The Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis mimicking a mouth with teeth to scare off predators. Original post

Good news! Ministers have finally given green light to new #NaturalHistory GCSE. We’ve campaigned so long for this! Big hats off to tireless advocate Mary Colwell 🙌 Now our young people will have a chance to get to know & love the natural world, to feel awe & wonder, & gain skills to protect it 🌷🌳🦡

Our paper "Gene ancestries reveal diverse microbial associations during eukaryogenesis.” is finally out in Nature. Eukaryogenesis was likely a gradual process shaped by multiple microbial partners and virus-mediated gene transfer, rather than a single binary symbiosis. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Social insects tackle pathogens with behaviours like grooming and the removal of infected individuals. These behaviours facilitate the evolution of larger more complex societies. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @mingpapilio.bsky.social @georgeshillcock.bsky.social @tomwscott.bsky.social

Today I've written for Arguably on one big mystery in our public life: why does no-one care about the existential crisis of our universities? Read all about it... 👇 www.arguably.uk/p/the-quiet-...

We are hiring a curator for the ornithology section at the @leibnizlib.bsky.social in Hamburg. Please apply or share: www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/careers/j...

Excited to share this new paper from the lab: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...! See thread below

🚨SSE members: check your inbox!🚨 SSE has sent an important email regarding the OMB's proposed overhaul of federal grant regulations--changes that could affect peer review, publishing, conferences, professional societies, international collaborations, and more. @sse-evolution.bsky.social

Chance to join the incredible banded mongoose project! 🇺🇬❤️ 3 year postdoc on the mongoose project, working on the evolution and maintenance of group identity in animal societies. The closing date for applications is 16 June 2026. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRN272/p...

Congratulations to @timcoulson.bsky.social, @stuwest.bsky.social, and Kathy Willis, who have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society! 👇

Exciting news! In the meantime, anyone curious about the book should check out this BioScience review of the book, penned by @asgriffin.bsky.social. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

Please share widely! Abstract submissions open for the 2026 Jacques Monod conference: Ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions in a changing world! Held in beautiful Roscoff France from November 2- 6, 2026. Abstracts submission deadline : June 6 cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en/conferenc...

President Obama: “We pulled it off without firing a missile. We got 97% of their enriched uranium out. There’s no dispute that it worked and we didn’t have to kill a whole bunch of people or shut down the Strait of Hormuz.”

Excited to be part of this ambitious project newly published in BES. I hope we see microbes stealing a piece of this pie in ten years time! 🦠💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 Thanks to @tcmbakker.bsky.social and James Traniello for the invitation and co-author @stuwest.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk

🚨Job claxon🚨 4-year #Postdoc available in our lab in @camzoology.bsky.social developing molecular and anatomical approaches to mapping evolutionary changes in the brain, using #Heliconiini butterflies. Come join us, we are nice. 🧪 www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

Brilliant to see this online! Big congrats Rosie on your first paper too 👏

How social is social resistance? Check out our new mini-review on why the protective effects of β-lactamase enzymes may vary. Co-authored by @asgriffin.bsky.social! portlandpress.com/essaysbioche...

Review on how beta-lactamase resistance spans a continuum from private to cooperative resistance A first publication for fantastic PhD student Rosie Randall, working with @asgriffin.bsky.social portlandpress.com/essaysbioche...

How social is social resistance? Check out our new mini-review, co-authored by Rosie Randall. Her first paper! 👏🏽 portlandpress.com/essaysbioche... Thanks to @friendlymicrobe.bsky.social and @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social for the invitation. @biology.ox.ac.uk @ilesla.bsky.social

Sneak peek at the US cover for THE THINKING ANIMAL, coming Jan '27. Looking forward to sharing more - soon! @stmartinspress.bsky.social @zcosini.bsky.social

Happy 100th Birthday Sir David! Short clip from a film with Sir David Attenborough featuring @ellafcole.bsky.social explaining research in @wythamwoods.bsky.social into how Great Tits adjust behaviour during incubation to fine-tune hatching date: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGjL...

📣 Two weeks into hosting @evoldir.bsky.social and all is well! 📥 Original subscribers please check your inboxes and complete the opt-in process if you have not already done so 📆 EvolDir updates are temporarily being emailed twice weekly. Daily updates will resume ASAP! Thanks to all 🙏

Symiotic fungi are crucial to restoration on earth's most remote island www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @spun.earth @tobykiers.bsky.social @nature.org

Symbiotic fungi play a crucial role in maintaining - and restoring - tropical island ecosystems New research with @stuwest.bsky.social suggests a crucial missing ingredient for reforestation: mycorrhizae. Some trees even appear to depend on a remarkably specific fungal partner 👇 bit.ly/4dcLctz

Since 1888, the Linnean Medal has honoured those advancing our understanding of nature. This year, we celebrate 10 individuals—pioneering researchers, communicators & campaigners—whose work spans discovery, conservation and public engagement, united by a commitment to safeguarding the natural world.

We're recruiting! We're looking for two graduate students to join us at UBC in Vancouver. Fully funded and open to global applicants, with flexible start-date. Topics include theory, bioinformatics, and microbiology. More details: asherleeks.com/apply #socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪

We have a PhD studentship available to develop genome safeguarding technologies for synthetic phage therapeutics www.findaphd.com/phds/project... It is part of an exciting new @officialuom.bsky.social PhD by Enterprise programme www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/resear...

The link comes with gorillas! 😂 Persister cells surprising us by forming at peak growth rate. What does this mean for our understanding of their function? tinyurl.com/3r4f97w5 @royalsocietypublishing.org @uphoff.bsky.social @biology.ox.ac.uk @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social @sarandavies.bsky.social

The Tyler Prize is now accepting nominations for 2027. Recognising leaders whose work is advancing solutions for the planet. Nominations must come from a third party. Nominate here: buff.ly/09sxesg

Happily recovering after three days celebrations: Congratulations with love 💚 @tobykiers.bsky.social @tylerprize.bsky.social

Biologists Confirm Not Much Evolution Happened Today — theonion.com/biologists-c...

An ant that behaves like a cleaner fish? With awesome photos. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🚨 PhD opportunity in evolutionary microbiology! Join our lab to study how horizontal gene transfer drives host–microbe symbioses and ecological function Plus: a PDRA position in comparative genomics is available ✉️ [email protected] Apply below #PhD #Postdoc #Microbiology #Evolution #Genomics

Marie Curie fellowship scheme open now! Get in touch if you are interested in comparative projects on social evolution. 🐒🐦‍⬛🐝🐜🐬🦚🌴🪸🍄🦠🧬 @biology.ox.ac.uk marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/whats-new/ne...

Of course! I’m always delighted when one of my students mispronounce something because it means they found out about it by reading! 🤓

Expect inspiring talks from leading voices in #InsectScience - It’s a rare chance to hear directly from those shaping the direction of entomology globally. 💡 Early bird registration is open - lock in your place while rates are at their lowest! Check out our keynote speakers 🔽

I hadn't seen this before. This is pretty remarkable. Earth and Moon in one NASA photo. ht @astrokatie.com

A program that, to those of us on the other side of the Atlantic, has long been something we've held up as example of what could & should be done to support some of the most important types of field study. Very concerning to see this under threat

Read our perspective piece on a brilliant new piece of work out in @pnas.org studying public goods in an insect. Congratulations to the team! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @caritalindstedt.bsky.social @stuwest.bsky.social

Hooray! This is so useful, thank you!

Sperm can “age” independently of the male, when stored in male or female reproductive tracts. Our meta-analysis finds widespread evidence across animals (including abstinence in men). Important consequences for fertility, sexual selection, haploid selection! doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

A cross-species analysis reveals a shared pattern across many animals: stored sperm deteriorates rapidly - resulting in reduced sperm performance, fertilisation success, and embryo quality New research 👇 https://bit.ly/4uCqEl8 @krishsanghvi11.bsky.social @iremsepil.bsky.social

Great example of how an understanding of social interactions in bacterial infections can inform treatment strategies. (Also a really nice example of how to make a little film to communicate findings.) Congratulations to the team! @scelse.bsky.social @biology-unige.bsky.social

#PhilTransB is open to theme issue proposals in all areas of biology - a great opportunity to create a landmark publication in your field. Find out more: bit.ly/PTBproposals

Only two weeks are left for registering for Annual Conference 2026 in Belfast. Register now to secure your spot: https://microb.io/AC26Register #Microbio26

Last call for applications to the LinneSys research fund! These grants of up to £1,500 support research in the field of systematics and taxonomy. The deadline is midnight on Friday 27 March. If you need any help, contact [email protected]. buff.ly/8eryOMN

🎯April 15 is the last day to: - Save $100 on in-person meeting registration - Submit your virtual or in-person talk - Apply for the SSE Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation! We look forward to seeing you online in May and in Cleveland in June! #Evol2026

📢 Last call to submit your abstract! Deadline: 17:00 (GMT), 23 March - TODAY! Register to join the Infection, Immunity & Microbionts SIG at @uniofbath.bsky.social & hear from our great keynote speakers. 📅 16-17 April 🔬 Day 1: Symbionts and Microbiomes 🦠 Day 2: Pathogens and Immunity Register 🔽