer’s cut

substack.com

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · Sep 2

Still possible to apply to this #post-doc position at CESAB #Montpellier.
Application closing date: September 15th 2025 (12:00 PM CET)
How taking intraspecific diversity and evolutionary processes into account in translocation-based programs.
Please share widely #PopGen #NbS #Biodiversity

Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · Jul 10

3-year #postdoc position at Centre de synthèse et d'analyse de la biodiversité (CESAB) in Montpellier to work on how taking intraspecific diversity and evolutionary processes into account in translocation-based programs. Please share widely #PopGen #NbS

FRB｜Fondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité @frbiodiv.bsky.social · Jun 4

[📢 Postdoc offer in Montpellier] Work on intraspecific diversity & translocation in Nature-based Solutions 🌿

Join the EVOLUTION Knowledge-Hub at the #FRB-CESAB

🔗 More informations: bit.ly/43uRz6Z

@cnrs.fr @inrae-france.bsky.social @umontpellier.bsky.social

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Rachel Moran @rachelmoran.bsky.social · Sep 4

First pop gen paper from our lab! We find repeated evolutionary turn over of sex chromosomes in darters contributes to reproductive isolation. Turnover may be an escape hatch to resolve mitonuclear conflict & neo sex chromosomes evolved via a rare recessive mutation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Top left: Results of genome-wide association study (GWAS) for sex in E. caeruleum, E. radiosum, and E. spectabile showing sex chromosome turnover has occurred repeatedly. Top right: Phylogeny showing sex chromosome turnover in darters and non-darter percids. Chromosome 9 is the putative ancestral sex chromosome, shared by Perca flavescens and multiple members of the orangethroat darter complex (e.g., E. spectabile, E. pulchellum). Bottom: Schematic depicting repeated turnover of sex chromosomes as a mechanism to resolve mitonuclear conflict and promote speciation.

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Lee Hsiang Liow （廖珕庠） @lhliow.bsky.social · Sep 4

So excited that @corriemoreau.bsky.social will be giving a tangled banks seminar at NHMO today!! www.nhm.uio.no/english/rese... join us (also on zoom!)

Evolutionary success of the turtle ants through extreme trait evolution and symbiosis - Natural History Museum

Dr. Corrie Moreau, Cornell University

www.nhm.uio.no

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Nicolas Bierne @couplingdmi.bsky.social · Sep 1

Hi marine biologist folks #MarBiol 🦪🐙🪸🐟🦈🦀🦐🌱🦭🌊 Please give us 5 minutes of your time to fill this online survey on marine connectivity policy - The marine connectivity science and tools we need for the ocean we want #MarCo #MarEvol

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

OOSC 2025 - Online survey for Session 10-14 - The marine connectivity science and tools we need for the ocean we want

This questionnaire has been created to reach out to experts with roles and contributions to the management and/or conservation of the ocean and its resources. It explores the existing challenges and p...

docs.google.com

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Corrie Moreau @corriemoreau.bsky.social · Sep 1

If you are in Oslo join us tomorrow!

CEES, University of Oslo @unioslo-cees.bsky.social · Aug 15

Welcome to the Kristine Bonnevie lectures – Tuesday 2 September, with Corrie S. Moreau and Torsten H. Struck. On biodiversity from ants to ocean life, and how taxonomy helps us understand ecology and evolution. Venue: Helga Engs hus, Blindern, Oslo @corriemoreau.bsky.social @biovitenskap.bsky.social

Kristine Bonnevie lectures 2025: Guardians of Biodiversity – The Vital Role of Taxonomists - CEES - Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis

Open lectures on biodiversity from ants to ocean life, and how taxonomy helps us understand ecology and evolution. With Corrie S. Moreau, Cornell University, and Torsten H. Struck, University of Oslo.

www.mn.uio.no

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Laurits Skov @lauritsskov.bsky.social · Aug 28

Are you interested in doing a PhD in Copenhagen? Interested in studying Neanderthals and Denisovans which live on in our genomes?
Than you are more than welcome to apply to join my group starting Jan 2026 :)

candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI...

Please reach out if you have any questions!

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Laura K Hayward @lkhayward.bsky.social · Aug 23

Why do males and females often differ in traits?
The expected answer: selection.
But our new paper in GENETICS shows that genetic drift alone can generate sexual dimorphism — even when male & female optima are the same

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Kevin Daly @gingerhowley.bsky.social · Aug 27

Shameless promotion from #isba11 - I'll be hiring PhDs to start early 2026 (plus postdocs starting later), using #adna to study livestock and pathogen coevolution, particularly looking at inbreeding and immune gene evolution!

Contact me at kevin[at]palaeome.org, full ad to come. Please share!

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Erik Postma @erikpostma.bsky.social · Aug 22

With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

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Reposted by Andy Foote

Andrew Whitehead @andrewwhitehead.bsky.social · Aug 20

New paper out in #ES&T where we show that killifish exposure to crude oil has impacts (on embryo/larval development and transcriptome) that propagate to their offspring and to their grand-offspring. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
@acs.org

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