...and the second on miRNA evolution. The deadline for both is 10th April. (2/2)

Come and work with our group! 2 very cool PhD positions up for grabs - the first on stop codon readthrough...(1/2)

If you are looking for activities to do for the #BritishScienceWeek, take a look at our “How are proteins made?” from RiboCode sLoLa project. Designed for schools in the UK and Ireland, ages 7-11 (~KS2/Second to Fifth Class/P4-7). Download the free resources and enjoy:) ribocode.org/resources/

PanForest: predicting genes in genomes using random forests academic.oup.com/bioinformati... #jcampubs

It was a great privilege to be involved with this paper on a new T2T zebra finch genome, working on the miRNA side of things. Have a read of the preprint now!

Talk from @jfennbio.bsky.social at #ESEB2025 on this work. I didn't catch the actual predictive accuracy in the talk - from the paper, I glean that it's >90%!

The day finished off strong with loads of great talks in the Genomics of Evolutionary Innovations symposium! I'm pleased to report that my talk went well ☺️ 🎨🖌️ #eseb2025 #eseb #esebconference @eseb2025.bsky.social @jfenn.bsky.social @timothyfuqua.bsky.social

I have arrived in Barcelona for ESEB 2025! I will be talking about microRNA and the evolution of the mammalian placenta on Tuesday at 14:30 in Meeting Room 113 @eseb2025.bsky.social

I have arrived in Barcelona for ESEB 2025! I will be talking about microRNA and the evolution of the mammalian placenta on Tuesday at 14:30 in Meeting Room 113 @eseb2025.bsky.social

In Nature Genetics, @danielibrahim.bsky.social (MPIMG/BIH) and his team have developed a bioinformatic tool to identify evolutionary conserved regulatory regions of the genome that have transformed so much over time that their DNA sequences have changed completely. 👉 www.molgen.mpg.de/4927054

Why do imperfect mimics (such as many hoverflies) exist? We created 3D printed replicas of flies, wasps and our own custom intermediates and then "asked" various predators what they thought of our 3D stimuli. Read all about it here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Take a look at our work on miRNAs and their involvement with placental phenotypes. It's great to see this work finally see the light of day - huge thanks to everyone involved with the manuscript.

How did mammal placental diversity evolve? miRNAs play a significant role - indeed their repertoire is predictive of phenotype. Congrats to all: esp 1st author @jfennbio.bsky.social & all in @niamhforde.bsky.social group. Thanks to @ukri.org and @leverhulme.ac.uk. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

It's great to see this work lead by @klarawanelik.bsky.social published - voles which are superspreaders of pathogenic bacteria have distinct gut microbiota: doi.org/10.1186/s425...

It's great to see this work lead by @klarawanelik.bsky.social published - voles which are superspreaders of pathogenic bacteria have distinct gut microbiota: doi.org/10.1186/s425...

Great to see this review of specialised ribosomes from Alan in our group, and his colleagues in RiboCode, published today. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

I will be speaking about miRNAs and placental phenotypes at PopGroup this afternoon at 14.15 in LT3 - come along if you're here!

miRNA back in the news!

When I'm not doing research, I occasionally write about video games, and in this piece that just went up @unwinnable.com I try to combine the two. Specifically, I look at the difficulties of simulating the natural world in a game. Have a read if that sounds at all interesting!

‘A place of joy’: why scientists are joining the rush to Bluesky For me, it certainly feels good to be here! @natureportfolio.bsky.social @bsky.app www.nature.com/articles/d41...

In my ongoing quest to leave Twitter, I'm hoping use this account for sharing my research, and publicising the work of the O'Connell lab here at the University of Nottingham. I'm looking at the evolution of microRNA - the discovery of which recently earned a Nobel Prize! tinyurl.com/552ph6xh