We’re recruiting new Research Group Leaders. We offer: 🔬 World-class IT infrastructure 🧠 Creative freedom for your research 📊 Access to the world’s most comprehensive open biological data Apply by 11 April embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j... #ResearchCareers @johnlees.bacpop.org @embl.org

I got the rejection email today. I didn't have any luck with the Australian Geographic photo comp this year. No need for sympathy. I'm used to it. It's very competitive. Here's one of my unsuccessful entries. A yellow-tailed rock wallaby at Boolcoomatta Reserve.

Awesome to see our paper that explores the role of inflammation during marsupial pregnancy come out @plosbiology.org. We found that embryos secrete inflammatory signals that directly impact embryo survival and nutrient allocation. Explaining why inflammation has been retained in implantation.

1/ I’m very excited to share my postdoc work with @kseskv.bsky.social, in collaboration with @oligriffith.bsky.social. We explore embryonic DNA methylation reprogramming in the fat-tailed dunnart, an Australian marsupial 🦘🌏 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Translation for last year PhD students: You want to watch the ARC webpage tomorrow to see who will be looking for postdocs in 2026

New life goal achieved! #OviparousMammal #Echidna #OriginsOfPregnancy

Fetal inflammatory signals regulate maternal investment in a pregnant marsupial https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.16.669780v1

🧬 Ever wondered how something as bizarre and vital as the placenta evolved—not just in humans, but across the animal kingdom? I had a great time chatting about the wild diversity of placentation (think: lizards, sharks, and more) on the latest episode of Tiny Matters. 🎧 Listen here:

before working on this episode, i'd never thought about the fact that male seahorses have placentas, and now I can't stop thinking about it open.spotify.com/episode/0rnA...

The Budget should include a massive and historic increase in funding for research. Not only is it needed, but we really should be poaching ever medical and scientific researcher from the US we can. Absolutely perfect timing.

New book out on invasions by the brilliant @benflips.bsky.social academic.oup.com/book/59515

#FutureFellowships #FT25 Detailed Assessor reports are now available in RMS and rejoinders have opened. Here’s an older thread with suggestions on dealing with assessor reports – especially the #ARC3DayRule – and constructing a rejoinder. threadreaderapp.com/thread/15191...

The ARC have tweeted that they will released Discovery Projects Expression of Interest outcomes tomorrow.

We are hiring!! 🦎🧠🐍 2 year postdoc to work on on the evolution of brains in snakes and lizards (on our current ARC Discovery project). Applications close 25th March 2025! careers.adelaide.edu.au/cw/en/job/51...

This week the ARC should release Expressions of Interest outcomes for Discovery Projects. Should be Wed–Fri. They’re not public, so my bot cannot track them. The ARC should email applicants, and maybe tweet(?), to say outcomes are available in RMS.

Pretty excited that our new species appears to have flooded small local newspapers in the USA www.sacbee.com/news/nation-...

Out now in @nature.com! Our comprehensive meta-analysis of global terrestrial and marine genetic diversity demonstrates rapid loss of genetic diversity and identifies conservation interventions that could mitigate this process www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪🌍🦤🧬 #consgen #PopGen

Great to catch up with old friend @isobelronai.bsky.social for lunch on this windy day!

Also! Definitely check out all the presentations in the S9 “Cnidarian sensory systems as comparative models for the evolution of complexity” in Marquis C 8:30-3:30 tomorrow!

🧵1/4. New book finally coming out on 26 December 2024. This has been a monumental effort and I take the opportunity to thank my co-editor @ulrikacandolin.bsky.social, all of the amazing contributors, chapter reviewers and the team at Oxford Academic. global.oup.com/academic/pro...

every company right now:

Check out this story on our recent PNAS paper, which shows how our ancestors overcame challenges of pregnancy, to support an extended period of placentation.

Early career researchers: ALWAYS tap into the whisper network before you join a lab.

Very proud of my grad students for putting together this comprehensive review on cell-free placental DNA. We found that reviews on the topic focus on clinical utility. Here we focus on basic science of cell-free placental DNA, what we know and current knowledge gaps journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Great to have our lab Christmas Party hosted by the wonderful Sally Potter! Such a pleasure working with an awesome group of people.

The evolution of gestation length in eutherian #mammals Thodoris Danis & Antonis Rokas 🧪⚒️ royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...