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/...