Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Rob Denton

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1h

We will be writing more of these. If you’re a scientist and your science has been disrupted, we want to hear from you: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...

Has Your Scientific Work Been Cut? We Want to Hear.

www.nytimes.com

24 32

Reposted by Rob Denton

Milton Tan @mtanichthys.bsky.social · 16h

Wait what's happening with CIPRES?!
www.phylo.org

CIPRES

www.phylo.org

1 1 2

Reposted by Rob Denton

Maria Akopyan, PhD @akopyan.bsky.social · 16d

Now published in Cell! We found that ~15% of SNPs from divergent refs did not liftover as SNPs in the gray fox ref—half mapped to monomorphic sites, half failed to map. Co-authored with Matthew Genchev, @elliecat.bsky.social, and @jazlynmooney.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

2 24 48

Reposted by Rob Denton

Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 7d

Jane Goodall challenged what it meant to be a scientist.

In this news story we look at three ways she changed science.

A loss for science, a loss for the community, a loss for everyone

🧪 #academicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Jane Goodall’s legacy: three ways she changed science

The primatologist challenged what it meant to be a scientist.

www.nature.com

26 57

Reposted by Rob Denton

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 9d

Staff members at the NIH seem to have done the impossible: spend the agency's $48 billion budget.

“Everyone has been rallying together to clean up the mess, but it’s a mess that did not need to be made,” an NIH program officer told me.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NIH races to spend its 2025 grant money — but fewer projects win funding

Despite political obstacles, officials are on track to disburse all of the research funds allocated to US biomedical behemoth.

www.nature.com

4 120 390

Reposted by Rob Denton

Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · 14d

I was collecting #quail #embryos this morning and found an individual with albinism! Look at the lack of pigment in the retinal epithelium! Reminds me of finding a leopard #gecko embryo with the same condition during my PhD.

Two quail embryos. The individual on the left has dark pigment in it's eye while the individual on the right has no visible pigment in the eye.

Two leopard gecko embryos. The individual on the left has dark pigment in it's eye while the individual on the right has no visible pigment in the eye.

8 21

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · 15d

Went to a little workshop on universal design yesterday, and someone shared this document that has been super helpful to A) get new ideas and B) map things I already do universal design intentions.

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

(PDF) Universal Design: Places to Start

PDF | Beginning with a series of possible ways to introduce an essay on Universal Design for Learning, this contribution instead resolves to offer a... | Find, read and cite all the research you need ...

www.researchgate.net

2

Reposted by Rob Denton

Sandra Goutte @sandragoutte.bsky.social · 22d

Happy to share that our paper on the #evolution and #genomics of the most common #color polymorphism in #frogs is now out in @pnas.org! My favorite frogs even made the cover of this week’s issue! 🎉🐸🎉

Read the paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

A pair of Ehiopian grass frogs (Ptychadena nana) on the cover of PNAS this week!

1 12 40

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · 22d

I've been a biology student/professional for like 20 years. I still regularly see things like this that blow me away. What a life.

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 22d

The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage.

When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig.

Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?

1 11

Reposted by Rob Denton

Kate Laskowski @katelaskowski.bsky.social · 23d

SquidSim is the coolest package - it let's you build complex hierarchical data structures and then simulate data from the world you create. The best tool for doing proper power analyses and testing how well your models can uncover the 'truth'. I've been recommending it to everyone!

Joel Pick @joelpick.bsky.social · 24d

Interested in simulating the kind of data that you might commonly find in evolutionary and ecological studies?

Then we have the R package for you - squidSim!!

Check our new preprint:
ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

squidSim: a flexible R package for structured and reproducible simulations in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

ecoevorxiv.org

18 71

Reposted by Rob Denton

Gustavo A. Ballen @gaballench.bsky.social · 25d

Our paper (with @sreinales.bsky.social) finally out today in the Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society. It feels like a birthday present 🤪 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

tbea: tools for pre- and post-processing in bayesian evolutionary analyses

Abstract. Estimating phylogenies in which branch lengths are expressed in units of absolute time is crucial for testing hypotheses in evolutionary biology.

academic.oup.com

8 12

Reposted by Rob Denton

Camille Roux @crouxevo.bsky.social · 27d

Hybridization and introgression are major evolutionary processes. Since the 1940s, the prevailing view has been that they shape plants far more than animals. In our new study (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
), we find the opposite: animals exchange genes more, and for longer, than plants

3 110 190

Reposted by Rob Denton

Christian Landry @christianlandry.bsky.social · 29d

Really excited to share our latest paper led by @simonaube.bsky.social. Fascinating results examining whether regulatory mutations can lead to adaptation as fast as coding mutations do. #mevosky #evobio #evoSky

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Adaptation is less accessible through mutations in promoters than in coding sequences when large effect sizes are needed

Mutations within promoters and coding sequences are both involved in adaptation, but their relative contributions remain to be compared directly. Using the fungal enzyme cytosine deaminase, we examine...

www.biorxiv.org

1 32 76

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Sep 8

I've been in a basement for four years! What a change in mood.

1 1

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Sep 8

I have a new office and am delighted to have worked my way up to "has windows" status.

Interior of an office, featuring amphibian artwork, a warm-toned rug, numerous plants, and lego sets

2 1 34

Reposted by Rob Denton

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

Why do speciation rates vary across the tree of life?
Some of the best yet most underappreciated places for this investigation are natural hybrid zones.
This preprint takes you to the hybrid zones in the origin of species to find a clue. 👉 shorturl.at/N7FXE
#Speciation #Evolution #hybridization

2 53 110

Reposted by Rob Denton

Cathy Newman ⚜️🐘 @cenewman0.bsky.social · Sep 3

Great story about the Atlantic Coast leopard frog, which I helped identify, name, and describe (I'm used to my work being erased from these stories, it's ok 🥲) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/n...

The Endangered Frog That Lives Next to an Amazon Warehouse

www.nytimes.com

1 5 10

Reposted by Rob Denton

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · Aug 29

In the earliest stages of adaptive introgression, beneficial immigration can drive genome-wide changes. In a new preprint www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... colleagues & I document exceptionally rapid genomic introgression in a lake population of stickleback.

2 14 37

Reposted by Rob Denton

Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · Aug 27

I'm a little bit late, but happy to see this new paper led by @imillercrews.bsky.social and anchored by @rosvall-lab.bsky.social now out on bioRxiv.

We analyze comparative songbird RNA-seq data using new features in our software package, CAGEE. Check it out!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How sex shapes transcriptome evolution in the songbird brain

Sex differences have captivated scientists for a long time, yet the evolutionary rate of change in sex-biased gene expression has not been directly quantified. To address this issue, we leverage brain...

www.biorxiv.org

16 39

Reposted by Rob Denton

The American Journal of Human Genetics @ajhgnews.bsky.social · Aug 13

📣Online NOW!
📄Estimation of demography and mutation rates from one million haploid genomes
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 @jgschraiber.bsky.social @jeffspence.github.io @docedge.bsky.social

Estimation of demography and mutation rates from one million haploid genomes

Samples of millions of genomes provide substantial information about recent demography and mutation, but standard population-genetic methods make assumptions not met in these data. We introduce DR EVI...

www.cell.com

23 48

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Aug 13

Small-but-actually-large joys: receiving 1.1 Tb of long-read sequencing 🦎🧬

2 6

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Aug 8

I've never been more upset at the general trajectory of technology that at this moment, when Outlook offered me suggestions for fixing the tone of my email message.

10

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Jul 28

These kinds of things are still the best

C. Brandon Ogbunu @cbo.bsky.social · Jul 27

Biologist folk (especially in evolutionary biology and/or ecology, but it don’t matter):

Can you give me your favorite examples of trade offs in biology? Organism or system don’t matter. Primary literature or reviews preferred.

1

Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · Jul 27

Indiana let's go

Maureen Barr @barrlab.bsky.social · Jul 26

From @aaas.org check-in with Sudip Parikh: a letter by 14 Republican senators urge the Office of Management and Budget to release NIH funding. If this includes your state (AL, ME, WV, SC, KY, KS, AR, PA, NC, IN, AK), Sudip recommends contacting & thanking them for being American science leaders.

Director Vought:
We write to ask you to fully implement the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, including funds appropriated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The continuing resolution supp011s NIH initiatives across a range of critical research areascancer, cardiovascular disease, rare pediatric disorders, and more. These vital efforts are not only necessary to Make America Healthy Again, but also have a direct impact on American families, biomedical innovation, our economy, and competing with Communist China.
We are concerned by the slow disbursement rate of FY25 NIH funds, as it risks undermining critical research and the thousands of American jobs it supports. Suspension of these appropriated funds - whether formally withheld or functionally delayed - could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science. It also risks inadve11ently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results.
We share your commitment to ensuring NIH funds are used responsibly and not diverted to ideological or unaccountable programs. We are confident Secretary Kennedy and Director Bhattacharya are well positioned to uphold gold standard research by ensuring that NIH awards are grounded in transparency, scientific merit, and a clear alignment with national interests. Our shared goal is to restore public trust in the NIH precisely because its work is focused on results, accountability, and real-world impact. Withholding or suspending these funds would jeopardize that trust and hinder progress on critical health challenges facing our nation. Ultimately, this is about finding cures and seeing them through to fruition.
We respectfully request that you ensure the timely release of all FY25 NIH appropriations in accordance with congressional intent. Doing so will ensure continued momentum in curing disease, supp011ing American innovation, and delivering result…

Sincerely,
Katie Boyd Britt
John Boozman
Shelly Moore Capito
Bill Cassidy
Susan Collins
Lindsey O. Graham
David H. McCormick
Mitch McConnel
Jerry Moran
Lisa Murkowski
Thom Tillis
Todd Young
Dan Sullivan
Tim Scott

1 1 5

Reposted by Rob Denton

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · Jul 22

NSF staff release their appeal—slightly different format than the declarations of dissent from EPA/NIH/NASA; a more formal petition to Congress to redress attacks on the agency and its employees. 149 signatories (48 named)
democrats-science.house.gov/imo/media/do...

Petition for Action
As provided under the Lloyd-La Follette Act (5 U.S.C. 7211), the signatories respectfully petition the
Committee to:
1. Ensure that NSF employees are shielded from politically motivated firings and protected
under merit-based personnel systems.
2. End illegal impoundments of monies appropriated to NSF.
3. Defend the agency from further interference in its peer review process.
4. Demand transparency from OMB, DOGE, and NSF leadership regarding internal employment
policies and future agency relocations.
5. Reaffirm NSF’s scientific independence and support for world-class research that advances
national prosperity and security.
NSF employees are committed to serving the American people through research, education, and
innovation. But they cannot do so under fear, censorship, and institutional sabotage. Without immediate
oversight and corrective action from Congress, one of our nation’s greatest engines for scientific and
technological advancement faces irreversible long-term damage. Put simply, America will forfeit its
scientific leadership position to China and other rival nations.

1 57 110