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Thomas Hitchcock

@imprintedgene.bsky.social
502 followers 573 following 2 posts

Evolutionary biologist @iTHEMS,RIKEN. Social evolution, unusual genetics, and Mikel Arteta.

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Reposted by Thomas Hitchcock
KamilSJaron.bsky.social @kamilsjaron.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I am so excited to see this preprint out. I started working on springtails with @laurarossevo.bsky.social in 2019, but this pinnacle of our efforts manifested only with heroric leadership of Sam Ebdon! So, what's the deal? 👇
Globular springtail Allacma fusca. Female, one of the samples in the linked preprint.
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
What's going on here? Is that fungus? Noodles?? No, it's bagworm moth cases! In a new article led by co-advised student David Cheng, we describe two new species and a whole new subfamily of bagworm moths: Tenuipsychinae! academic.oup.com/isd/article-... Brief explainer below!
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Renjie Zhang @renjiezhang.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Congrats Jack!! 🦗🧬 So excited to see this one out—fantastic work! This work investigates how cricket populations have adapted at the genomic level following the introduction of the parasitoid fly and show how this novel selective pressure has shaped both population structure and genetic variation.
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Laura Ross @laurarossevo.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Ever wondered why diverse organism shrink their genome in specific cells? We try to make sense of these curious cases of programmed DNA elimination in a review that came out today @naturerevgenet.bsky.social trebuchet.public.springernature.app/get_content/... @sandraduharcourt.bsky.social
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Bibiana Rojas @biobiiana.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
So proud of Edina Nemesházi for this fantastic work about the consequences of sex reversal for the reproductive success of wild frogs, which is now out in Science Advances! 🥂💥🥳Congrats to all of the authors 👏 @klivvvienna.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 05/09/2026
This is interesting. You get assigned to being born at a random place and time in history, to see what a typical person's life might have been like then. Unfortunately I was born in 1403 in the valley of Mexico and died at age 4 from dysentery.
anyhumanever.com
Any Human Ever
One life, drawn at random from all who have ever lived.
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Ashleigh Griffin @asgriffin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Buried underpants and a new definition of kissing win 2026 Ig Nobel prizes www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Buried underpants and a new definition of kissing win 2026 Ig Nobel prizes
The awards highlight weird, funny and improbable research that also makes you think.
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Thomas Hitchcock @imprintedgene.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Really cool paper on the genetics of of Varroa mites www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Varroa mites escape the evolutionary trap of haplodiploidy - Nature Communications
Many parasites thrive despite severe inbreeding, challenging classic ideas about how they maintain genetic diversity. This study shows that Varroa mites, long assumed to be haplodiploid, instead use a...
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Andy Gardner @andygardner.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
New paper: "Sexual conflict and sexual pleiotropy" (#OpenAccess), with Thomas Hitchcock (@imprintedgene.bsky.social), Tracey Chapman & Jennifer Perry (@jennyperry.bsky.social) doi.org/10.1098/rspb... @royalsocietypublishing.org @standrewsopenres.bsky.social #OA
Illustration of the distinction between sexual conflict and sexual pleiotropy. (A) Sexual conflict: a male and female disagree over a jointly produced phenotype, for example whether a female releases more eggs after mating or withholds resources for future reproduction. Releasing more eggs now costs the female but benefits the male, who will not sire her future offspring. Sexual conflict occurs when selection favours female withholding and male-induced release. (B) Sexual pleiotropy: males and females are favoured to express different values of a trait encoded by genes expressed in both sexes. An allele associated with larger body size may benefit male carriers while harming female carriers or vice versa. Antagonistic sexual pleiotropy occurs when selection favours opposite alleles in each sex.
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Tom Keaney @tom-is-kean.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Thinking this could be you? Reach out if you have any questions about the position, the city of Mainz (e.g. where on earth is that), the lab group dynamics or just what it’s like to work with Hanna. We look forward to welcoming you!
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Why grouping intralocus and interlocus phenomena under one umbrella of “sexual conflict” is a mistake. Insightful paper from @imprintedgene.bsky.social, @andygardner.bsky.social y.social, Tracey Chapman, and @jennyperry.bsky.social yperry.bsky.social. royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
royalsocietypublishing.org
Sexual conflict and sexual pleiotropy
Abstract. Natural selection might favour brightly coloured males and drab females. A male and a female might disagree about whether to mate. Such tensions
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
New paper with Nick Davies and Kevin Foster in @natcomms.nature.com. We show that often neither selection against transposons’ deleterious effects nor exploitation by parasitic elements is sufficient to keep them in control. Only active host suppression does. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Filip Ruzicka @filipruzicka.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A new preprint with @cmackintosh.bsky.social and Tim Connallon, where we revisit Haldane's idea that dominance might evolve during the spread of a beneficial mutation to fixation. Happy for any feedback!
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Linley Sherin @linley-sherin.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
🚨My first PhD chapter is now out on bioRxiv ! A 🧵 1/n
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Nice intro to special series on selfish genetic elements in Genetics and G3 academic.oup.com/g3journal/ar...
academic.oup.com
Highlighting the genetics of natural and synthetic selfish elements in a special GENETICS and G3 series
Recognizing the broad importance of selfish elements, the GSA journals have established a series to highlight the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary conse
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Jeff Groh @jeffgroh.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Avocados come in 2 varieties - A-types start each day female and switch to male midday. B-types do the reverse. In work just published from the last chapter of my PhD, we show this system evolved 40+million yrs ago and is regulated by alleles of 1 transcription factor www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado | PNAS
In avocado and certain wild relatives in Lauraceae, a highly synchronized daily rhythm of floral sex timing promotes cross-pollination between two ...
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Whither maladaptation? @imprintedgene.bsky.social reviews Philip Madgwick's 'Maladaptation: Natural Selection in the Wrong Direction?' for BioScience. academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
academic.oup.com
Adaptation: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Organisms appear remarkably well designed to live their lives. A seal, which seems all waddle and blubber on land, is transformed when it enters the water.
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Elsie Jacobson @elsieyoulater.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
If you think sex chromosomes in mammalian placentas are interesting you’ll want to know about seahorses academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...
academic.oup.com
Independent Evolution of Sex Chromosomes and Male Pregnancy–Related Genes in Two Seahorse Species
Abstract. Unlike birds and mammals, many teleosts have homomorphic sex chromosomes, and changes in the chromosome carrying the sex-determining locus, terme
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Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
.The very talented and fun Jonathan Henshaw has two positions to offer! If you like theoretical eco-evo questions, don't hesitate. Also, Freiburg is a very pretty place PhD: uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb... Postdoc: uni-freiburg.de/stellenangeb...
uni-freiburg.de
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Andrew Mongue @ajmongue.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The full Mongue lab will be at #evol2026! Say hi or come see our work. All three of us have talks (pic related). Check this thread for some more specifics and we hope to see you there! 1/5
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Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 22/05/2026
This is so cool. This atlas has Lexis plots on how various things have changed over time in different age groups – mortality rates, fertility rates, number of parents and siblings. And you can reach out to Jonas to add your own plots too. I'd like to see Lexis plots for absolutely everything.
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Scott P. Egan @scottpegan.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Botanical parasitism of an insect by a parasitic plant: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
cell.com
Botanical parasitism of an insect by a parasitic plant
Egan et al. report the discovery of a new trophic interaction in nature whereby a parasitic plant attacks multiple species of insects that manipulate plant tissue when the two co-occur on a shared pri...
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Cedric Feschotte @cedricfeschotte.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
👋 Transposon lovers: registration is now open for the CSHL TE meeting! We have a 🔥 lineup of invited speakers and many slots for short talks selected upon abstract across all areas of TE biology. 🧬➰🧬 #TEsky Abstract deadline: July 10 meetings.cshl.edu/meetings.asp...
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Laura Ross @laurarossevo.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Did you know that many organisms delete parts of their genome during development? To know more please join us at the Roscoff meeting on "Mechanistic and Evolutionary Basis of Programmed DNA Elimination" Sep21- 25, 2026. Please share!
cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en/conferenc...
cjm.sb-roscoff.fr
The mechanistic and evolutionary basis of programmed DNA elimination | CNRS - Conférences Jacques Monod (CJM)
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Still time to apply for this. Submit by Thursday!
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Ewan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Grant writing tips from a grumpy reviewer ploughing through grants. 1. Often your reviewers are going to come from a broad range disciplines adjacent but *not actually in* in your field. Help us get orientated in the summary with an analogy/sketch and go back to analogy / sketch throughout.
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Are you an early career researcher who want to visit another lab to collaborate on a project on internal conflicts? Apply for our ECR Research Visit Grant! Deadline is April 30.
We are happy to announce that the Internal Conflicts and Organismal Adaptation STN has funding available to support several small travel grants for early-career researchers to enable them to visit another laboratory.
What is this for?
This funding is intended to enable early-career researchers – PhD students, postdocs, and junior research fellows – to visit another laboratory. In so doing, they can learn a new method or approach and/or initiate novel collaborations in the form of manuscripts, grants, or fellowship proposals. We envision that these visits are short stays (a week up to a month) but longer stays are also permitted.
Who can apply?
Early-career researchers, i.e. PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and up to junior research fellows (i.e., those in tenure-track positions but not tenured yet). Priority will be given to ESEB members and to trips that reflect novel collaborations (i.e., between people who have not previously collaborated, defined by co-authorship). ESEB membership is cheap (€40 annually, €20 for students) and discounts are available for residents of low to upper-middle economy countries (see ESEB website for details). Membership also comes with additional benefits such as reduced fees for conference attendance.
What can be requested?
Applicants can request funding to support a short research visit at another institution. The maximum amount of support that can be requested is €1.000, to be used for travel and accommodation. The provided funding cannot be used to cover research costs, wages, and/or stipends. ESEB policy states that we should minimize the environmental impact of e.g. travel; therefore, we will only support travel by airplane if the distance travelled exceeds 500 km and the travel time with alternative forms of transport would be more than 6 hours.

How to apply:
Download the application form and fill it out.
Obtain two short letters of support, one from your supervisor/line manager and one from the host research group explai…
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Charles Mullon @charlesmullon.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Applications now open for the UNIL Summer School on Modelling for Evolutionary Biology (31 Aug–5 Sep 2026, Lausanne)! For PhD & postdocs interested in formal approaches to evolutionary ecology (incl. social evo, life-history, species interactions). Scholarships available, Pls RP! shorturl.at/fo1GA
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Manuel Irimia @mirimiam.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Thrilled to present our comparative study on the evolution of zygotic genome activation (ZGA)!! 🥚🧬 Amazing PhD work of @campobes.bsky.social together with @fedemantica.bsky.social and many collaborators! @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu. Thread below 1/15 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Join our online seminar on April 15, 2026, at 10:00 UTC, featuring talks on genome defense and intragenomic conflict. Details: georgetown.zoom.us/j/97210197821?js…. More info: internalconflictsstn.wordpress.com #conference
georgetown.zoom.us
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
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Stu West @stuwest.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
An insect that produces a nasty secretion to defend the local group against predators. Our commentary on some brilliant fieldwork by @caritalindstedt.bsky.social & Raphael www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... @asgriffin.bsky.social
pnas.org
An insect that cooperates like bacteria | PNAS
An insect that cooperates like bacteria
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Journal of Experimental Botany @jxbotany.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
🌾🔍 SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW 🔍🌾 Understanding the interactions between embryo, endosperm, and seed coat is essential for both advancing our fundamental understanding of seed development and improving agronomic seed traits - Figueiredo & Sharma 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/jxb/... #PlantScience 🧪
Fig. 1.Stages of development for a seed with a nuclear-type transient endosperm. (A) A typical Polygonum-like mature ovule contains two gametes, the central cell and egg cell (E.C.), which are accompanied by two synergids and three antipodal cells. These gametophytic cells are surrounded by two integuments, inner (i.i.) and outer (o.i.). (B) Following double fertilization, two products start developing, the embryo and the endosperm. The latter initially develops as a coenocyte, where karyokinesis is uncoupled from cytokinesis, and a large vacuole occupies the center. The seed coat develops from the integuments and protects the fertilization products. (C) Later in development, the coenocytic endosperm cellularizes, after which it starts being consumed by the embryo. (D) In species with transient endosperms, like Arabidopsis, the embryo consumes almost the whole of the endosperm, leaving a single cell layer called aleurone.
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NSF-Simons NITMB @nitmb.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Explore the implications of within-organism conflicts for organismal biology at our upcoming workshop, ‘Internal Conflicts and Organismal Adaptation: Mathematical Foundations!’ Travel applications are due Wednesday, April 15th www.nitmb.org/internal-con...
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Stu West @stuwest.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Final version just published of our review on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of cooperation www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... @ryosukeiritani.bsky.social @annadewar.bsky.social @asgriffin.bsky.social @lauriebelch.bsky.social @asn-amnat.bsky.social
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Martijn Schenkel @martijnschenkel.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Join us at the NITMB in Chicago next June to talk about internal conflicts! The workshop will feature tutorials, talks, and discussions. Funding is available to provide travel and lodging for some attendees (apply!).
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David Lowry @davidlowry.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
A centromere but not just a centromere: structure and evolution of a selfish chromosomal supergene in monkeyflowers www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Join our online series on atypical reproductive modes and non-Mendelian inheritance, Tuesdays at 3 p.m. CET. More info & sign-up: tinyurl.com/EvoRepro Best, Schwander Group, University of Lausanne. #conference
tinyurl.com
Evolution and mechanisms of atypical reproductive modes
Evolution and mechanisms of atypical reproductive modes Monthly meetings to bring together researchers focusing on atypical reproduction and other non-mendelian transmission systems. The objective is to promote the exchange of ideas and feedback on conceptually similar questions approached with d...
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Journal of Evolutionary Biology @jevbio.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
@kztwyman.bsky.social & @andygardner.bsky.social mathematically connect the dynamics of natural selection to optimisation to provide formal justification for viewing obligately eusocial colonies as adaptive individuals in their own right—that is, superorganism: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/...
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bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Parent-offspring conflict over sex determination in non-Mendelian systems www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
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Andy Gardner @andygardner.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Two other members of the research group have successfully made it to @eseb2025.bsky.social ahead of me. Look out for @kztwyman.bsky.social, whose poster "A formal theory of group-level adaptation for obligate eusociality" (P01.068) is in this evening's session.
Photo of Kalyani Twyman.
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Charikleia Karageorgiou (Clio) @evobioclio.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Our latest preprint explores the evolution of the primate amylase locus, uncovering structural innovations, regulatory shifts and molecular convergence. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Convergent evolution through independent rearrangements in the primate amylase locus
Structurally complex regions of the genome are increasingly recognized as engines of evolutionary convergence due to their propensity to generate recurrent gene duplications that give rise to similar ...
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Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Mrnjavac et al. reevaluate arguments against Muller's hypothesis, and find that they do not conclusively exclude a role for sheltering in sex chromosome evolution. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf177 #evobio #molbio
doi.org
An Extension of Muller's Sheltering Hypothesis for the Evolution of Sex Chromosome Gene Content
Abstract. The first influential hypothesis for sex chromosome evolution was proposed in 1914 by H. J. Muller, who argued that once recombination was suppre
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Emiliano Martí 🇦🇷 @emilianomarti.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Happy to share our latest article, led by Tee Muirhead, now out in PNAS! We report the evolutionary genomics of the newly discovered neo-sex chromosomes in Myzomela — involving translocation, inversions & degeneration on the neo-W. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
doi.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Charikleia Karageorgiou (Clio) @evobioclio.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Outreach volunteers sought! @imprintedgene.bsky.social and I will host “Breaking Bread: Exploring the Evolution of Amylase in humans” at Festa Major de Gràcia, Barcelona (16 Aug, 19:00). We need 1-2 volunteers (ES/EN) for visitor guidance and on-site translation. Please DM or email me if interested.
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Andy Gardner @andygardner.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
New paper: "Faster adaptation but slower divergence of X chromosomes under paternal genome elimination" (Open Access) w/ Robert Baird, @imprintedgene.bsky.social‬, Jan Ševčík, Katy Monteith, @laurarossevo.bsky.social‬ & @ajmongue.bsky.social‬ www.nature.com/articles/s41... ‪@natcomms.nature.com‬
nature.com
Faster adaptation but slower divergence of X chromosomes under paternal genome elimination - Nature Communications
X chromosomes evolve faster than autosomes, but confounding factors make this a difficult phenomenon to study. Utilising the unusual sex determination system of Sciaridae flies, this study finds a slo...
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Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Talks by: @tatianagiraud.bsky.social‬ Bo Xu @vincentcastric.bsky.social @wenjuanma84.bsky.social‬ Sha Sun Pengfei Wu Robert Baird Jing Liu @imprintedgene.bsky.social‬ Deborah Charlesworth
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Charikleia Karageorgiou (Clio) @evobioclio.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
academic.oup.com
The Tree of Sex consortium: A global initiative for studying the evolution of reproduction in eukaryotes
Abstract. Reproduction is a fundamental aspect of life that affects all levels of biology, from genomes and development to population dynamics and diversif
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Steve Ramm @steveramm.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Abstracts for @eseb2025.bsky.social due next week! Milk, ejaculates, skin secretions, regurgitate, microbes ...our symposium will have it all, with invited speakers @berasymbionts.bsky.social and @jennyperry.bsky.social ...and you? Organised w/ @joriskoene.bsky.social and @wolfnerlab.bsky.social
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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Now available for preorder! The Paradox of the Organism: Adaptation and Internal Conflict, edited by me and Manus Patten, will be published by @harvardpress.bsky.social this fall. Cover coming soon.
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The Japan Times @japantimes.co.jp · 12/04/2025
The man who sent Japan's cherry blossoms out to the world: "If my cherries can help spread some happiness and avoid war, then it’s all worthwhile, and I can sleep soundly."
japantimes.co.jp
The man who sent Japan's cherry blossoms out to the world
Masatoshi Asari's trees — symbols of peace and reconciliation — blossom in the U.K., U.S., Poland and China.
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