iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Calling all phylogeneticists! With the untimely demise of CIPRES, where are y’all going for running #phylogenetic analyses?? Any other similar public servers out there with GUI submission interface??

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Possibly the coolest insect I have collected *inside* my house. It was very pleasing indeed.

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

Josh Gibson, Ph.D. @drstrangeant.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Playing around with better ways to render this flea CT scan in Amira this week!

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naturepoker @binomicalabs.org · 04/06/2026

Hey IQTree3 paper is out. Bread and butter for tree building anything in my workflow. They have a pretty standout documentation too. 🖥️🧬 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

academic.oup.com

IQ-TREE 3: phylogenomic inference software using complex evolutionary models

Abstract. IQ-TREE (https://iqtree.github.io/) is a widely used open-source software tool for efficiently inferring phylogenetic trees under maximum likelih

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I have this man to thank for sparking my interest in biodiversity at a young age which led to a lifelong passion for and career in biodiversity science. Happy birthday #sirdavidattenborough

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

chuck 🐦💐 @chuckdrawsthings.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

some previews of an abc zine i'm working on! 🐦✨

a drawing of a pigeon flying and looking determined, carrying a scroll. they think "lives are depending on me!" a small red circle giving a preview of the scroll's contents says "send nudes lol". text above the pigeon says "h is for homing" and underneath that "Homing pigeons are bred to be able to find home over long distances. Before phones, they were used as messengers, even during wars to deliver crucial intel."

a drawing of two pigeons kissing. the one on the right looks suspicious and asks "did you have garlic today?" the one on the left sheepishly says "uhh...no..." text above says "k is for kissing" and underneath that "a courtship ritual where pigeons lock their beaks together and regurgitate food. so romantic!"

a drawing of a baby pigeon with its eyes shut going 'wehhh'. text above says "s is for squab" and underneath that "a baby pigeon! they stay hidden in their nests until they are fully feathered. a face only a mother could love..."

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Dr. Jonathan Foley @globalecoguy.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

This planet — with all its troubles — is worth caring for. That should be our single purpose, as a species: To be stewards of this magnificent world, ensuring it thrives long into the future.

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

BREAKING: In response to huge cuts in Trump's budget request, NSF is shuttering its SBE directorate. Staff will be transferred to other parts of the agency and "grants that align with Administration priorities" will be maintained. That & more w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social & @edwrdchen.bsky.social

nature.com

Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration

Budget proposal would also curb federal payments for scientific publishing.

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

No one does Easter eggs quite like stick and leaf insects do www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...

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Dia VanGunten / Writer @pinkzombierose.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

You’re welcome. Happy day! 😆

Scientists discovered a caterpillar that murders insects and stitches their dismembered body parts onto its back as armor

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Gil Wizen @wizentrop.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

An amazing new species of Cordyceps-mimicking spider has just been described from the Ecuadorian Amazon - Taczanowskia waska www.mapress.com/zt/article/v...

mapress.com

“The Cordyceps spider”: Taczanowskia waska sp. nov. (Araneae: Araneidae), a new spider species and a novel case of mimicry of an araneopathogenic fungus (Cordycipitaceae: Gibellula ) | ...

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

Screen cap of the xkcd cartoon, "Welcome to the Biology Department. It has been three days since we discovered something existentially horrifying about bugs that makes you question your whole reality."

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage. When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig. Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Molecular evolution of dietary shifts in ladybirds 🐞 expansions of digestive & detoxifying #gene families in the herbivorous ladybirds, & absence of most plant cell wall-degrading enzymes in the ladybirds from the transition to carnivory link.springer.com/article/10.1...

link.springer.com

Molecular evolution of dietary shifts in ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): from fungivory to carnivory and herbivory - BMC Biology

Background Dietary shifts are major evolutionary steps that shape ecological niches and biodiversity. The beetle family Coccinellidae, commonly known as ladybirds, first transitioned from a fungivorou...

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Yun S. Song @yun-s-song.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

SINGER, our ARG inference method, is finally published and freely available online: doi.org/10.1038/s415... It was a long journey – 16 months from initial submission to acceptance. Is it just me, or has peer review gotten more arduous lately? 4+ rounds of review isn't so unusual these days...

doi.org

Robust and accurate Bayesian inference of genome-wide genealogies for hundreds of genomes - Nature Genetics

SINGER is a method for creating ancestral recombination graphs to understand the genealogical history of genomes. The method has increased speed, and thus scalability, without sacrificing accuracy.

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Unparalleled aerial agility and control

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 08/07/2025

BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

Devon @waasp08.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Pelecinus gothyturator. She's attending the Hymenoptera ball. 👗 #Pelecinuspolyturator

Pelecinus polyturator in an elegant black dress...because why not!

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Guess I’ll need to call in sick today.

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Di Jiang @dijiang319.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

🐛🕷️🕸️ @science.org Hawaiian caterpillar patrols spiderwebs camouflaged in insect prey’s body parts | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #entomology

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

This woman definitely has a man in her life. Nothing says “I’m taken” quite like the copious use of tape in repairs.

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

No one does Easter eggs quite like stick and leaf insects do www.frontiersin.org/journals/eco...

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Not sure about the Easter Bunny, but the Easter Beetle is definitely real

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Sean McCann @ibycter.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

A little Eurytoma solenozospheriae drinking from the edge of a blueberry leaf. This was reared from a gall of Hemadas nubilipennis.

Front on view of a tiny black wasp with red eyes drinking from a droplet on the edge of a green leaf. The little guy has tiny white hairs appressed over the face, and fancy serrated antennae.

Side on view of a small black wasp with red eyes drinking from a droplet on the edge of a leaf.

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Hank Green @hankgreen.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

A tricky thing about modern society is that no one has any idea when they don’t die. Like, the number of lives saved by controlling air pollution in America is probably over 200,000 per year, but the number of people who think their life was saved by controlling air pollution is zero.

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Reposted by James Robertson, PhD

Phil Ngo @squamate.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

It is uniquely awe-inspiring to witness simple acts of living in the wild, such as this slender salamander I observed recently munching on springtails in the San Gabriel Mts near LA. ♥️🌎 Black-bellied Slender Salander (Batrachoseps nigriventris) Springtail sp., likely Ptenothrix maculosa #herps

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Well that’s sucky news. I’ve used CIRPES to run phylogenetic/evolutionary analyses from grad school to present. Such an important computational resource for the evolutionary biology community. What a loss. 😢

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

A nice Macrolepiota I came across last fall.

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Piotr Naskrecki @piotr-naskrecki.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Once, in Gorongosa NP, I thought that I had found Halucinogenia, a near-mythical Cambrian animal with spikes on its back. The creature turned out to be a caterpillar of Acridotarsa melipecta who lives as an inquiline in the colonies of the termite Schedorhinotermes lamanianus. Still cool, though.

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ascalaphid @ascalaphid.com · 23/02/2025

long distance relationship

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Dr Lindsey Fitzharris @drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

This award-winning image depicts blood vessels in a pigeon’s head. It was captured by the veterinarian Scott Echols as part of an ongoing endeavour known as the Grey Parrot Anatomy Project, which aims to develop ways to aid diagnosis and treatment for a host of animals, from birds to humans.

An image of all the blood vessels in a pigeon's head and neck. The vessels are neon red - glowing. This image won the Wellcome Award in 2017.

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Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

This is the most relevant article to NIH and research cuts I’ve seen. Imagine if this was today , how many people would be saying “Why are we studying Gila Monsters and their impact on diabetes ? That’s wasted money !” globalnews.ca/news/9793403...

globalnews.ca

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic - National | Globalnews.ca

In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.

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James Robertson, PhD @2elytra.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Shoot. A healthier brain with a snort? Sign me up

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