molecules were instrumental in defining the 10 classes, morphology indispensable for most of the rest
You can download a spreadsheet of the classification here. Useful for all sorts of reasons. doi.org/10.5281/zeno...
Our phylogenetic classification of >400 diatom genera is now published in Journal of Phycology.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Awesome Master’s degree level #Phycology job at UC Berkeley!
aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05258?fbc...
Trying to imagine my time at UT without discussions of parsimony vs. likelihood.
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
No I cannot be on your important panel, sorry.
No I cannot review your exciting grant, sorry.
No I cannot review your groundbreaking paper, sorry.
No I cannot help you with your awesome outreach project, sorry.
Because all of this^ is invisible on my uni workload model and therefore worthless.
🤷♀️
This is a real timelapse video of the Moon transiting in front of the Earth.
It was captured by the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft in November 2022 while flying at it's furthest point from the Earth.
The video covers about 3.75 hours of real time. 🔭🧪
Our paper on the need for field studies to test ocean iron fertilization as a climate solution is out - please read it, share widely, and let me know what you think!
❤️
So good!
The Brown Lab at Mississippi State University seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Phylogenomics. Applicants should have sequencing data analysis experience, preferably in Python/R. Details at: https://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/cw/en-us/job/510010 #postdoc
I would not have a job.
Two live sets I listen to repeatedly this time of year. Had both of them on cassette in the 90s.
youtu.be/iavST2Uecm4?...
🧪📍🌊 🦑🍎 Marine Scientist Position – Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), full-time, permanent Marine Scientist position based in Panama. Application review begins February 15, 2026 (open until filled). Early-career researchers are strongly encouraged to apply. www.stri.si.edu
Back in the day, I spent a lot of effort pointing out that many claims of lateral gene transfer between taxa were better explained by other phenomena, like gene loss, duplicaiton and deletion, convergence, bad informatics, etc 1/n
Deep deep organisms that might live for thousands of years
aeon.co/essays/the-d...
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
Conserved genetic markers reveal widespread diatom sexual reproduction in the global ocean www.nature.com/articles/s41... #jcampubs 🌊
The amoeba Difflugia bacillifera builds its shell from things that contain silica, and it is not particular about the source. These ones have incorporated whole shells from another testate amoeba (Euglypha), along with diatoms, algal cysts and chunks of rock. #Amoebae #ProtistsOnSky #peatlands
oh, what I'd give to see one of these . . . www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Cool!
New results from our lab: Polyploidization in diatoms accelerates adaptation to warming. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Recent MDPI paper including diagram of a bacterial cell with a mitochondrion 🤦♀️ The authors propose a mechanism for the toxicity of silver nanoparticles: "Ag+ ions in AgNPs bombard the bacterial mitochondria’s electron transport chain, resulting in cell death".
The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage.
When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig.
Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?
One of my favorite records. The Losing End is 💯
"Useless" and/or "silly" federally-funded research has turned the United States into the world’s leader in science and technology over the past 75 years. Such science is under attack throughout the federally-funded agencies in the United States. More at: www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%...
💯
How do microbes become permanent partners? 🌊🔬🦠 Check out our new study published in Current Biology showing how cyanobacterial genomes evolve step-by-step into endosymbionts of diatoms. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
@currentbiology.bsky.social @mehrshmali.bsky.social
