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Max Telford

@maxjtelford.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.4K following 346 posts

Zoologist and evolutionary biologist. Interested in animal phylogeny. At UCL. Author of 'The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle'

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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Spandrels of San Marco. Strictly speaking ‘pendentives’ but spandrels seems to work much better.
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The Palaeontological Association @thepalass.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Dear members, 🦴 The PalAss is pleased to be supporting a three-day Morphological Phylogenetics Workshop with the Systematics Association and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK. ⬇️ docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #workshop
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Judith Mank @judithmank.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
So very, very happy to see this out @plosbiology.org : Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations. Beautiful work by two very clever and talented coauthors, Yuying Lin and @vdbijl.bsky.social . journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 1/
journals.plos.org
Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Genomic inversions spanning many genes can persist for millions of years. This study of Trinidadian guppy populations reveals how both ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden l...
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Today, 23 Sept, is the centenary of the tragic suicide of Austrian Zoologist and Lamarckian, Paul Kammerer. A fascinating and controversial man. I wrote about him in this week's Nature. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Fraud sealed the fate of controversial zoologist Paul Kammerer — 100 years on, his ideas deserve revisiting
After an eventful life in the limelight, the discovery of a manipulated specimen preceded the biologist’s death. Questions about his findings remain.
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Ana Serra Silva @anaserrasilva.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
We are a friendly bunch, who like hearing about anything systematics-related (methods included!) and about any taxon! If you're a student (or recent graduate) working on any aspect of systematics, taxonomy and phylogenetics send your abstract along! (Preferably well in advance of October 24!!!)
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Max Farnworth @maxfarnworth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Apply, apply, apply (till Monday!)
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ZooCELL MSCA-Doctoral Network @zoocell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
🔬 Meet Max Telford, PI of the ZooCELL team at UCL! @maxjtelford.bsky.social From natural history and marine life to reconstructing events from half a billion years ago, get to know Max, his research and his passion for sharing evolutionary biology beyond academia. 🧵👇
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Nathaniel Comfort @nccomfort.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
By my count, @philipcball.bsky.social has published more than forty books. I haven't come across one yet that wasn't worth reading. Theory alone suggests you should get it. QED.
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Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I've seen Pressure, out in UK cinemas today, about the D-Day forecast: there's a fair amount of shouting in a country house and it's very good. But the film made me think about AI, which is not what I'd expected: rogerhighfield.substack.com/p/pressure-t...
rogerhighfield.substack.com
Pressure Test: What D-Day Tells Us About AI Weather Forecasts
A new film about the momentous D-Day forecast turns out to be an unexpectedly good guide to whether we should trust AI with the weather
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Lars Chittka @larschittka.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Looking forward to giving the Huck Distinguished Lecture at Penn State University next week: www.huck.psu.edu/calendar/huc...
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Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
In the golden age of Vienna, two brilliant thinkers vied to shape the future of physics. Their passionate struggle led directly to the quantum and relativity revolutions. History of science at its most gripping! THE GREAT ATOM DEBATE Preorder now www.amazon.com/gp/product/1... greatatomdebate.com
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Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I just published a brief account of Jim Watson’s life, aimed at students. It leans heavily on the insights of @nccomfort.bsky.social, whose biography of Watson will be out next year. Free link here: rdcu.be/M91CnnE3N4wa
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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Amazing www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
How a fly brain may help explain the secrets of human behaviour
Comparing the brains of male and female flies may transform our understanding of how genes shape behaviour, including ours.
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Profile Books @profilebooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
AN ECONOMIST, GUARDIAN AND CHURCH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR Meticulously researched and shot through with insight and electrifying detail, @matthewcobb.bsky.social’s CRICK reveals the man who changed our view of life forever. #Crick is out today in paperback 🧬 Find out more: tinyurl.com/bd5bstwk
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Manuel Irimia @mirimiam.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🚨🚨🚨 As part of the MSCA-DN DECODES, we're looking for a PhD student to study splicing programs in beta cells and diabetes at @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu Join 14 other PhD students across Europe to decipher the splicing code in human disease. More info below 👇 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
findaphd.com
DECODES at University of Santiago de Compostela on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - DECODES at University of Santiago de Compostela, listed on FindAPhD.com
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Important paper by @kaplipa.bsky.social and colleagues. Advocating for the importance of Natural History museum collections in genomics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Species-dense genomics through natural history collections - Nature Reviews Genetics
Large-scale genome initiatives are transforming biodiversity genomics, but genomes remain taxonomically sparse and difficult to compare across species. Kapli and colleagues argue that natural history ...
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Henry Gee 亨利·纪 @endofthepier.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Timeo Danaos Et Dona Ferentes. So buy one for yourself.
The front cover of the Greek translation of 'The Wonder of Life on Earth' by Henry Gee and Raxenne Maniquiz.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Congrats Casey!
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Hoyaboya @hoyaboya1.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Branigan et al. (2026-08 preprint, bioRxiv) 「クラウン有胎盤類の急速な放散のモデル化」 Modelling a rapid radiation of crown-group placentals doi.org/10.64898/202...
Mary Kate Branigan et al., CC BY 4.0, https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.08.21.746252
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Hoyaboya @hoyaboya1.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Ordoñez & Wollesen (2026, Communications Biology) 「毛顎動物Spadella cephalopteraの前後軸パターン形成により,左右相称動物の神経系および尾部の進化に示唆が与えられる」 Anterior-posterior patterning in the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera informs bilaterian nervous system and tail evolution doi.org/10.1038/s420...
June F. Ordoñez & Tim Wollesen, CC BY 4.0, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-09398-6
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I recently spoke to podcaster Bob Wells about my book 'The Tree of Life'. It was a great experience, Bob is a great interviewer who asked really interesting questions. I think the podcast is really worth a listen. Please repost! open.spotify.com/episode/6RcC...
open.spotify.com
The Tree of Life: The Four Billion Year Journey to Us with Max Telford
Undercurrent Stories Podcast: History, Music, Science & much more. · Episode
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Very cool looking paper. Congrats. Looking forward to reading.
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Neil Miles @neilsmiles.com · 17/08/2026
29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I’m not telling where this deserted beach in Dorset is. The sea is lovely. Feels very fin de saison ;-).
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W. W. Norton & Company @wwnorton.com · 18/08/2026
"In FORCE OF NATURE, biologist and legal scholar Owen Jones argues convincingly that understanding how evolution by natural selection works can inform humans’ interactions with their environment and with each other." Read the full Nature review here: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
When should you treat a fever? Evolution holds the answer
Understanding natural selection can improve medical treatments, social policies and crop yields.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Flattered to be followed by Shropshire obviously. But worried it’s just because I’m called Telford.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Lovely review of my book 'The Tree of Life'. Thanks @lhug.bsky.social!
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Forgive the mild blasphemy. It was beyond amazing. In Spain near León.
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Rob Waterhouse @rmwaterhouse.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A broad taxonomic representation enables a phylum-wide assessment to systematically evaluate, refine, and revise current understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of the moulting genetic toolkit academic.oup.com/mbe/article/... #biodiversity #evolutionary #genomics
academic.oup.com
Evolutionary dynamics of the arthropod molting machinery
Abstract. Exoskeletons define arthropods, providing support for segmented bodies and appendages while protecting against environmental stress and predation
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Gaspar Jekely @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2026
In our new preprint, Réza Shahidi, Alexandra Kerbl and Karel Mocaer give an exquisitely detailed manual on serial sectioning for electron microscopy. "Volume Electron Microscopy: Tips & Tricks on Micromanipulator-Assisted Serial Sectioning for Array […] [Original post on biologists.social]
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Jay Shendure @jshendure.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Thrilled to post thread re: new single-cell lineage of mouse embryo reconstructed w/ DNA Typewriter. One animal, zygote to late organogenesis (E13.5). Tree has 1,340,794 transcriptionally profiled, annotated tips (cells), 1,142,588 dated internal nodes, rooted at zygote 1/n
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Gaspar Jekely @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2026
If you are interested in nervous system evolution you may want to read our review with Kei Jokura on nerve nets: "Revisiting nerve nets: functional organization and evolutionary implication" link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s… […] [Original post on biologists.social]
Figure showing different Erdős–Rényi-type random graphs with different preferential attachment, resulting in increasingly modular graphs. Images of Syncytial nerve net of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis, Schematic of an incision experiment carried out by Romanes on the scyphosoan medusa Aurelia,  Schematic of the localised spread of activity in a hydrozoan nerve net, where different non-overlapping nerve nets mediate distinct behaviours. The hydromedusa Aglantha digitale with its giant motor system shows a centralised arrangement.
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Hoyaboya @hoyaboya1.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
McDermott et al. (2026-07, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences) 「動物における対称性の進化に対する形態系統学的アプローチ」 A morphological phylogenetic approach to the evolution of symmetry in animals doi.org/10.1098/rspb... うおおおおおおお!!!!!
James W. McDermott et al., CC BY 4.0, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.1111
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Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
22 years ago today, Francis Crick died. You can read about his life, his brilliance and his failures in my biography, available in hardback in the UK and USA (and as an audiobook and ebook) and soon in a chonky UK paperback.
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Aylwyn Scally @aylwyn-scally.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Lots of science, and it prompted me to read some of Crick's original writing. He had that incredible insight, like Turing, into the implications of his work and others'. Plus a fun puzzle trying to work out who some of his secret lovers were, with the aid of Google.
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ZooCELL MSCA-Doctoral Network @zoocell.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
🔬 Meet Kevin Grüner, DC in the ZooCELL team at IGFL! Kevin completed his BSc in Biology and MSc in Zoology at the Uni. of Innsbruck, where he also worked at the EM facility and tutored different courses. He is now a DC in ZooCELL, investigating limb regeneration. 🧵 Read on to get to know Kevin.
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ZooCELL MSCA-Doctoral Network @zoocell.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
🔬 Meet Mathilde Paris, PI and co-leader of the ZooCELL team at IGFL! In this thread, Mathilde shares what first drew her to EvoDevo, the questions that drive her research, and what she enjoys most about mentoring the next generation of scientists. 🧵👇 #EvoDevo #genomics #regeneration #MSCA #IGFL
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Phoebe Cohen @phoebefossil.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Super excited that our paper led by @sandinmm.eurosky.social in PNAS is out! We show that crown-group eukaryotes were already taxonomically and ecologically diverse throughout the Mesoproterozoic, revealing complex communities well before the Neoproterozoic radiation. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Environmental phylogenetics supports a steady diversification of crown eukaryotes starting from the mid-Proterozoic | PNAS
Molecular clock and preservation of early microfossil assemblages suggest that eukaryotes were present and already diverse more than ~1600 million ...
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Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The paperback of CRICK is back from the printers! Out in 6 weeks. £14.99. Has the colour plates and fewer misteaks!
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Katie Holmes @runyoung50.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Fabulous to see my book Rulebreakers and Ghost Runners out in the wild on social media! #SportsHistory #WomensHistory #Skystorians
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Dr Lucy Rogers @drlucyrogers.com · 15/07/2026
Please re-post to your networks :)
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
For anyone else gutted @nedboulting.bsky.social and co. are no longer on tv for Tour de France follow this link…. neverstraysfar.com
neverstraysfar.com
Never Strays Far | Cycling Podcast
Hosted by Ned Boulting, David Millar and Pete Kennaugh. The three talk about lots of things, although they never stray far from the core issue, bike racing. Expect guests from the racing world and som...
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Oh bloody hell I’d forgotten. And no @nedboulting.bsky.social. Life is a little worse. Enshitification??
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Uk in second place. Politicians should be asked what the optimal number of citizens in prison should be (correct answer is surely zero) and what they’re doing to achieve that.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Good luck Anna!
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
HELP? Trying to get original, untrimmed alignments from this paper. Have looked very hard. Anyone able to help?? Philippe et al. Multigene analyses of bilaterian animals corroborate the monophyly of Ecdysozoa, Lophotrochozoa, and Protostomia Mol Biol Evol. 2005 May;22(5):1246-53.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
I gave a talk about my book The Tree of Life at a very hot Linnean Society last Thursday. This is now available to view on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzT2...
youtube.com
The Tree of Life (A User’s Manual) | Max Telford
YouTube video by Linnean Society
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ZooCELL MSCA-Doctoral Network @zoocell.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
🔬 Meet Ina Arnone, ZooCELL PI at @szndohrn.bsky.social In this Q&A, she shares how she discovered EvoDevo, the big questions driving their research and her passion for mentoring the next generation of scientists. Follow the thread to learn more. 👇 #MSCA #ZooCELL #EvoDevo @arnonelab.bsky.social
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Trumps Junior: Wolfram Beta and Gamma.
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Max Telford @maxjtelford.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Righteous anger. Excellent. open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
open.substack.com
On Holding Elon Musk Accountable
Why aren't we talking more about DOGE?
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