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Joana Meier

@joanameier.bsky.social

Group leader and Royal Society URF @Wellcome Sanger Institute Branco Weiss fellow @University of Cambridge speciation, genomics, hybridisation

1,387 Followers  |  1,047 Following  |  67 Posts  |  Joined: 24.02.2024
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Posts by Joana Meier (@joanameier.bsky.social)

Thanks for letting me know. Would you mind sharing how it compares to HiC in terms of ease of library prep, data consistency and evenness of coverage in your experience? Do you use it for genome assembly with just ONT?

10.03.2026 08:37 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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High-throughput Pore-C reveals the single-allele topology and cell type-specificity of 3D genome folding - Nature Communications Here the authors establish a high throughput Pore-C (HiPore-C) method increasing the sequencing output of multi-way chromatin contacts and reveal single-allele topology diversity and cell type-specifi...

Genomicists on Bluesky, does anyone have experience with Pore-C? Wondering about its use for genome assembly fully based on ONT sequencing.

09.03.2026 13:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Eight common errors I see in PhD applications and interviews, and how to avoid them Convince a supervisor that you’re a great fit for their laboratory by preparing questions, honing your personal statement and showcasing strong team-player instincts.

Excellent advice for PhD student applicants... www.nature.com/articles/d41...

09.03.2026 12:57 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Crude oil prices, showing a very sharp increase in the last day, from around 65 to 101 dollars per barrel..

Crude oil prices, showing a very sharp increase in the last day, from around 65 to 101 dollars per barrel..

Oil prices wouldn't be all over the news today if more of our economy was powered by local, secure renewable energy.

This isn't an "energy crisis". It's a fossil fuel crisis.

44% of UK electricity came from renewables in 2025. More of that plus an electrified economy => no more oil shocks.

09.03.2026 10:15 β€” πŸ‘ 2945    πŸ” 861    πŸ’¬ 81    πŸ“Œ 53
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The SMBE IDEA Task Force stands with all women doing science: cis and trans, in every country, under every condition. In war zones, under authoritarian regimes, where their existence is an act of resistance.

March 8 carries weight. Science is only as strong as who it includes.

#WomenInSTEM #March8

08.03.2026 11:15 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Chromosomes are often classified as either monocentric (single centromere per chr) or holocentric (centromeric activity spread across each chr).

In reality, there is a continuum in centromere organisation - and cyperids are a fascinating system to explore this in as James shows in this preprint! 🌱

03.03.2026 17:12 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
David Alexander Marques (1984–2026) - Nature Ecology & Evolution Speciation genomics researcher, author of the combinatorial theory of speciation and passionate birder

David Marques was an amazing speciation genomics researcher, a passionate birder, and a wonderful friend, husband, and father. May he rest in peace. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

02.03.2026 13:44 β€” πŸ‘ 57    πŸ” 29    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2

This is a Nazi move. Stripping people of rights, invalidating their IDs, setting them up for criminalization and imprisonment.

If you don't support trans rights, you support fascism.

26.02.2026 05:18 β€” πŸ‘ 8281    πŸ” 4022    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 44
seminar announcement with photos of speakers and talk titles

seminar announcement with photos of speakers and talk titles

The integration of speciation seminar series is restarting, with the first session coming up on *Tuesday March 3rd @ 5pm CET*, featuring two talks by @naturalselection.bsky.social and @andreaestandia.bsky.social + career Q&A with @markravinet.bsky.social as part of the ECR in Speciation theme.

25.02.2026 16:29 β€” πŸ‘ 31    πŸ” 20    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
Evolution 2026 meeting logo. Clilp art of a globe and laptop showing a virtual presentation. Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Global Meeting Participation.

Evolution 2026 meeting logo. Clilp art of a globe and laptop showing a virtual presentation. Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Global Meeting Participation.

SSE is pleased to offer free virtual #Evol2026 registration to all SSE members residing in 152 countries and territories around the world including India, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Request your free registration code today! www.evolutionsociety.org/index.php?mo...

24.02.2026 14:43 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Evolution, genomicsΒ and conservation of butterflies and moths - Nature Reviews Biodiversity Butterflies and moths are key indicators of functioning and healthy ecosystems around the world. This Review describes the evolutionary history of the order Lepidoptera and tracks shifts in researcher...

Now online! In this review, we cover four major topics on butterflies and moths: their evolutionary history and diversification dynamics, genomics, global diversity patterns, and conservation πŸ¦‹πŸŒ (1/8) @natrevbiodiv.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

24.02.2026 16:19 β€” πŸ‘ 84    πŸ” 44    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol

🚨JOB alert🚨

We have three (yes, THREE) 🌟lectureships🌟 advertised in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol.

Broad remit, including #AnimalBehaviour & #GlobalChangeBiology

⏱️Deadline: 8th March 2026
πŸ™Please circulate widely

😊Come join us!

Full #job details: tinyurl.com/y3us95rc

23.02.2026 18:13 β€” πŸ‘ 63    πŸ” 97    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

23.02.2026 23:35 β€” πŸ‘ 4284    πŸ” 1768    πŸ’¬ 42    πŸ“Œ 52

I cannot get over how little international attention this horrendous conflict and its awful consequences receive. #Sudan

20.02.2026 07:05 β€” πŸ‘ 149    πŸ” 75    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 5
Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers removing scrub and saplings from an area of heathland with the Carnon Valley Viaduct in the background.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers removing scrub and saplings from an area of heathland with the Carnon Valley Viaduct in the background.

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were working with the Environment Agency in the Carnon Valley today. We were cutting back Gorse and using tree poppers to remove Birch saplings as part of heathland restoration for Grayling. The site has also supported Silver-studded Blues in the past.

19.02.2026 18:03 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
ajplus on Instagram: "The U.S. Secretary of State teaches us why colonialism was wonderful. Here’s why it’s not: #Colonialism #US #Empire #MarcoRubioView…" The U.S. Secretary of State teaches us why colonialism was wonderful. Here’s why it’s not: #Colonialism #US #Empire #MarcoRubio

The US Secretary of State has openly called for white supremacy and colonialism at the Munich Security Conference! This is so wrong.

short version: www.instagram.com/reel/DUyQQCy...

full speech: www.state.gov/releases/off...

17.02.2026 17:23 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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1/12 Elon Musk is responsible for more deaths in one year than ISIS and Al-Qaeda caused in thirty.

In 2025 his "Department of Government Efficiency" dismantled USAID.

He tweeted that he fed it "into the wood chipper."

The result was a massacre 🧡

15.02.2026 13:06 β€” πŸ‘ 126    πŸ” 58    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 10
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On March 3rd @ 5pm CET, we are re-starting the Integration of speciation seminar series! The first 3 sessions feature talks by *Early-Career Researchers*, and include a Q&A with an established PI about their career path.

Sign up to get the link: speciation-network.pages.ist.ac.at/seminar-seri...

09.02.2026 15:40 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Applications close for this 4-year postdoc on Feb 9th (2 days!). The associated post for a technician should be online next week πŸ‘€

07.02.2026 11:16 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why not publish your research with a Society Journal? πŸ§ͺ🌍

The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and ground-breaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience. 🧡(1/4)

07.02.2026 13:01 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 13    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

We’ve been working on this paper longer than it took adaptive alleles to cross the species barrier (in both directions) and make two pests ever more resistant to the things we throw at them.

New preprint out πŸ§¬πŸŒ±πŸ›

27.12.2025 12:51 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientistβ€”because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

06.02.2026 09:09 β€” πŸ‘ 47148    πŸ” 19327    πŸ’¬ 1352    πŸ“Œ 795
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Why did only one genus of insects, Halobates, take to the high seas? Oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and house a dizzying array of organisms, including five species of the peppercorn-sized ocean-skater Halobates, which live exclusively at the ocean surface...

I can't overrecommend this incredible paper about water skaters (genus Halobates). No one knows how they evolved. No one knows what they eat. They are superhydrophobic, which means water LITERALLY CANNOT WET THEM. Perhaps we should call them anti-water skaters? 🌊πŸ§ͺ
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

30.01.2026 22:17 β€” πŸ‘ 185    πŸ” 64    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 9

I had a great time at @sesbe-org.bsky.social in Valencia with lots of interesting talks in a beautiful, sunny city. It was an honour to give the closing plenary. Many thanks for inviting me.

24.01.2026 12:19 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Last chance to apply - the deadline is tomorrow!

22.01.2026 20:05 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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ECE 2026 - XIII European Congress of Entomology It is our great pleasure to welcome you to Tours, France, in the heart of the Loire Valley, from June 29 to July 3, 2026.

Working on entomology research? Join us from 29 June to 3 July in Tours, France, for the European Congress of Entomology. The abstract submission deadline was extended to 31 January. If you are interested in genomics and evolutionary novelties, apply for our symposium on this topic.
www.ece2026.org

18.01.2026 22:42 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
About the PhD: 
Audits and evaluation of AI systems β€” and the broader context that AI systems operate in β€” have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity.

This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as:

    What does it mean to represent β€œground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation?
    How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena?
    What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail?
    How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies?
    Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation.

The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.

About the PhD: Audits and evaluation of AI systems β€” and the broader context that AI systems operate in β€” have become central to conceptualising, quantifying, measuring and understanding the operations, failures, limitations, underlying assumptions, and downstream societal implications of AI systems. Existing AI audit and evaluation efforts are fractured, done in a siloed and ad-hoc manner, and with little deliberation and reflection around conceptual rigour and methodological validity. This PhD is for a candidate that is passionate about exploring what a conceptually cogent, methodologically sound, and well-founded AI evaluation and safety research might look like. This requires grappling with questions such as: What does it mean to represent β€œground truth” in proxies, synthetic data, or computational simulation? How do we reliably measure abstract and complex phenomena? What are the epistemological or methodological implications of quantification and measurement approaches we choose to employ? Particularly, what underlying presuppositions, values, or perspectives do they entail? How do we ensure the lived experiences of impacted communities play a critical role in the development and justification of measurement metrics and proxies? Through exploration of these questions, the candidate is expected to engage with core concepts in the philosophy of science, history of science, Black feminist epistemologies, and similar schools of thought to develop an in-depth understanding of existing practices with the aim of applying it to advance shared standards and best practice in AI evaluation. The candidate is expected to integrate empirical (for example, through analysis or evaluation of existing benchmarks) or practical (for example, by executing evaluation of AI systems) components into the overall work.

are you displeased with today’s AI safety evaluation landscape and curious about what greater conceptual clarity, methodological soundness, and rigour in AI evaluation could look like? if so, consider coming to Dublin to pursue a PhD with me

apply here: aial.ie/hiring/phd-a...

pls repost

15.01.2026 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 190    πŸ” 140    πŸ’¬ 6    πŸ“Œ 12

If you would like to attend the funeral service in Bern, Switzerland, on Friday, January 30, and need information on how to sign up, let me know.

16.01.2026 15:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Genomic analyses in Drosophila do not support the classic allopatric model of speciation Abstract. The allopatric model of speciation has dominated our understanding of speciation biology and biogeography since the Modern Synthesis. It is uncon

New paper out: β€œallopatric” Drosophila species aren’t so allopatric after all. We show that most currently allopatric species pairs probably overlapped in the past and exchanged genes at levels similar to sympatric pairs. @evolletters.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/evle... [1/6]

15.01.2026 11:58 β€” πŸ‘ 57    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Thank you @ebpgenome.bsky.social for highlighting @projectpsyche.bsky.social
If you want to learn more about the large-scale genomics project on Lepidoptera in Europe, we introduce the project in our paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

15.01.2026 10:17 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0