New Substack post It's very personal: my story of a 20-year academic career, and the many challenges of theoretical and cross-disciplinary work As I put it in the subtitle: There is a lot of success and a lot of pain here, and no happy ending thomscottphillips.substack.com/p/happy-in-t...

Birds aren’t the only creatures that fly south for the winter.

Friends! It's the feast day of St. Hildegard of Bingen, an abbess, polymath, mystic, & eel truth-teller. Medieval thinkers agreed that eels reproduce asexually. But Hildegard suggested that eels mate at sea, where we can't watch. No one listened to her. But she was right! 1/2 🗃️🧪

🎙️ Job Announcement: Penn State is seeking an ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in MICROBIOLOGY (any subdiscipline) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Learn more and Join the Microbiome Jubilee: psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...

We are welcoming applications for a full professorship on Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology at Kiel Univerdity, Northern Germany, with fantastic facilities and infrastructure! @uni-kiel.de @crc1182.bsky.social @transevo.bsky.social www.nature.com/naturecareer...

A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species go.nature.com/4mOb5T9

In vitro model of porcine placental development: @crm110.bsky.social &co develop a swine trophoblast #organoid model that mimics in vivo #trophoblast diversity & gene expression, providing a platform for studying #placental biology & #MaternalFetalInteractions @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/47jf3yd

“In the late 1960s, Dr. Rossiter was working on her Ph.D. at Yale, when a comment from one of her male professors puzzled her. Who, she had asked, were the women in science? There were none, he said. Another professor mumbled something about Marie Curie being the exception.”🙃

Sex differences in associations between adversity and biological ageing https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.28.25334645v1

Come join us in the @biology.ox.ac.uk at @ox.ac.uk! New Associate Professor position in Animal Behaviour, with Merton College: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

🧬🦠🌍 What are the big, cross-scale questions shaping the ecology and evolution of emerging viruses? @torrelavelle.bsky.social and I are building a list of 100 questions + want your input. Help map the future of EEID — fill out & share our short survey! 🔗 airtable.com/appTW4ZoSFjR...

📌North-West European IUSSI Winter Meeting 2025 We are happy to announce that our next meeting on the 18–19 December 2025 will be in Leuven, Belgium, hosted by @twenseleers.bsky.social and his team. Plenary speakers: Ido Pen & Rahia Mashoodh @rmash.bsky.social More details to follow 🐝🐜🪳🪲

Excellent thread building on our @elife.bsky.social article about part-time working in academia: thank you for sharing the paper and these additions @professor-dave.bsky.social! I've recently been made aware of another interesting conversation article on this topic, linked shared below.

More on the #HamOrJam #WaspPicnicSurvey, how to dine peacefully with wasps and where to submit your wasp observations at picnics: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/au...

I attended three great talks from the cancer in an evolutionary framework symposium this morning. Cancer therapies from nature, population genomics of Tasmanian devil cancer, and the tug of war of cancer resistance #eseb2025 #eseb #sciart

Thank you #ESEB2025 for a wonderful week of science interactions, symposia, posters, chats with friends old and new. It's such a fantastic conference, the main challenge being choosing among so many wonderful parallel sessions! I loved being in Barcelona and seeing the energy of the organisers.

With #eseb2025 coming to a close, it is time to start making plans for 2026. Interested in the interface of evolution 🧬 and ecology 🌳? Come to our #ExE conference hosted by @uniexecec.bsky.social in beautiful #Cornwall. Leave your email address at tinyurl.com/EvolxEcol to join our mailing list!

Folks going to #ESEB2025 : To help people connect on Bluesky, I've started making starter packs. Here is a first one with the names that were available when I started. Ping me if you want to be included in the next one!

hello to everyone going to #ESEB2025! want to hear about the consequences of age-dependent plasticity in reproducing via sex vs. asex? I will give a talk at 11:15am on Thursday in S15.02. come for the pretty Hydra illustrations, stay for the novel evolutionary insights on facultative sex!

Hey #ESEB2025 folk! I'll be presenting my work on describing evolution in finite populations at 11:30 am on Tuesday in S-03. Drop by to learn how taking ecology and variable population size seriously changes classic pop gen descriptions like the Price eqn, revealing novel directional eco-evo forces.

Have you had sleepless nights wondering about how cockroaches sleep, and if this is different for pregnant cockroach females? And what happens when pesky scientists keep them awake by shaking them? Well, wonder no more! doi.org/10.1242/jeb.... 🧪 #entomology #EntoSky

#HamOrJam? What food type do #Wasps want at YOUR picnic? If you've got a choice of protein and sugar whilst alfresco dining this summer, and a wasp comes visiting, please tell us which she wants! www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/au... @femi-benny.bsky.social @uclcber.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social

Read the full research by @englishse.bsky.social and @joshuabenoit.bsky.social at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Pregnant people often struggle to sleep and now it turns out that disrupted sleep extends cockroach pregnancies by reducing the quality of the milk that feeds the developing young so they take longer to grow. Cockroaches need their beauty sleep too! journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

ICYMI : #ASABWinter2025 will take place from December 15-16, once again in lovely Edinburgh! Registration is now open 🎉 Abstract submission deadline for posters and talks is August 29 🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️ More information here: asabwinter.github.io/2025/

Applications for Winter 2025 conference attendance grants are trickling in, awarding up to £500 with a high success rate (if eligible). Deadline isn't until 1st October, but don't forget to get referee statements in by then too! All the info you need is here: www.asab.org/conference-g... @asab.org

Are you or someone you know an Evolutionary parasitologist? Wanna come work with me? Low cost of living, lots of areas doe outdoor recreation nearby. Please share far and wide! 🧪 🌱 nsuok.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

The registration deadline is rapidly approaching (August 18th). Be sure to register - spaces are limited!! @kokkonut.bsky.social @unimainz.bsky.social

Excited to share that we have just been awarded a NERC Pushing the Frontiers grant to work on between-group cooperation in the Shark Bay dolphins. We will soon advertise a 3 year post-doc to join the team - drop me an email if you might be interested! Pls share widely 🙏🏻

I feel incredibly proud of my postodc work published on today’s issue of @natureportfolio.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... What can 🦟 taste? 👤🌸💧 Are some people "tastier" to 🦟 than others? Here we examined the taste system of mosquitoes 🦟👅. I was astounded by its beautiful complexity!

Sun et al. analyzed 50 cell cycle genes to study trade-offs between body size and cancer resistance in cetaceans, providing molecular support for Peto's paradox (no correlation between body size, lifespan, and cancer risk across species). 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf159 #evobio #molbio #cancer

Nutritional geometry and non-genetic paternal effects 🐭! We show how dietary macronutrients influence the proteome of brown adipose tissue (metabolically important), with a nongenetic paternal effect in daughters www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Job opportunity! This would be perfect for someone with an interest/background in animal behaviour and enthusiasm for scientific publishing. Help contribute to a fantastic journal! Deadline 31 July.

Slow to post but I loved visiting Antwerp last week for #SEB2025 - exciting session about embryonic vulnerability to environmental change (I learned so much!); great prize/plenary talks; enjoyed the posters & interactions. Childcare responsibilities dragged me away too early sadly.

Great opportunity for an established scientist to move and grow their research group in beautiful Montreal! The Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Climate Change, Environment and Health at @mcgill.ca Apply by Aug. 8. Please share widely! mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/McGill...

I am excited to see this talk tomorrow!

SEB starts next week in Antwerp! Join us at our session on "Vulnerability of early life stages to stressors" (A14) with an incredible lineup of talks, posters and guest speakers! 🐣 Session starts Tuesday at 4:00 PM in Gorilla 3! 🦍 See you there! ✌️ @sebiology.bsky.social

I never thought I would need to be part of a group of people to campaign for something that I thought would be as straightforward and self evident as this, but here we are: It should be free to apply to graduate school. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

From student to researcher, a #career in #science can come with a high price tag. @drcraigmc.bsky.social ‬explores how wealth shapes opportunity in #STEM and proposes structural changes to support #equity and inclusion. 🧪 plos.io/4edGlY4

📢NEW funding criteria for ASAB Research Grants📢 From the 1st October deadline, we will be considering #EDIA in awarding @asab.org Research Grants. Extremely happy today, as this is the reason I agreed to be grants secretary. Thanks to @wascherclaudia.bsky.social and @englishse.bsky.social for help

#InsectWeek event @bristolbiosci.bsky.social was a huge success - over 200 visitors across all ages, some who had even cycled here from other cities, and there was lots of enthusiasm and fascination for the mini-beasts (woodlice, spiders, and ticks also featured!). Thanks to all who came & helped!

Interesting new study presents a meta-analysis of mosquito feeding patterns based on DNA-based blood meal identification. Especially well done to lead author @meshachlee.bsky.social on his 'first' 1st author paper! @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @uofgjmsphd.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

📢 PhD Opportunity – Join Us at INTERTRYP (CIRAD)! 🌍🧪 🔬 Mathematical modeling of vector-borne diseases 📆 Apply before: July 15, 2025 📍 More info & apply: umr-intertryp.cirad.fr/en/news/2025...

Early life effects & vector-borne disease -- very interested to read this!!

For #InsectWeek, come to @bristolbiosci.bsky.social Tuesday 24 June to discover the world of insects! See these creatures up close, learn about the research, do some crafting! All welcome, free admission, 12-6pm. @harrysiviter.bsky.social @drlucyalford.bsky.social bristentnet.weebly.com/insect-week

Interesting study! How the thermal tolerance of Aedes mosquito eggs varies depending on urbanisation - shows how critical developmental periods can facilitate adaptation to novel environments. Work from Souvik Chakraborty, @joshuabenoit.bsky.social & others www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪

Loved being in Brighton this week for my first @ukri.org Future Leaders Fellowship (FLF) conference. Such interesting sessions about caregiving & science, global south research; and best of all was getting to chat to other FLFs and hearing about their work! Wonderful setting too next to the sea.

Alpine Interactions field course 1st edition @bristolbiosci.bsky.social - a wonderful week learning about plant-insect interactions, altitude effects & human disturbance With @chrisleduck.bsky.social, @maisiebrett.bsky.social Harriet Foster, & the best group of engaged and appreciative students!

New vacancy in my team! PhD student position on microbial genome evolution, focusing on the evolutionary principles underlying bacterial genome architecture. Please repost and share with talented MSc students in #evobio, bioinformatics or related :) www.uu.nl/en/organisat... #MEvoSky #MicroSky