Bristol Palaeobiology
@bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
330 followers 80 following 26 posts
Research and activities of the University of Bristol Palaeobiology Group
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Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
gimpasaura.bsky.social
Check out this article @davehone.bsky.social, Mike Habib and I wrote based on our ideas about pterosaurs as models for aircraft. Heavy lifting done by Dave Hone and very little by me while I’m on mat leave, but still appreciate being involved!
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Really pleased to be part of this project which shows that aerobic bacteria arose in the Archaean, long before the GOE - after which aerobes proliferated through HGT. Fun @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social collab including @tweethinking.bsky.social @sabifo4.bsky.social @emoody.bsky.social Davide Pisani
ssolo.bsky.social
Dating Bacteria is hard due to the lack of maxima. Assuming aerobes likely postdated the GOE gave us better resolved ages, but also surprised us, but not Dr Dayhoff, showing O2 use predated its atmospheric rise by 900 Mys and helped oxygenic photosynthesis to evolve. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
This weeks palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social is by @cambriannelids.bsky.social on the Cambrian evolution of animal skeletons
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
This week’s palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social was delivered by Rachel Wood (Edinburgh) on what triggered the Cambrian Explosion. Oxygen - not much, but just enough!
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Job Alert: Senior Research Associate in Phylogenomics @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social researching timing, sequence and phenotypic consequences of rediploidisation following whole genome duplication - comparative genomics, molecular clock and phenotypic disparity methods, with @jameswclark.bsky.social
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
gimpasaura.bsky.social
New lab toy at @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social! We’ve inherited a Bruker Skyscan 1272 from another uni group and today I did my first scan on it, playing around with some microfossils. Not bad for a first attempt I think.
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
In friday’s palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social we were treated to Microfossil evolution and morphological change through warm and cold climates by the amazing @bridgetwade.bsky.social
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Beau is one of our 3rd year undergrads so make sure you check this out!
bristoldino.bsky.social
Our own amazing Beau Jones will be on the radio talking dinosaurs this afternoon!
An Ichthyosaur toy leaning into a microphone. The caption reads: We're on BBC Radio Bristol today! Tune in at about 12:45pm
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
First week back to teaching in 2025 and for our palaeo seminar we have Prof Christine Janis telling us about her research into giant kangaroos and whether or not they could hop!
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
gimpasaura.bsky.social
Very exciting day today setting up our new (old) CT scanner for @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social! Looking forward to training on it tomorrow and learning the tricks and seeing what we can do with our new toy…
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Tahlia Pollock @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social has an amazing new study integrating 3D shape, biomechanics, and optimality modelling, helps explain why so many mammals evolve sabre teeth: functional optimality was a key driver behind the repeated evolution of extreme sabre-tooth morphologies.
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
palaeosingh.bsky.social
Cool functional morphology paper by Pollock et al. from @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social finds
functional optimality of puncture & stress resistance performance drove convergent #evolution of sabre-teeth in mammalian carnivores.

#Science #Paleontology #EvolutionaryBiology

www.cell.com/current-biol...
Graphical abstract showing functional optimality of puncture & stress resistance performance across the canines of mammalian carnivores. Extreme sabretooth forms cluster on the left of the morphospace in an high optimality hotspot.
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Yay! Our LUCA study shorturl.at/09YR8 made into @quantamagazine.bsky.social list of 2024's biggest breakthroughs! Thanks to @emoody.bsky.social @tweethinking.bsky.social Davide Pisani @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social and the rest of our amazing team!
emoody.bsky.social
Wow! A real honour to be included on this year's list, thanks @quantamagazine.bsky.social and of course all the vital collaborators involved in the work youtu.be/p9XHI_26cPE?...
2024's Biggest Breakthroughs in Biology and Neuroscience
YouTube video by Quanta Magazine
youtu.be
Reposted by Bristol Palaeobiology
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
How do organic soft tissues survive in exceptional fossils? with Jakob Vinther, Ian Bull and Matt Wills [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Total evidence approaches to clarify the early fossil record of sponges and the early evolution of animals with Davide Pisani @phil-donoghue.bsky.social [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]

The biology and palaeobiology of living and extinct small mammals with @emilyrayfield.bsky.social [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Taphonomy of organelles and the origin of eukaryotes with @phil-donoghue.bsky.social @jameswclark.bsky.social @tweethinking.bsky.social Davide Pisani, John Cunningham [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]

Ground-truthing the boron isotope-pH proxy in biogenic silica with @michaelhenehan.bsky.social [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Using machine learning to predict environmental and biosphere change with Lewis Alcott and @michaelhenehan.bsky.social [UoB Scholarship Jan 20]

Earth’s evolving oceans with Lewis Alcott, Alex Krause and @richardstockey.bsky.social [NERC GW4+ Jan 13]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Evaluating new data and methods to solve animal phylogeny with Davide Pisani and @phil-donoghue.bsky.social [UoB Scholarship Jan 20]

Climate change impacts on coastal systems with Daniela Schmidt and Matt Palmer [UoB Scholarship Jan 20]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Evolutionary origin and assembly of animal bodyplans with @phil-donoghue.bsky.social Davide Pisani & Frankie Dunn [UoB Scholarship Jan 20]

Mammals do the twist: Pelage, autogrooming, and the evolution of mammalian endothermy with Katrina Jones and @emilyrayfield.bsky.social [UoB Scholarship Jan 20]
bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
We've got a number of PhD projects up for grabs with competitive funding, but apply asap because they have Jan 13 and Jan 20 application deadlines!!

Check out the list below......

www.bristol.ac.uk/earthscience...
Postgraduate research projects
www.bristol.ac.uk