Beginning a new adventure in the Arctic in July 1999. I’m to the left. Marcus Davis to the right. First day of fieldwork in the Arctic. We’d find Tiktaalik roseae five years later. Photo: Ted Daeschler 🧪

Our work exploring a new explanation for the regulation of Hoxd genes and the #fin-to-limb transition. 🧪 It was an absolute joy working on this w/ @aurhin.bsky.social and @homeobox.bsky.social @denisduboule.bsky.social @neilshubin.bsky.social #evo-devo #InHoxWeTrust

Congrats to Aurelie Hinterman aurhin.bsky.social, Chase Bolt chasebolt.bsky.social, and Brent Hawkins @homeobox.bsky.social! Coverage in NYTimes by @carlzimmer.com: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/s...

Before recently shipping this model out to its new home at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in Singapore, I brought it over to @neilshubin.bsky.social lab to see the latest updates to the sculptures anatomy. Tiktaalik’s discovery site on the wall map makes the scene!

Feeling the incalculable loss of Mark Norell (1957-2025): wonderful scientist and cherished friend. His influence will continue through his many mentees and the science he did and inspired.

Excited to be giving 4 lectures in Paris in October at the Collège de France. Free and open to the public!

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial telling students in central Tennessee about their inner fish. I’m so grateful to the high school and middle school teachers who brought their students from small schools to the event (some from almost an hr away).

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial telling students in central Tennessee about their inner fish. I’m so grateful to the high school and middle school teachers who brought their students from small schools to the event (some from almost an hr away).

Congrats to @tdcapellini.bsky.social @gayani.bsky.social and the entire team!

Missing links in evolution explained news.uchicago.edu/explainer/mi...

The great Tyler Kellior swung by lab with the latest reconstruction of Tiktaalik. Here we are in the "look what I just caught!" pose and Tyler with his "a man and his fish" one. Geological map of the Ellesmere Island are in the background...

I’m thrilled that ENDS OF THE EARTH has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize! In such fabulous company on the list. royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...

ENDS OF THE EARTH is available now for a limited time on ebook for just $1.99. Get it while it lasts! 💙🧪

New from the lab! Announcing MORPHOVIEW a powerful tool to quantify in high throughput the 3D structures of cells and tissues during organ morphogenesis. Great work by Sam Norris. 🧪 https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dvdy.70061

It is not a political statement to note the fact that science enhances our well being, expands our knowledge of the world, and drives economic growth 🧪

Thank you!

When Marcia McNutt's term ends next year, @neilshubin.bsky.social will take the reins at NAS to lead the organization through what may continue to be a fraught landscape for government-funded science. Quick story w/ Jeff Tollefson: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Some personal news…

I was so psyched to cover (read: obsess over) this recent paper from @neilshubin.bsky.social and @invertebratepal.bsky.social’s labs! It’s always a treat to talk about evolution, but even more so when it’s this cool. Check out our latest toothy deep dive for Substack using the link below. 🧪

Tiktaalik is in the lab! Tyler Kellior dropped by with a draft of the latest reconstruction of the beast 🧪

Chicago friends… beat the heat and drop by the Chicago Public Library this Monday. I’ll be talking about the amazing and important science of Earth’s polar regions. See you there!

Talked to @KateZernike at @nytimes about my journey and the current moment for scientists in the U.S. “Ardem Patapoutian’s story is not just the American dream, it is the dream of American science.” Read the article here. No subscription required: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/u...

New paper from the lab: Our teeth arose as sensory organs on the outside of the body of ancient jawless fish.!! Congrats to Yara Haridy and the team! Background and video: phys.org/news/2025-05... Open Access Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... News and Views: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Let’s all thank our mom on this Mothers Day! 🧪

Here is my conversation with @LKrauss1 on the Origins Podcast. We talk finding a career in science, evolution, Tiktaalik, polar science, and more...🧪 lawrencekrauss.substack.com/p/neil-shubi...

When did our flexible and lubricated joints evolve? 🤔 Read this 'Behind the paper' story from Neelima Sharma @neelimasharma.bsky.social to find out 👇 thenode.biologists.com/when-did-our... #EvoDevo @neilshubin.bsky.social

It was a thrill to participate in the Young Biologists Tournament at the Richelieu Scientific Lyceum in Odesa Ukraine. Their incredibly creative teacher asked me to see if other scientists, writers, or others could connect with these talented students. DM for details!! 🧪 youtu.be/K5w_91oN6cg?...

Catch my bookstore talk on ENDS OF THE EARTH here... 🧪

“This is about animal engineering; it’s not about resuscitating ancient species,” says @neilshubin.bsky.social. “The conversation is not, ‘Do we bring old species back?’ The conversation is, ‘We’re creating new kinds of creatures. We are modifying creatures in new ways. Should we be doing it?’"

3/ As @neilshubin.bsky.social says, it's not a de-extinction but a new animal, and there could be more gene-edited animals coming. That's what we should be discussing.

Undark Magazine reviews paleontologist and Friend of Darwin award recipient Neil Shubin's (@neilshubin.bsky.social) new book, Ends of the Earth. undark.org/2025/03/28/b... via @undark.org #BookSky #ScienceSky #nonfiction

Thank you! 🧪

Catch my talk on ENDS OF THE EARTH at my local indie bookstore (Seminary Coop Bookstore) here: https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/ends-of-the-earth-journeys-to-the-polar-regions-in-search-of-life-the-cosmos-and-our-future/655239

🧪

Dear AI , Steal my words to write words like I would write about you. See below.

The importance, necessity, and beauty of polar research. My latest in @nautil.us nautil.us/the-extraord...

Taking a hike in The Shire today.

TODAY'S THE DAY: 'Demure Mindfulness the Taylor Swift Way' is published in Canada. Also the US. If in the US, please buy extra copies to send to your elected representatives (an audiobook is available for Republicans). read.macmillan.com/lp/decline-a...

Sometimes the most challenging part of working in remote places for long periods is simply staying sane…

Today's the day that posties the length and breath of Britain will be struggling up the garden path crushed under the weight of my new book, just like they were with 'Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire'. (What did J. K. Rowling have against posties?) www.panmacmillan.com/authors/henr...

Why keep these expensive and meddlesome agencies when all you need is a sharpie? www.cbsnews.com/news/noaa-na...

My life would have played out very differently without the support of Canadian scientists, administrators, and indigenous communities-- Laccognathus, Pachygenelus, Tiktaalik, and other fossils would likely still be in the ground if not for them.

Thank you!

Tuscon friends! I'll be speaking at the Tuscon Festival of Books this Sunday at 10am and again at 4pm. 🧪 💙📗 See details here: tucsonfestivalofbooks.org

Nothing like returning to a spot you hiked a day before in the Arctic to see these prints next to your old ones. This will get your attention… 🧪 Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada, July 2002

Polar ice holds meteorites from Mars, the Moon, and the early solar system: pieces of the cosmos that have landed on our planet free of charge. Over 50,000 have been collected by the US NSF There remains so much to discover about ur world in the ice of polar regions. #standupforscience

Such a loss: Great scientist, eloquent writer.

On #WorldBookDay take a break from doomscrolling to lose yourself in some science, and support science writers! Here are a few of my favorite new releases, from @neilshubin.bsky.social @ghostspecies.bsky.social. Plus new ones from @endofthepier.bsky.social & @restingdinoface.bsky.social Explore!

Biologist @neilshubin.bsky.social describes the moment when his team discovered the fossilized remains of Tiktaalik rosea-- one of the first animals to walk on land!

The New Yorker selects ENDS OF THE EARTH as one of the "Best Books We Read This Week!" 🧪 💙📗 www.newyorker.com/best-books-2...