9/9 TRACE reveals hidden layers of modern human evolution using only contemporary genomes. We would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions!
github.com/YulinZhang98...
Have you ever wondered how many archaic populations contributed DNA to modern humans? We know about Neanderthals and Denisovans, but the fossil and genetic evidence suggests a much more complex history!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Happy to have co-led this work with @yulinzhang.bsky.social - where we leverage signatures in inferred ARGs to understand introgression from archaic hominins. See the explainer thread below, and thoughts/questions very much welcome!
A sedge. It may look unassuming but its genome has several unusual features.
Why do the chromosomes of cyperids (sedges & rushes) split and fuse so regularly on evolutionary timescales?
Is it because they have so many centromeres?
Our new preprint, the first major paper of my PhD, addresses this question. ๐งตโฌ๏ธ 1/12
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Big News: I have revived Slime Soccer
Playable on mobile or desktop.
Play against the CPU or 1v1 against whoever is sitting next to you, just like the old days.
Includes World Cup and Premier League teams.
Sorry if you had any more work to do today.
trivialsports.com/games/slime-...
Great perspective by @philipcball.bsky.social.
Elementary genetics teaching (HS/college) focuses on Mendelian traits (single gene => single trait). However, it is now clear that polygenicity and pleiotropy are the norm. Curriculum must change accordingly.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Power is a major confounder in the analysis of cross-ancestry 'portability' in human eQTLs https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.26.708346v1
After a long incubation, it is a huge pleasure to finally share the work of @luzmlopez.bsky.social, Jon Harper and their coauthors: "Localised negative feedback shapes genome-wide patterning of meiotic DNA breaks". @gdsc-sussex.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Two post-doc post in ARG space and loads of internal and external collaboration
Postdoctoral Research Associate in quantitative genomics
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
Postdoctoral Research Associate in quantitative genetics and breeding
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
@pratikkatte.bsky.social and I just released Lorax ๐ฒ, a tool for interactive exploration of biobank-scale ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs).
If youโve ever wanted to scroll across the ancestries of thousands of genomesโฆ this is for you.
So excited to share this manuscript led by the inimitable Cara Brand, who discovered that Topoisomerase II evolution causes hybrid female lethality in Drosophila.
Congrats to Cara, @nickbr0wn.bsky.social, Anirban, and
@buszczaklab.bsky.social!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Can we simulate realistic evolutionary trajectories and โreplay the tape of lifeโ? In this work, we propose a flexible, generalizable deep learning framework for modeling how the entire protein sequence evolves over time while capturing complex interactions across sites. 1/n
doi.org/10.64898/202...
How does the strength of genetic drift evolve over long times?
New preprint out ๐
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We are very happy to see our study finally appear online @nature.com! This has been work of nearly 10 years in collaboration with the National Institute of Genome Medicine ๐ฒ๐ฝ, the National Cancer Institute ๐ฒ๐ฝ, the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social and others โฌ๏ธ
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Aspergillus fumigatus - 29.9 crossovers per homologous chromosome pair! That makes about 1500 recombination map units per chromosome....
I am seeking a postdoc to join my group at UCLA -- ideally the candidate would have some experience in either population genetics or microbes/microbiome (computational background needed). We have a range of projects and are happy to tailer to your interests. Please dm/email me if interested.
Scientists across the career spectrum are burnt out, & people are leaving STEM in startling numbers, particularly those from under-represented groups. A lab handbook can foster a more positive research culture. By @scattercushion.bsky.social @nature.com ๐งช www.nature.com/articles/d41...
'Modeling evolutionary rescue' doi.org/10.32942/X25...
We're excited to be recruiting an NSF funded postdoc to work in the Villanea lab at CU Boulder. We're specifically interested in candidates who want to work at the intersection of population genetics, ancient DNA, and computer modeling. Please RT
jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Another announcement! ๐ฃ Our work on hybrid incompatibility in cohesin protection in ๐ญoocytes is published!! Congrats Warif El Yakoubi and Eddie Pan!!๐ We found hybrids with cohesion errors in two distinct genus.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
New paper! From Sam Snodgrass and @genomeofforrest.bsky.social, w/ @druncie.bsky.social, @gcbias.bsky.social, and a collaboration with Andres Moreno and @santiagogmm.bsky.social. Can we quantify the impact of humans on maize dispersal?
Plant yourself in a comfy chair and lend me your ear:
1/10
@saracarioscia.bsky.social and I also wrote a more accessible Research Briefing on this work that can be found here! nature.com/articles/d41...
Time for a thread on our Christmas preprint โOrigin and evolution of acrocentric chromosomes in human and great apesโ. I had so much fun with this project and paper. It will be hard to summarize in a thread, but Iโll try www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... [1/21]
A new preprint from Peter Mchale and Michael Goldberg in my group on the latent biases inherent to current models of non-coding constraint.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
LvD: A New Algorithm for Computing the Likelihood of a Phylogeny https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19064v1
The evolution of genetic drift over 50,000 generations https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.25.701616v1
Meiotic drive has long been considered as a genetic curiosity. Genomic "footprints" suggest otherwise.
Check out our new review doi.org/10.1093/molb..., a cross-taxa synthesis arguing that recurrent drive is a pervasive and underappreciated force in genome evolution.
A new extreme of meiotic evolution:
โ๏ธ ๐ป๐ผ crossovers
โ๏ธ ๐ป๐ผ gene conversion
โ๏ธ ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น meiosis & fertility
Sex mimics clonality without becoming asexual, in the holocentric multicellular eukaryote ๐๐ฉ๐บ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ข ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ช๐ด.
more about it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Incredibly important story that everyone should read.
These are not disorganized lone actors, but well-funded and powerful networks to be treated as serious threats.
They are using our work to push a eugenicist and racist agenda that is scientifically invalid and morally reprehensible.
An excellent, bone-chilling story about a cadre of online racists who stole genetic data from studies on children so they could make specious arguments for the innate inferiority of non-white people, it's embrace by Elon Musk/twitter & how the Trump administration might make it easier to do again.
