banner
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell
@evol-molly.bsky.social
310 followers 280 following 6 posts
Evolutionary Biologist, Mammals, Phylogenies, Comparative Genomics, Art and Running
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
saschatrippe.bsky.social
Sascha Trippe 🛰️ 사샤 트리페 @saschatrippe.bsky.social · 9d
Working from home works for everyone 🧪 #Zoom
Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance - Nature
A trial investigating the effects of a hybrid working schedule in a Chinese technology firm in 2021–2022 shows that working from home two days a week improved job satisfaction, reduced quitting and did not affect performance.
www.nature.com
1 3 10
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell @evol-molly.bsky.social · 14d
MicroRNAs at the centre of this success story for treatment of Huntington’s disease.. truly wonderful and inspiring progress. Well done to all involved : www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk
2
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
drkiki.bsky.social
Dr. Kiki @drkiki.bsky.social · 14d
🧪microRNA treatment success for Huntington's disease announced. It sounds promising but hasn't published yet. Will it pass the peer-review sniff test? Will it get licensed in the US in 2026?

Also, how did it take this long for me to realize BBC doesn't use the Oxford comma?
ryanlcooper.com
ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 14d
a new mRNA therapy apparently can cut the rate of Huntington's disease progression by ~75%. yet more miracle shit www.bbc.com/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.com
1 7 39
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 16d
There are two weeks to go in the fundraising campaign for the Natural History Society of Maryland's new shark science and conservation exhibit, and we have to raise about $1,400 more.

Please consider chipping in to help. Thank you!

www.southernfriedscience.com/help-support... #SciComm 🧪🦑🌎
Help support a new shark science and conservation exhibit in Maryland!
The Natural History Society of Maryland is redoing their public exhibit halls, including a new exhibit on shark science and conservation. I’m helping them to design it, we’re fundraisin…
www.southernfriedscience.com
4 56 100
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
rileypizza.bsky.social
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 23d
Grad school is HARD. Feels like everyone else has it together—but newsflash: everyone struggles, even your PI! These faculty interviews discussing their grad school struggles made me feel less alone. Share these with your cohort and be nicer to yourself 🧪🌿🎓
risecenter.asu.edu/fail-safe
Fail Safe Science | RISE Center
risecenter.asu.edu
4 23
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
noncompliantcyborg.bsky.social
JA Fields | NonCompliantCyborg @noncompliantcyborg.bsky.social · 23d
It’s almost Ctenophore Day! I set up a BioBlitz on @inaturalist.bsky.social to celebrate. Spread the word, and let’s see how many people we can get out looking for ctenos!

🐙🦑🌿🧪

www.inaturalist.org/projects/cte...
An edited iNaturalist project page for ctenophore day 10/04/2025. In the about it says Celebrate ctenophore day by going out and finding ctenophores on October 4th, 2025! Can we get to 1004+ new ctenophore observations to celebrate? Are you ready for the Cteno Day Bioblitz? Join today! inaturalist.org.projects/ctenophore-day-2025
1 23 54
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
scinews.bsky.social
Science News @scinews.bsky.social · Sep 6
How location drives productivity #Science

"Life scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology publish top research papers at a rate that is among the highest in the world"

www.science.org/content/arti...
3 6
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
biochemsoc.bsky.social
Biochemical Society @biochemsoc.bsky.social · Sep 3
Launching soon! R for Biochemists 101 begins on Monday 8 September 2025. Don’t miss your chance to boost your data skills and gain confidence in R. Secure your place today🧪 : buff.ly/cyJve1t
R for Biochemists 101 Online training 8 September 2025 Register online
3 5
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell @evol-molly.bsky.social · Aug 17
En Route to ESEB. @eseb2025.bsky.social .. Looking forward to a week chocka block with wonderful people and science ! Dont be shy - just come say hi !;-)
3
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
jfennbio.bsky.social
Jonathan Fenn @jfennbio.bsky.social · Aug 17
I have arrived in Barcelona for ESEB 2025!

I will be talking about microRNA and the evolution of the mammalian placenta on Tuesday at 14:30 in Meeting Room 113
@eseb2025.bsky.social
1 6 17
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
phoca-sapiens.bsky.social
Dr Simon Goodman @phoca-sapiens.bsky.social · Jul 4
Lots of invaluable advice here for both early stage researchers and well established folk. Well thought out impactful figures are key to getting your points across, and it's all too common to see poor practice 🧪🧬🖥️🌍 #datavis #bioinformatics
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A checklist for designing and improving the visualization of scientific data - Nature Cell Biology
Creating clear and engaging scientific figures is crucial to communicate complex data. In this Comment, I condense principles from design, visual perception and data visualization research in a checkl...
www.nature.com
1 10 29
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
natureportfolio.nature.com
Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Jul 3
Birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate harmless insects from those that they mimic on the basis of subtle differences in appearance, according to a study in Nature. go.nature.com/44yj4M5 🧪
This is figure 1, which gives an overview of the methods used to generate artificial mimetic stimuli.
9 31
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
jfennbio.bsky.social
Jonathan Fenn @jfennbio.bsky.social · Jul 2
Take a look at our work on miRNAs and their involvement with placental phenotypes. It's great to see this work finally see the light of day - huge thanks to everyone involved with the manuscript.
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell @evol-molly.bsky.social · Jun 30
How did mammal placental diversity evolve? miRNAs play a significant role - indeed their repertoire is predictive of phenotype. Congrats to all: esp 1st author @jfennbio.bsky.social & all in @niamhforde.bsky.social group. Thanks to @ukri.org and @leverhulme.ac.uk. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mammal placental phenotypes are predictable from microRNA repertoires.
Despite >100 million years of mammal diversification, similar placental morphologies have independently evolved multiple times, presenting a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: what genetic mechanisms ...
www.biorxiv.org
3 4
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
jomcinerney.bsky.social
James McInerney @jomcinerney.bsky.social · Jun 30
When you see convergent phenotypes do u wonder about their genetic basis? Did they re-invent some genetic element to construct the phenotype? The mammal placenta-a pretty important organ-has a lot of convergent phenotypes & this paper helps explain how they come about www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mammal placental phenotypes are predictable from microRNA repertoires.
Despite >100 million years of mammal diversification, similar placental morphologies have independently evolved multiple times, presenting a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: what genetic mechanisms ...
www.biorxiv.org
1 8 14
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
frommlab.bsky.social
The Fromm Lab @frommlab.bsky.social · Jun 30
Happy to have contributed to this paper!!! Convergent placental phenotypes are mechanistically shaped by the same regulators
jomcinerney.bsky.social
James McInerney @jomcinerney.bsky.social · Jun 30
When you see convergent phenotypes do u wonder about their genetic basis? Did they re-invent some genetic element to construct the phenotype? The mammal placenta-a pretty important organ-has a lot of convergent phenotypes & this paper helps explain how they come about www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mammal placental phenotypes are predictable from microRNA repertoires.
Despite >100 million years of mammal diversification, similar placental morphologies have independently evolved multiple times, presenting a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: what genetic mechanisms ...
www.biorxiv.org
2 6
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell @evol-molly.bsky.social · Jun 30
How did mammal placental diversity evolve? miRNAs play a significant role - indeed their repertoire is predictive of phenotype. Congrats to all: esp 1st author @jfennbio.bsky.social & all in @niamhforde.bsky.social group. Thanks to @ukri.org and @leverhulme.ac.uk. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mammal placental phenotypes are predictable from microRNA repertoires.
Despite >100 million years of mammal diversification, similar placental morphologies have independently evolved multiple times, presenting a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: what genetic mechanisms ...
www.biorxiv.org
6 10
evol-molly.bsky.social
Professor Mary J O'Connell @evol-molly.bsky.social · Jun 30
How did mammal placental diversity evolve? miRNAs play a significant role - indeed their repertoire is predictive of phenotype. Congrats to all: esp 1st author @jfennbio.bsky.social & @niamhforde.bsky.social group. Thanks to funders @BBSRC and @LeverhulmeTrust. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mammal placental phenotypes are predictable from microRNA repertoires.
Despite >100 million years of mammal diversification, similar placental morphologies have independently evolved multiple times, presenting a long-standing evolutionary puzzle: what genetic mechanisms ...
www.biorxiv.org
2
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Jun 19
Antarctic seal numbers falling drastically due to melting sea ice, research shows
Antarctic seal numbers falling drastically due to melting sea ice, research shows
British Antarctic Survey finds one breed of seal has declined by 54% since 1977
www.theguardian.com
9 35
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
leverhulme.ac.uk
Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · Jun 17
The Trust is proud to support twenty-five retired academics to complete their research. Topics covered this year include the role of salience in cognitive control and aggression, and marginal Nepali Dalit literature. www.leverhulme.ac.uk/news/twenty-...
White writing against a black background with gold swirls: Twenty-five Emeritus Fellowships awarded to senior academics to complete their research. Leverhulme Trust logo, URL leverhulme.ac.uk/news.
3 5
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
johnrhutchinson.bsky.social
Professor John R. Hutchinson @johnrhutchinson.bsky.social · Jun 12
R.I.P. Ted Goslow, a great functional morphologist. He contributed quite a bit to our understanding of how birds coordinate flying-- scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=e...

www.online-tribute.com/TedGoslow
Ted Goslow | 1939 - 2025 | Online-Tribute.com
George Edward Goslow Jr. (AKA Ted Goslow) passed away peacefully at home with his son by his side on May 5, 2025, in Flagstaff, AZ, at the age of 85. Ted was born in Tacoma, WA on May 16, 1939, to lov...
www.online-tribute.com
2 6
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · May 20
Divergent paths, convergent heads: morphological adaptation of head shape to ecological niches in snakes. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.17.654544v1
3 4
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
mcnees.bsky.social
Robert “The Bobby Yaga” McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · May 13
Geophysicist and seismologist Inge Lehmann was born #OTD in 1888.

In 1936 she discovered the existence of a solid core at the center of the Earth, based on a careful analysis of global seismic records from a 1929 earthquake near New Zealand. 🧪 👩‍🔬

Image: Royal Danish Library
Sepia-tinted black and white photo of Inge Lehmann. She is looking directly at the camera, with a neutral expression.
6 120 470
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
wgdip.bsky.social
WGDip @wgdip.bsky.social · May 7
📝 New Publication 🧪

Congratulations to team members Richard Taylor and Dan Macqueen for their paper exploring the functional and evolutionary outcomes of whole genome duplication using single cell transcriptomics!

@genomebiolevol.bsky.social

#WGDip

academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...
Cell type resolved expression of duplicate genes retained from whole genome duplication in Atlantic salmon
Abstract. The functional and evolutionary outcomes of whole genome duplication (WGD) events are driven by global remodelling of gene expression. Most inves
academic.oup.com
5 18
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
aveneziano.bsky.social
Dr Alessio Veneziano @aveneziano.bsky.social · May 7
#DataViz on #DNA methylation and ageing patterns in native Tibetans! 🧬🧪 #science 🏺 #anthropology #biology
amunts.bsky.social
Alexey Amunts @amunts.bsky.social · May 6
Ageing speeds up at high altitudes, unless you’re native Tibetan. Their DNA methylation patterns adapt immune function and oxygen use to extreme conditions. A beautiful example of epigenetic resilience.
5 18
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
d-macphee.bsky.social
Daniel MacPhee 🇨🇦 @d-macphee.bsky.social · May 4
“The genes of male and female placentas have marked differences in how they are expressed”
#placenta #ReproSky 🧪 #Development
medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05...
Distinct placental gene expression in males and females could shed light on pregnancy outcomes
The genes of male and female placentas have marked differences in how they are expressed, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other institutions. These d...
medicalxpress.com
1 2 19