Excited for our publication on how the geographic scale of a sample affects the discovery of rare, deleterious variants to be out this week. With a mix of theory, simulation, and data analysis, we show when samples are narrow vs broad, the number of variants discovered and their frequencies change

We are excited to share our new preprint describing the inclusion of selection models to stdpopsim, our community-maintained library with an extensive catalog of population genetic models. 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our latest paper revisits Haldane 1957 on speed limits to adaptation, the paper that triggered neutral theory. We clarify and then significantly extend the theory, and apply the resulting model to @mexpositoalonso.bsky.social's data doi.org/10.1093/gene... 1/14

This week’s Research-In-Progress meeting features Walid Mawass (@wmawass.bsky.social), postdoctoral scholar in the Berg Lab at the University of Chicago! Research-In-Progress is a venue for the NITMB community to discuss planned or in-progress work

How does the quality of pedigrees impact genetic studies? Based on genealogical data, bigger and deeper pedigrees improve precision, but even small errors skew results! Our work highlights the need for careful sensitivity analyses: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... @wmawass.bsky.social and E. Milot

I truly don't understand the whole "report on your work, or get fired". These people were EMPLOYED! They didn't go into the government saying "I'll be doing this job then". They applied to a job ad that DESCRIBES their job duties and they were HIRED because someone judged them to be a good fit 🤦🏾‍♂️

This is scary for the sheer illegality of these actions that the administration is taking and the jeopardy it puts people's life in! These employees can't even rely on their unions if the admin can just ignore unions outright! www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

🥳My work on the reliability of pedigrees used in quantitative genetic estimations of the genetic basis of phenotypic trait is out now in @jevbio.bsky.social! It also serves as a good intro for the use of pedigrees to infer genetic signals of phenotypes in populations academic.oup.com/jeb/advance-...

This is good news! Even if not all demands were met, this is a clear demonstration of scientists ceizing the power to negotiate over compensation for their labor to the academic scientific enterprise. Add to it that the negotiations were with the government directly! www.science.org/content/arti...

Easy one! Vice(2018)...Doesn't even need explaining for those who have seen it!

In my case, I would say it is "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka.

Has anyone done research using data from human pops? I am trying to decide on a choice of representative figure for my paper. Should I pick one of the type of data (a picture of a civil act used to recreate social genealogies) or a picture of possible subjects of the human population in question?

It is without a doubt that academic research environments are shaping into a structured labor environment (grad researchers, postdoctoral researchers, staff scientists, principal investigators...). Therefore, it is no surprise that unionization is becoming prevalent.

We identified protein domains in LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor). Their distinctive amino acid usage reveals the order amino acids were added to the genetic code, based mostly on size. Older proteins hint at earlier alternative codes. 1/15 @seekingluca.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

First layer of snow in Chicago! Hoping for snow to last a little longer this year than the last.

I am recruiting graduate students this year to join my lab in Tucson! If you are interested in studying the evolution of plant diversity, polypoidy, and chromosomal evolution, please reach out about opportunities in my lab! Details about applying to EEB and our new CAMBIUM NRT in the thread below! 🧪

If you are looking for a graduate program in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, please considering joining us in Tucson, AZ! Our deadline is December 2 this year for admission to our Fall 2025 cohort. You can find out more about EEB and applying to our program here: eeb.arizona.edu/graduate/pro...

Beautiful scenes from the NZ parliament! It's more than just anti-colonialism...it is about showing the colonial vestiges that native practices are alive and well, and will continue to be employed as a sign of continuous resistance. Even inside of a parliamentary body!

WELP! I am starting to get to the point where instead of partitioning time across different analyses for my research projects, I am partitioning time towards all the writings I need to get done!!! is that a good sign? a bad sign?

I've been enjoying @zotero.bsky.social as my main publication reader! Especially the addition of the dark theme and the new box that pops up when you hover over a citation! One feature I wish was there though is to allow fetching that reference directly instead of having to open another browser tab!

Genomics, evolution, and more starter pack! Help build community with this starter pack. This list is currently incomplete. Want to be included? Reply and I will remedy that! go.bsky.app/JjvzkWU

It's been a while since I've posted on this app! To commemorate restarting my posting activity, here's a cute eye bleach content courtesy of our feline twins.

Our new preprint changes the way we look at an “extinction vortex” in which a small population loses fitness, causing it to become even smaller. doi.org/10.1101/2024... @wmawass.bsky.social @uliseshmc.bsky.social 1/n

Our boy with another banger sleeping position. He looks like he is ready to kitty launch!

Currently my cat is exploring some very acute angles for his spine during sleep position. All I can say is that if you have the spine for it, go for it!

Honest question: how common - and acceptable - to have main parts of your thesis be meta-analysis of other studies?

I am documenting the absolutely remarkable contortionist-like sleeping position of my cat. I am jealous!

Well...glad to finally be on the sky app (special thanks to @joannamasel.bsky.social) given that many of the scientists I followed on the "other" app did not particularly find Threads appealing (for good reasons). Happy that many of the scientists I followed have followed me back so promptly!