Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilAndré Marques @amarques.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Out today in Nature: sex without crossovers. Rhynchospora tenuis makes pollen, fertilises and sets seed, yet 0 crossovers in 10,997 pollen nuclei. Chromosome drive and ~87% seed abortion rebuild the mother's genotype, so the offspring are clones. doi.org/10.1038/s415... 916372
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 16/09/2026Today, with backing from the ACLU, Kelton and twelve other named researchers filed a class action suit against the NIH under director Jay Bhattacharya for censoring their research and violating their First Amendment rights.aclu.orgResearchers Challenge NIH Screening of Grants for Disfavored Viewpoints | American Civil Liberties UnionClass action lawsuit seeks to stop censorship and termination of federally funded scientific research 4692143
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilMegan Smith @snaildit.bsky.social · 16/09/2026My lab is hiring a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on machine learning, model misspecification, and population genetics! Flexible start-date! Learn more about the lab: smithlabbio.github.io Job Ad: explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/cw/en-us/job... Please reach out if you have any questions!smithlabbio.github.ioThe Smith Lab — Mississippi State UniversityThe Smith Lab at Mississippi State University studies diversification using genomic data, with a focus on terrestrial snails and slugs. 12730
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilStates United Democracy Center @statesunited.org · 16/09/2026💰🚨 NEW: Since January 2025, the Trump administration has disrupted $177 billion across 17 funding sectors in all 50 states and DC. Our new project with @grantwitness.org tracks every dollar, grant by grant, and shows the impact of disruptions 🔗 www.lostfunds.orglostfunds.orgLost Funds — $177 Billion GoneTrack the Trump administration’s federal funding disruptions state by state — what was cut or frozen, who it hurts, and how states are fighting back in court. 23532
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski Heilrachellcosby.bsky.social @rachellcosby.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Infertility affects ~1 in 6 people, and up to 30% of cases are unexplained. I am excited to present my postdoctoral work from @toddmacfarlan.bsky.social 's lab, now available as a preprint: tinyurl.com/yync6f2r addressing a possible role for the meiotic gene PRDM9 in infertility 🧵/1 12917
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSaccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 02/09/2026🌳 @bloomingtonindiana.bsky.social grad students isolated wild #Yeast from a 230-year-old campus oak & partnered with local breweries to produce a fruity-funky ale for the US 250th anniversary🍻 🔥 Place-based, community-embedded CUREs 🧬 #YeastResearch 🧪 #SGD 🔬 www.yeastgenome.org/reference/S1... 1153
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilCasey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026My new book, Phylogenetic Biology, is now published. Available online for free at dunnlab.org/phylogenetic... . Physical copies can be purchased at shop.lightningsource.com/b/085?params... or your favorite bookstore. 12319161
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilDaphne Keller @daphnek.bsky.social · 21/08/2026This data on self-censorship among U.S. academic scientists and engineers -- not even humanities people, this is STEM -- is so disturbing. theconversation.com/self-censors... 6187114
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilAna Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 30/07/2026This is going to make it very difficult to know which sports we should ban them from. 10774201639
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilMatthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Very cool pair of papers demonstrating little link between amount of additive genetic variation and amount of nucleotide variation within species: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...journals.plos.orgLevels of additive genetic variation vary substantially between speciesAdaptive potential determines how populations respond to environmental change. This study compiles evolvability estimates from over 170 multicellular species, revealing substantial variation across th... 112361
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 31/07/2026Nature did a short piece on our preprint about how LLMs will affect the practice of science; my more detailed thread is below.nature.comScientists using LLMs will ‘do more, less well’, modelling study predictsResearch suggests that the combination of incentives to publish and the use of large language models will lead to more papers, but they will be less refined. 8440170
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilJoshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Dashboard with analysis of comments & github source link omb-financial-assistance-comments.netlify.app 43822
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilJeremy Yoder says no war @jbyoder.org · 13/07/2026Holy COW. Text analysis of comments on the OMB rule: overwhelming opposition, overwhelmingly not form letters. (But 9 in 10 comments supporting the rule ARE form responses, LOL) Whatever happens next, folks have stepped up. 1808303
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilAndy Lee, PhD @andylee.bsky.social · 12/07/2026today seems like a good day to repost our Viewpoint!! 04315
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 10/07/2026New: The National Science Foundation is preparing to claw back some $500 million in funds from some of its core science programs in physics, math, computer science, and engineering in order to fund a project from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.nature.comNSF plans cuts to core science programmes to fund White House initiativeA proposed clawback of already distributed research funds comes as the US agency’s budget is already squeezed and it struggling to clear a backlog of grant applications. 19426326
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilHittingerLab @hittingerlab.bsky.social · 08/07/2026A tenure-track research position is available for application at the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute @westerdijkinst.bsky.social located in Utrecht Science Park in the Netherlands. Please share with colleagues and see the link below for more info: wi.knaw.nl/news/details...wi.knaw.nlLoading... 0913
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilHarmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 09/07/2026Coming late to this story: Suspecting AI cheating, Ivy League prof ordered an in-person final; scores fell 50% arstechnica.com/ai/2026/07/w...arstechnica.comSuspecting AI cheating, Ivy League prof ordered an in-person final; scores fell 50%AI cheating leads to "a failed society," professor says. 34726
Caiti Smukowski Heil @caitismuheil.bsky.social · 22/06/2026I'm sad to miss #Evol2026 😭 But PhD student Edie Nissen is there for her first Evolution meeting 🎉 representing the lab and sharing her new work on nuclear-mitochondrial incompatibilities in hybrid yeast. Check out her poster D-19 on Tuesday!! 041
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilMolecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · 17/06/2026@teganhoran.bsky.social et al. challenge the prevailing view that synaptonemal complex length is the primary determinant of sexually dimorphic crossover rates. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag130 #evobio #molbiodoi.orgMolecular assessment of recombination processing across genetically diverse mouse strains reveals sexually dimorphic determinants of crossover distribution beyond chromosome lengthAbstract. Meiotic recombination generates crossovers (COs), reciprocal exchanges between homologous chromosomes critical for accurate chromosome segregatio 145
Caiti Smukowski Heil @caitismuheil.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Dunham lab past and present at #Yeast26 ! @maitreya.bsky.social 0151
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSaccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Thanks to everyone who stopped by our #SGD booth at last night's #Yeast26 poster session! Especially our best bud who's clearly ready for some serious budding yeast research 🐕✨ Who needs AirBud when you've got a YeastBud? 🧬💙 🧪 #SGD #YeastResearch 0255
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSergey Kryazhimskiy @skryazhi.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Neil Shubin: "Curiosity-driven research is really the seed corn for the major breakthroughs and applications. But it’s also important in its own right, because discovery and the expansion of knowledge are virtues in themselves." 🎯 071
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilGina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 04/06/2026🚨SSE members: check your inbox!🚨 SSE has sent an important email regarding the OMB's proposed overhaul of federal grant regulations--changes that could affect peer review, publishing, conferences, professional societies, international collaborations, and more. @sse-evolution.bsky.social 13748
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilBotany One @botany.one · 02/06/2026Asst Professor - Plant or Fungal Genomics // University of Wyoming jobs.chronicle.com/job/37995586... The Department of Botany and the School of Computing invites applications for a tenure-track position in Plant or Fungal Genomics at the rank of Assistant Professor. #BotanyJobsjobs.chronicle.comAsst Professor - Plant or Fungal Genomics - Wyoming, United States job with University of Wyoming | 37995586Asst Professor - Plant or Fungal Genomics Join Our Campus Community! Thank you for your interest in joining the University of Wyoming. Our... 01125
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSusan Johnston @susanjohnston.bsky.social · 01/06/2026📣🧬 Postdoc Alert🧬📣 We are hiring a 2+ year NERC-funded postdoc at Edinburgh Uni investigating causes and consequences of sex differences in recombination in house sparrows in Norway. Informal enquiries welcome at Susan.Johnston@ed.ac.uk 🙂 Details here: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid... 071115
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 30/05/2026Several people have asked for possible content and structure for comments regarding the proposed OMB regulations. With some suggestions from others, I have posted on example (as a Word document) for downloading). jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... I hope this is helpful.jeremymberg.github.io 8197144
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilChanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 29/05/2026In this newsletter I outline important actions to take. 1. Submit a comment opposing the rule change. 2. Contact state legislators to ensure states are engaged with the impact at the state and local level. 3. Contact members of Congress. 4. Spread awareness. This rundown is a great source:open.substack.comSummary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance RuleRussell Vought is going to destroy American Science 7191120
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilDan Schrider @samurscicop.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Update! The posting for the postdoc opening in my lab is up! Apply here: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/319...unc.peopleadmin.comPost-Doc Research Associate (Schrider)The Schrider Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hiring a postdoc in population genetics and/or phylogenetics. The successful candidate will help design and carry out projects re... 02133
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilJournal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · 18/05/2026To support new junior faculty, JEB launched Kickstart Travel Grants to establish a new collaboration & and ECR Visiting Fellowships to bring an ECR to their new lab for a defined project. The next application deadline is 5 June www.biologists.com/grants/#jeb 1711
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilKelsie Hunnicutt @kelsiehunnicutt.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Thrilled that our new review article on animal hybridization is now up on EcoEvoRxiv! 🎉 Working on this review with @mollyschumer.bsky.social was a blast, and it was such a wonderful opportunity to catch up on all the amazing work in animal hybridization over the last few years! 04619
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilRichard Lenski @relenski.bsky.social · 11/05/2026New book "A Primer for Experimental Evolution" with coauthors Michael Rose, Margarida Matos, and Joe Graves. www.worldscientific.com/worldscibook... A compact primer for students and colleagues interested in planning and designing experiments to address questions in evolutionary biology.worldscientific.comA Primer for Experimental Evolution 511348
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilHittingerLab @hittingerlab.bsky.social · 09/05/2026Reminder that the Early Bird registration rate for the 9th Conference on Physiology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi (PYFF9) in Valencia (Spain) will expire on May 24th! 👉 Register here: yeastfungi.efbiotechnology.org @pyff-9.bsky.socialyeastfungi.efbiotechnology.orgConference on Physiology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi (PYFF) - September 2026, Valencia (Spain)The Conference on Physiology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi (PYFF) is a leading international event gathering experts in the physiology, metabolism, genetics, and biotechnology of yeasts and filament... 135
Caiti Smukowski Heil @caitismuheil.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Super excited to share our lab's work led by PhD student Margot Ruffieux on domestication of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with a focus on sourdough and baking associated yeast! 🍞biorxiv.org 12711
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilShreyas Pai @theshreyaspai.bsky.social · 24/04/2026Thrilled to have my first PhD paper with @mmdesai.bsky.social out! @science.org Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Thread below: #mevosky #evosky #evobio #popgen #evolsky #ecoevo #molevolscience.orgSex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation by purging hitchhiking loadUnderstanding the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain sex despite its direct costs is a long-standing challenge. Previous work has shown that sexual recombination can accelerate adaptation, in part ... 39746
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSimon J. Greenhill @simongreenhill.bsky.social · 16/04/2026This is lovely: www.theguardian.com/environment/... #science #biologytheguardian.comIn the footsteps of Linnaeus: scientists share their passion for species from tiny wasps to hairy plants – in picturesFor his project ‘De Oförtrutna’ (The Relentless), photographer Christer Björkman pictured Swedish scientists working in the spirit of Carl Linneaus, the botanist who created the modern taxonomic syste... 15834
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSaccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 14/04/2026 021
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSaccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 14/04/2026⏰ Only 2 DAYS left for early registration! Join us at #Yeast26 (June 13-17, Pacific Grove, CA) for cutting-edge research in #genetics, #genomics, #disease, #regulation, #systemsBiology, #cellBiology, #lifeCycle, #syntheticBiology, & more. Register by April 16 to save! 🧬 genetics-gsa.org/yeast-2026/ 198
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilLarisa Aitch @llarisah.bsky.social · 08/04/2026“And in the process, to maybe, finally, find a way to inoculate future generations of Americans against the kinds of genetic misinformation that has been fueling white supremacist belief systems for centuries. […] last April, both of Donovan’s National Science Foundation grants were terminated […]” 22913
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilThe American Genetic Association @theaga.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Here are more details for our #AGA2026 President's Symposium, all about Polygenic Adaptation in a Changing World! This symposium will promote a broad, synthetic discussion of adaptive evolution for complex traits, bringing together theoreticians & empiricists working on diverse organisms. 1/2 1116
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilAnjali Hinch @anjalihinch.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Meiosis faces a fundamental problem: It must repair hundreds of DNA double-strand breaks while executing a transcriptional programme essential for gamete development. But many of these breaks occur in genes. So how are these two processes reconciled? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 25324
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilLiz Mandeville @lizmandeville.bsky.social · 30/03/2026So pleased to share that @amanda-meuser.bsky.social 's work is now published in Molecular Ecology! This was a particularly cool study, because it revealed very high rates of hybridization in a system with many closely related species. 073
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilKristoffer Krogerus @suregork.bsky.social · 27/03/2026In our recent study, we created over 1000 intraspecific yeast hybrids by crossing genetically diverse strains and tested how well they grow under harsh industrial conditions such as high ethanol, salt, and organic acids. enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.comInfluence of Ploidy and Genetic Background on Stress Tolerance of Intraspecific Yeast HybridsA large set of intraspecific yeast hybrids was constructed using two strategies that yielded series of hybrids with variable ploidy. Phenotyping of the hybrids was carried out in high-stress media to.... 1117
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilMaitreya Dunham @maitreya.bsky.social · 27/03/2026I’m so pleased to be named a AAAS Fellow! I remember opening the original email thinking wow, which of my awesome faculty won this nice thing (a perk of being chair is getting emails like that) but it was me! www.washington.edu/news/2026/03...washington.eduFour UW researchers named AAAS FellowsFour University of Washington researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to an announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 449 newly elected... 1811710
Caiti Smukowski Heil @caitismuheil.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Congrats Maitreya!!!! 🎉🥳 A wonderful scientist, mentor, teacher, and leader @maitreya.bsky.social 1152
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilEvolution Students @ssegrad.bsky.social · 26/03/2026Sharing this with our graduate student community 👇 The Society for the Study of Evolution Graduate Research Excellence Grants are a great way to support your research journey. We encourage you to apply! 063
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilDarío Lupiáñez @dariloops.bsky.social · 12/03/2026🐟How does the Amazon molly defy all evolutionary odds and overcome the detrimental costs of asexual reproduction?🧬 😊Glad that @rdacemel.bsky.social and I could contribute to this fascinating study, brilliantly led by Ed Ricemeyer @nature.com 👏Congrats to all authors! @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social 31811
Reposted by Caiti Smukowski HeilSaccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 12/03/2026📢 Reminder: #Yeast26 extended abstract submission deadline is tomorrow (Thursday) at 8PM PT! Submit your research and join us at #Asilomar this summer. Whether your work is fully fermented or still just budding, the #YeastGenetics community wants to hear from you! 🧬 @genetics-gsa.bsky.social #GSA 033