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psarkies.bsky.social
Epigenetics and Evolution
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Postdoc or PhD working on C. elegans? Interested in applying C. elegans techniques to understand the astonishing world of epigenetics in parasitic nematodes? Apply to our Wellcome Trust funded postdoc position, joint between my lab in Oxford and Mark Viney's in Liverpool: tinyurl.com/5y6cpvcv

Fascinating and (to me at least!) unexpected insights here: the American revolution initially started with a demand for the British King to have more power in America, not less! The refusal of the King to take this route led eventually to it becoming a republic.

Does the piRNA machinery evolve under greater adaptive evolution in species with more repeats? Using an approach we found helpful in answering such a question, and at least comparing D. melanogaster with D. ananassae and D. willistoni, it appears the opposite is true. doi.org/10.1093/g3jo...

I'm very excited to share our recent work just out in BMC Genomics! Led by Yimo Zhang, a brilliant PhD student in the lab, and with help from Simon Newstead, something totally new for the lab! Deorphanising solute carrier proteins computationally: bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

This, 💯! I'm very proud to work for a journal and organisation that stand by these principles.

Love this paper just out in Nature. A still unsolved mystery is why Rubisco (CO2 fixation) is so inefficient in selecting CO2 over O2. Some have argued O2 activity is somehow beneficial, but alternative experiments suggested O2 activity is inevitable consequence of CO2 affinity.

Another week and another British origin myth brilliantly debunked. This time the idea of the 'bloodless transition of power' in 1688- only true if you ignore Ireland and Scotland!

I'm sceptical of the idea of the scientific revolution, which has always seemed to me to be associated with the flawed idea of scientific exceptionalism: that science is somehow completely different (and by implication superior) to other scientific pursuits. Great analysis, as always, by ppf 👇

I’m not sure I can “like” this post but it presents in no uncertain terms how US Universities are attacked by their own government. The war against knowledge is on.

Pretty interesting idea: 5C sugar metabolism evolved first. Seems plausible to me from the point of view of nucleic acid chemistry. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

www.newstatesman.com/environment/...

Heathrow is big, noisy and polluting enough already.

This January was the hottest on record and people across the globe are feeling the devastating impacts of the climate crisis. But the far-right, bankrolled by the ultra-wealthy, are organising to destroy climate action. Here's how we can stop them: www.independent.co.uk/voices/refor...

This is a really exciting opportunity to work with an outstanding new lab led by Max Fitz-James. Fundamental understanding of epigenetics and evolution!

We are looking for a post-doc to join us in Oxford @biology.ox.ac.uk to study epigenetic inheritance! The project will use Cut&Run and RNA-seq to map and track new epimutations as they arise in Drosophila populations across multiple generations. Feel free to share! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

no amount of new runways is going to produce enough growth to overcome the cost of climate change. @greenparty.org.uk

This is a really cool and very interesting paper. Pedantic...but is it really epigenetic if it's in post-mitotic neurons?! just calling it chromatin or histone modifications would be enough I think.

Interesting results published in @plosbiology.org from a lab experimental evolution system, suggesting that pleiotropic mutations in regulatory genes are likely first steps in adaptation. Nice preview here: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Great resource with some fascinating nuggets of information: the fly heterochromaproteome! (how's that for a neologism?!) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

🔥🔥🔥🔥 can't wait!

Like it or not, the world still looks to the US for guidance. It’s therefore very upsetting that Trump’s vision for the US appears to be a plutocratic hypermale ruling elite. I’m hoping that this is just a temporary blip on an upward trajectory for a more inclusive world.

My favourite ever comedy series, Green Wing. Interesting to listen to this about how it was created: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

My two favourite podcasts unite- a lucid discussion of how the ideas of Christianity run through even ostensibly secular philosophies in Europe Particularly interesting how the paradoxes within Christianity contributed to its success by enabling its adoption by the ruling classes in Europe.

Fabulous work from our colleagues in the Barr lab showing how the CPC binds the nucleosome! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

There's a really interesting discussion here about how trust can sometimes be an impediment to a really deep conversation. Perhaps important to consider for scientists how we can avoid seeking out conversations that simply confirm our preconceptions..maybe seek out someone we know will disagree

This is a superb piece of work, really important in understanding the contribution RNAi might make to immunity in mammals. Why antiviral RNAi is not that important in mammals is a really interesting puzzle for evolution since this function is likely ancestral. Drift, or selection against it?