iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 14/10/2026

Great photos! Leopard geckos never stop moving making them especially frustrating to photograph.

Blurry photo of a Leopard Gecko running out of frame

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026

Dang, what a cool show! Liz Phair & Sleater-Kinney at the Salt Shed in Chicago! 🎶🎸🎵

A woman (Liz Phair) playing guitar on stage. A man playing bass is in the background.

A group of people playing guitars on stage

Two women (Carrie Brownstein & Corin Tucker) playing guitars and singing on stage

Two women (Carrie Brownstein & Corin Tucker) playing guitars on stage

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

A project this big took a long time to complete, beginning 10 years ago. The broad outlines laid out over dinner while attending the 2016 World Congress of Herpetology in Tonglu, China

Illuminated buildings of the night skyline of Tonglu, China in the background and the Fuchun River in the foreground with two boats on the water.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

We made some other cool observations, including the evolution of partial dosage compensation and the patterns of gene loss and retention on the degenerating sex chromosomes (the Y or the W). Give it a read if you are interested.

Time-calibrated gecko phylogeny on the left, with the silhouette of a gecko overlaid onto it highlighting the constrained pathways of sex chromosome evolution. Most gecko sex chromosomes originated independently from different ancestral chromosomes. Five of 11 datable origins coincide near the MMCT [~10 million years ago (Mya)]. Regions ancestrally enriched in TPEGs tend to evolve into ZW systems, whereas regions depleted of such genes tend to evolve into XY—a pattern observed across multiple independent amniote sex chromosome origins.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

While any chromosome seems to be able to act as a sex chromosome, ancestral gene content is correlated with the direction of evolution – XY vs ZX – with testis-enriched regions tending to evolve into ZW systems & testis-depleted regions into XY.

Gecko sex chromosomes divergence and evolution. Phylogeny of sampled gecko species and their sex chromsome system. Boxplots show the proportion of testis (left) and ovary (right) preferentially expressed genes on the oldest region of the X/Z-SDR of each gecko compared to the proportion of gonad-bias genes from genomic background. Red dots in the boxplot indicate the difference of the studied gecko while the other black dots indicate the ancestral states indicative by the difference in the other geckos. Any deviation is shown as the background color in each boxplot: red, significantly higher than genomic background in geckos; blue, significantly lower; white, no significant difference.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

We asked whether some chromosomes were better at being sex chromosomes than others. We inferred an ancestral gecko karyotype of 19 chromosome pairs and 17(!) of them have become sex chromosomes, confirming independence of sex chromosome recruitment in different species.

Homologous gecko ancestral chromosomes (GAC) detected in the sex chromosomes of all studied geckos (phylogeny on left). Boxes and arrows are color-coded by GAC. A diagonal line is drawn in the box when the GAC is homologous only to PAR. The parentheses under the GAC at the top indicate the number of times each GAC became sex chromosome, where the color indicates whether the GAC evolved into SDR in geckos (black: evolved into SDR, gray: evolved into PAR only).

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

In other words, the evolution of a new sex chromosome system includes not just the evolutionary option of an XY or ZW system but also the option that any one of the chromosomes in the genome could be recruited into this sex-determining role.

Photo of a brown gecko on green leaf – Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus), one of 19 gecko species with new, high-quality genome assemblies.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

We confirmed previous research that sex chromosomes have evolved repeatedly in geckos. However, our genome-scale data let us move beyond just XY vs ZW. We observed different chromosomes in the genome acting as sex chromosomes in different species.

Whole genome alignment across the 22 geckos covered in this study. Alignments are color-coded based on gecko ancestral chromosomes (GACs; noted at top). For each sex chromosome, the PARs and stratum are highlighted with different colors. The inferred fusion and other rearrangement events associated with the sex chromosomes are shown on the tree. Dusty rose bar, autosome; grey bar, PAR; light grey, unlocalized scaffold

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

Combining our new genome assemblies with existing genomes we were able to uncover some incredible details about gecko genome biology and sex chromosome evolution.

Photo of a brown gecko against a black background – Sarasin's Giant Gecko (Correlophus sarasinorum), one of 19 gecko species with new, high-quality genome assemblies.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/08/2026

We generated chromosome-level genomes from 19 gecko species, including representatives from all 7 gecko families. These species have diverse sex-determining systems, including both XY and ZW sex chromosomes and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD).

Gecko genome assemblies, phylogeny, and sex-linked sequence dataset. Genomic phylogeny of gecko with divergence times as branch lengths. Species name color: red, generated in this study, black, published. The sex determination systems (SDS) are also shown at the leaf node: blue, XY; orange, ZW; grey, TSD. Bubble plots illustrate key assembly and sex chromosome parameters.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 15/08/2026

This is a trap, right? There’s no way this isn’t a trap.

Photo of a pods storage unit on a city street with its door open. Inside the pod is a wooden end table with a handwritten sign that says,”Free stuff inside pod!”

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 16/07/2026

Air quality in Milwaukee today is bad! It’s like living in an ashtray. Below is a photo from today and the same view on a typical day. 😷

Air quality map showing the region around Milwaukee. The text says, “Hazardous
Scale: United States (AQI)
Air quality index is 407, which is worse than yesterday at about this time.”

Photo from a rooftop showing Marquette Universities’ campus and parts of downtown Milwaukee. The sky is full of smoke and buildings in the background are difficult to make out in the haze.

Photo from a rooftop showing Marquette Universities’ campus and parts of downtown Milwaukee. The same view as the previous photo but the sky is clear and building clearly visible.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 04/07/2026

Some photos from SummerFest in Milwaukee. Exceptional performances by Living Colour and Muse! Bonus - there are great views of Lake Michigan from the Summerfest grounds. 🎶🎸🎼

Photo of a man (Vernon Reid) playing a colorful guitar on an outdoor stage. He is wearing a cowboy hat & a cool vest with patches on it. Guitar amplifiers are behind him.

Photo of the band Living Colour performing live. From left to right is Guitarist Vernon Reid, Singer Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun & Bassist Doug Wimbish. A large banner behind the performers has the bands name, “Living Colour” on it.

Photo of the band Muse performing live. The area above the stage is dominated by large rectangular screens showing blue designs. The musicians are on the stage at the bottom of the photo (from left to right - singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy, drummer Dominic Howard), keyboard/guitarist Dan Lancaster, & bassists Chris Wolstenholme.

Photo of Lake Michigan, the sky is cloudy. A lighthouse is on the left and a large freight ship on the right. Part of a grassy hill is visible in the foreground on the lower right.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 21/06/2026

Kicked off the first weekend of Summerfest, on the shore of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, by seeing something old and something new: David Lee Roth and Dexter and the Moonrocks. 🎶

Photo of David Lee Roth screaming into a silver megaphone that is pointed at a microphone

Photo of David Lee Roth playing acoustic guitar and singing into a microphone.

Photo of a four piece band (Dexter and the Moonrocks) on stage. The drummer is shirtless and standing on top of his drums.

Photo of the Milwaukee city skyline at night with its reflection in Lake Michigan.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 13/06/2026

Saw some good critters at the 11th annual MPM Bioblitz sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) & Wehr Nature Center in Franklin, WI 🧪 🐸

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) surrounded by vegetation

Gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor) on a log

Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) head sticking out of the water

A Groundhog (Marmota monax) peering over a log.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 13/06/2026

I wish I could figure out where the cat went

Photo of a black cat’s tail peeking out from under a blanket

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 12/06/2026

Well this can’t be good… 🧪

Screen grab that says, “Rainbow Mealworms
SOLD OUT OF MEDIUM AND LARGE
MEALWORMS
We sincerely apologize. Due to increasing costs for carrots and grain, we haven't been able to produce enough
mealworms to sell at our usual springtime rate. We are working to boost production in the coming weeks and hope the feed supply situation improves.”

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 30/04/2026

I'll have you know we actually used FOUR gecko species in the paper! 🤣 but... a skink also makes an appearance! 🧪

A two panel figure from a scientific paper. The left panel consists of haplotype-specific k-mers plotted against sequence length for the the Christmas Island skink (Cryptoblepharus egeriae) - a skink silhouette is at the bottom of that panel. The right panel corresponds to an alignment of the putative sex chromosome haplotypes for the same species.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 27/03/2026

There are several gecko species native to Crete and they have different sex-determining systems. The Common Wall Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) has TSD. The Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) has XX/XY sex chromosomes. We found both at the conference hotel! 🧪🦎 @biol-vsd.bsky.social

Photo of a Common Wall Gecko (Tarentola mauritanica) on a rock

Photo of a Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) on a rock

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 28/12/2025

Soul Asylum played a great show at @firstave.bsky.social last night. They performed a number of older songs that I’ve not seen them play for a while. #MinnesotaMusic 🎶

A photo of the band Soul Asylum performing on stage at First Avenue. A banner behind the stage has the band’s name bathed in red lights.

Photo of 3 men (Ryan Smith, Dave Pirner , & Jeremy Tappero) on a stage singing and playing guitars. A man (Michael Bland) is playing drums toward the back of the stage. A banner behind the stage says “soul asylum.“ The audience is visible in the foreground.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 25/12/2025

‘tis the season to celebrate the many animal species that reproduce via parthenogenesis - or reproduction from an unfertilized egg. Pictured here are 3 species of all-female, parthenogenetic gecko: Mourning Gecko; Bynoe's gecko; & Indopacific slender gecko #MerryChristmas #Herpetology 🎄🧪🦎

Photo of a Mourning Gecko (Lepidodactylus lugubris) facing left on a branch with the sky in the background.

Photo of a Bynoe's gecko (Heteronotia binoei), facing left on a lichen-covered rock with the dark sky in the background.

Photo of an Indopacific slender gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus typus), facing right, on a large green leaf.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 15/12/2025

The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lightscape exhibit was eerily quiet tonight due to extreme cold.

Lighted walkway at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lightscape exhibit.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 06/12/2025

Post a photo of an animal that looks Gen-AI but is 100% real. Aeluroscalabotes felinus, Malaysia

Photo of a brown and white gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus) on a branch

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 06/12/2025

What’s your “how can one album have so many bangers” album

Cover of the Soul Asylum album “Hang Time” which features multiple red-tinted human feet/legs tied at the ankles on a black background.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 25/11/2025

“You will be visited by three spirits.” The three spirits.

Photo of 3 men (the band ZZ Top) wearing sunglasses against a red background

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 24/11/2025

Drove up to Green Bay last night to see Mammoth - they performed an amazing rock & roll show! 🤘 @wolfvanhalen.bsky.social

Mammoth singer & guitarist Wolfgang Van Halen - a bearded man wearing a short-sleeved flannel shirt – playing a gold top EVH SA-126 guitar and singing into a microphone. The screen behind him is displaying colored lights. In the foreground, an audience member is also taking a picture of Wolfgang.

Photograph of a concert stage with Mammoth band members Frank Sidoris, Ronnie Ficarro, Wolfgang Van Halen, & Jonathan Jourdan performing. At the back of the stage is a screen with colorfull concentric circles & white polka dots and a low wall of EVH 4x12 speaker cabinets. The audience is in the foreground.

Mammoth guitarist Frank Sidoris – a man with curly dark hair wearing a black leather jacket, ripped jeans, playing an olive green Gibson Firebird – is throwing a guitar pick into the audience. The pick is visible, mid-air, near Frank's right shoulder.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 14/11/2025

So excited for the latest edition of “Evolution: Making Sense of Life” by @carlzimmer.com & Doug Emlen. Students in my evolution class regularly tell me it’s the best textbook they’ve had in a college course.

Photo of a book, titled “Evolution: Making Sense of Life” by Carl Zimmer & Doug Emlen. The book cover features a colorful mantis shrimp.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 24/09/2025

Gojira brought their heavy metal spectacle to Madison last night! What a performance! @thesylvee.bsky.social #HeavyMetal #Music

Photo of a guitarist (Joe Duplantier) and drummer (Mario Duplantier) on a stage with red and white lights. In the foreground a person is crowd surfing.

Photo of a concert stage bathed in red light. The silhouettes of the musicians (Gojira) are visible against this red background.

Photo of musicians (Gojira) on a concert stage. Plumes of fire are shooting into the sky. The crowed is visible in the foreground.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 15/08/2025

Some good news, @ecokatsully.bsky.social successfully defended her dissertation. The lab celebrated with a Milwaukee specialty, an enormous Bloody Mary with, among other things, an entire fried chicken garnish - a drink/meal known as the ‘Bloody Beast’. Congratulations, Dr Sullivan!! 🧪

Photo of a smiling woman at a restaurant with an enormous pitcher of Bloody Mary. Inside the pitcher are vegetables, cheese curds, and an entire chicken!

Photo of 7 people around a table at a restaurant.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 15/08/2025

Corn snakes are a solid choice for a pet snake 🐍

A small corn snake being held against a black background

A corn snake coiled partially on a log and facing right

A baby, albino corn snake coiled on a leaf and facing left.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 12/08/2025

Post your last photo of DC to show what a hell-hole it is. Went to the National Zoo and had a delightful time looking at frogs 🐸

Photo of a small blue frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) on brown moss with green leaves in the foreground.

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 05/07/2025

Music from the 80s & 90s was well represented at Milwaukee’s #SummerFest this 4th of July 🎵 Tripping Daisy, John Oates, & Richard Marx all sounded great!

Live performance of the band Tripping Daisy. Singer Tim DeLaughter is holding an orange & red sign that says, “tripping Daisy”above his head.

Photo of two men with guitars. John Oates is on the left.

Photo of Richard Marx playing guitar and singing live. His hair looks great!

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 05/07/2025

The Ike Reilly Assassination brought the goods to their Milwaukee show! #SummerFest 🎵

Photo of a smiling man (Ike Reilly) playing an electric guitar

Photo of the band Ike Reilly Assassination playing live

Photo of a man (Ike Reilly) wearing sunglasses and playing acoustic guitar

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Tony Gamble @tonygamble.eurosky.social · 05/07/2025

This was the most #Milwaukee 4th of July drone show imaginable. There is none more Milwaukee. #Summerfest

Drones spelling the word “sausage” in the evening sky. The “USA” in “sausage” is emphasized. I guess you can’t spell sausage without USA.

A sausage made of illuminated drones floats in the evening sky.

A drone show where the drones have formed Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge with a drone sausage floating above it.

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