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Andrea Junker @strandjunker.com · 4d

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”

Diary of Anne Frank
January 13, 1943

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IEEE Spectrum @spectrum.ieee.org · 6d

Whole Genome Sequencing Will Transform Our Understanding of Life. The Earth BioGenome Project is using cutting-edge tech like long-read sequencing to map the DNA of 1.8 million organisms. Researchers anticipate major discoveries in evolution and medicine.

Mass-Scale Genome Sequencing Will Change Our Understanding of Life

The Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence 1.8 million species. It's one of the most ambitious science projects ever, and it will revolutionize biology

spectrum.ieee.org

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Yann Dussert @yanndussert.bsky.social · 5d

The ATLASea program is releasing its 100th genome assembly - cephalopods fans rejoice, it is for a Nautilus species.

Article in French:
www.mnhn.fr/fr/actualite...

Une 100e espèce séquencée dans le programme DIVE-Sea !

Le projet DIVE-Sea, qui a débuté en mars 2023, représente le premier volet du programme ATLASea qui vise à constituer un atlas des génomes d’espèces marines (algues, coraux, poissons, coquillages…) de...

www.mnhn.fr

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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 !

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populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk

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Mónica Doblas-Bajo | Entomologist (she/her) | 🇵🇸 @entomoprofessor.bsky.social · 17d

Celebrating the first 1,000 sequenced genomes on @projectpsyche.bsky.social 😎🧬🦋 #ProjectPsyche #MothStitching

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Chris Jiggins @chrisjiggins.bsky.social · 28d

Looking for a PhD? I am advertising two industry sponsored PhD projects. One on black soldier fly genetics with #betabugs and another on searching insect biodiversity for novel enzymes #Syngenta. Get in touch if you are interested!! bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/available-ic...

Available iCASE projects | Cambridge Biosciences DTP PhD Programme

iCASE projects for academic year 2026-2027 line_divider.png Project: Understanding cellulose digestion by cryo-EM structure of cellulose microfibril-enzyme complexes Project reference: ICS-BIO-PD26 S...

bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk

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Charlotte Wright @charlottewright.bsky.social · 27d

How many chromosomes can an animal have?

In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly

The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that this extraordinary karyotype is ...

tinyurl.com

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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge @camzoology.bsky.social · 27d

Research into tiny charismatic peacock spiders makes the news!

BBC Breakfast this morning featured research by PhD candidate Jonah Walker and @joanameier.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

Find out more: bit.ly/3JUL5qF

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Sep 2

Good memories of fieldwork collecting butterflies and moths for @projectpsyche.bsky.social in Italy with lepidopterists from across Europe. We identified, dissected and preserved them onsite for optimal conditions to sequence reference genomes. In a few weeks we will reach 1000 genomes!

10kLepGenomes @10klepgenomes.bsky.social · Sep 2

(1/7)🦋 A brief recap from Mals (Malles Venosta, Italy): In mid-July, over 50 experts from 19 European countries gathered for the first field workshop funded by the CA10KLepGenomes, aiming to sequence the genomes of all European Lepidoptera within @projectpsyche.bsky.social.

#10KLepGenomes

Niklas Wahlberg, CA10KLepGenomes chair during the presentation meeting on Monday 15th of July.

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Aug 1

Very exciting findings.

Chenxin Li, PhD @chenxinli2.bsky.social · Jul 31

The hybrid origin of potato tuberization.

From: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage

Genomic and functional analyses reveal that the potato lineage originated from a homoploid interspecific hybridization event between the Tomato and Etuberosum lineages 8–9 million years ago. The alter...

www.cell.com

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Silu Wang (she/her)🇨🇦 @siluwang.bsky.social · Jul 30

Thanks for the amazing science from your group, Joana! 👍 The butterflies took us on a fascinating flight into the tangled chromatin genealogies in the fragrant rainforest community evolving through Pleistocene glacial cycles. 🏔️Such a rich piece!! #biogeography #genomic #speciation
shorturl.at/8AVQT

Genomics of Neotropical biodiversity indicators: Two butterfly radiations with rampant chromosomal rearrangements and hybridization | PNAS

A central question in evolutionary biology is what drives the diversification of lineages. Rapid, recent radiations are ideal systems for this ques...

www.pnas.org

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Jul 31

Many thanks to great collaborators, including researchers from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, @camzoology.bsky.social, Ikiam, Ecuador, Uni Campinas, Br, UNMSM, Peru, @floridamuseum.bsky.social, @cnrs.fr

Some media releases:
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/geno...
www.sanger.ac.uk/news_item/re...

Genome sequencing of butterflies resolves centuries-old conundrum

When conditions are just right, organisms can undergo rapid bursts of diversification, and what starts out as one species can end up as an entire family tree in the evolutionary equivalent of the blin...

www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Jul 30

Despite the rearrangements, we find evidence of past hybridisation throughout the evolutionary history of these radiations. Multiple species show strongly admixed ancestries, indicating that hybridisation may have facilitated their evolution. This is something we are currently investigating more.

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Jul 30

We find that dozens of new species evolved within just 1-2 million years, coinciding with drastic changes in climate during the Pleistocene ice ages. The species show vastly rearranged genomes with many chromosomal fusions and fissions, likely contributing to their rapid diversification.

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Jul 30

Our paper, led by Eva van der Heijden, shows the work of an international team combining phylogenomics, hybridisation tests, population and comparative genomics and pheromone analyses to resolve the taxonomy and evolution of two rapid radiations of glasswing butterflies. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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

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Joana Meier @joanameier.bsky.social · Jul 30

Huge thanks and congrats to @siluwang.bsky.social and Anne Yoder for organising this amazing special issue. It has been fun contributing and interacting with Silu, Anne and the authors of the other manuscripts, including in a Zoom "tea break" where we presented our projects to each other.

Silu Wang (she/her)🇨🇦 @siluwang.bsky.social · Jul 29

Check out our new special feature: Monitoring and Restoring Gene Flow in the Increasingly Fragmented Ecosystems of the Anthropocene www.pnas.org/topic/574 #biodiversity #evolution #ecology #popgen #ClimateEmergency

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Sam England @samjakeengland.bsky.social · Jul 24

Why do treehoppers look so weird?! Our latest paper, out this week in @pnas.org, suggests a perhaps unexpected reason - static electricity ⚡ We show that treehoppers can detect the electrostatic cues of predators and that their crazy shapes may boost their electrosensitivity! doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Electroreception in treehoppers: How extreme morphologies can increase electrical sensitivity | PNAS

The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...

doi.org

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Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge @camzoology.bsky.social · Jul 30

New research on glasswing butterflies🦋 by an international team of researchers, including @joanameier.bsky.social and Prof @chrisjiggins.bsky.social offers fresh insights into insect evolution and may help shape more effective conservation of these species.

Read more: bit.ly/4oi4XUo

Glasswing butterfly (Mechanitis messenoides). Photo by Alex Arias

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Florida Museum of Natural History @floridamuseum.bsky.social · Jul 29

A new study tracks the recent and rapid diversification of glasswing butterflies, which evolved within the last two million years in the tropics of South America.
Story:
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/geno...

Study:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

a thin butterfly with black and orange patterns on its long, lobed wings is at rest on the shiny surface of a leaf next to what might be small eggs

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Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · Jul 29

Advances in computational methods for inferring networks from #genome-scale data and guidelines for deriving biological insights from #phylogenetic networks www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Phylogenetic networks empower biodiversity research | PNAS

Reticulate evolution has long been recognized as a key mechanism that contributes to genetic and trait diversity. With the widespread availability ...

www.pnas.org

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Wellcome Sanger Institute @sangerinstitute.bsky.social · Jul 29

Experts have remapped the evolutionary tree of glasswing butterflies found across Central and South America, highlighting six new species.

This research helps track biodiversity and reveals genetic insights into how these insects evolve into new species.

sanger.ac.uk/news_item/re...

Two vibrant butterflies of the species Mechanitis polymnia perched closely on a green life back to back. The butterflies are orange and black and the image showcases their intricate wing pattern.
Credit: Alex Arias.

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Benito Wainwright @benitoexplains.bsky.social · Jul 23

Wanna see what it was REALLY like collecting data in the rainforest for our recent @pnas.org paper? I made a wee video about it, on YouTube now. As usual, thanks to my amazing field-assistant-turned-camera-operator Theodora for most of the sweaty Ecuadorean mug shots… 😇

youtu.be/6jNxgvK0kU0?...

Butterflies that look alike, see alike (PNAS paper 2025)

YouTube video by Benito's Explanations

youtu.be

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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jul 28

thanks everyone for respecting the fact that i'm going to have to promote my book all the time now and while i'm excited about it i also know that promotion is awkward and weird and i'm just gonna push through and try to stay excited

if you get annoyed, please just keep scrolling, you'll be ok

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Gregory Kohn @kohngregory.bsky.social · Jul 28

Ultimately, this means that I can use my birds to both produce data, and back it up.

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · Jul 28

4,000 NASA workers are leaving through deferred resignation. "The cuts amount to an estimated 20% of NASA's workforce" www.npr.org/2025/07/26/n...

Nearly 4,000 NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

The employees who have chosen to leave the agency amount to about 20% of NASA's workforce.

www.npr.org

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