Matilda Brindle

We’re interested in folks applying from all manner of disciplinary backgrounds. Biology, zoology of course. But also computer science, remote sensing, architecture. If you’re keen to work with LiDAR and point clouds, we’d like to hear from you!

The "premastication" of food for babies—also called "kiss feeding"—is widespread in apes and humans. Could it have been an evolutionary stepping stone to the romantic kiss?

Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @matildabrindle.bsky.social!

Listen: disi.org/origins-of-t...

There are plenty of others out there too, in slightly shorter formats! Enjoy!

Monkeys be wankin’. With Dr. Matilda Brindle. Podcast Episode · Savage Lovecast · July 25, 2023 · 55m

I also had an awesome time talking with @dansavage.bsky.social about my research (a little while ago now!):
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Origins of the kiss Podcast Episode · Many Minds · February 12 · 1h 1m

Hi Gareth!

Absolutely, for an in-depth discussion of our paper on kissing evolution I'd recommend this: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

For my research on the evolution of masturbation, I'd suggest Laura Sirot's podcast here: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...

A comparative approach to the evolution of kissing Kissing can be observed across the animal kingdom. This presents an evolutionary puzzle, since the fitness benefits of kissing are unclear. We use a n…

Based on our paper below, with fabulous co-authors @stuwest.bsky.social & Catherine Talbot 🦧💋🐒😘

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Origins of the kiss - DISI Exploring our world's diverse forms of mind—human, animal, machine—from diverse perspectives.

My interview with @manymindspod.bsky.social! Come for a deep dive into the evolution of kissing 💋, stay for the earth-shattering insights 🤯

"fish don't run" 🐠🏃

"monkeys tend to loll around quite a lot" 🙈

"chimps have moved on to grass-in-bumhole behaviour" 🍑🌱

disi.org/origins-of-t...

How insects’ sex is determined is unlikely to be what makes them so social

Does haplodiploidy - a method of sex determination seen in bees and ants among other animals - promote eusociality?

New research from @rbonifacii.bsky.social and @stuwest.bsky.social enters evidence into this long debate that - despite popular belief - this is not the case 👇
bit.ly/4qEoEWm

We understand a great deal about how and why cooperation evolves, but what about its long-term consequences?

Great to see our new review on this out now in @asn-amnat.bsky.social!

Eusociality has independently evolved in multiple arthropod lineages

Eusociality has independently evolved in multiple arthropod lineages

Comparative analysis across 5,678 insect species shows that, when you control for phylogenetic bias, eusociality has not evolved at a faster rate in haplodiploid species. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Delighted to have been a part of this. It's a very exciting area in the field of social evolution and beyond!

This is a *great* opportunity for early career researchers to get their work out into the public domain!

I had a fab time talking to Laura about my research on the evolution of masturbation 🐒👋🍆💦🦧🌮👈:

open.spotify.com/episode/3Xy9...

Strange discovery that an email about inclusive fitness was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein, with the emailer quoting Jerusalem and comparing themself to Einstein. Are you one of the >100 evolutionary biologists now in the Epstein files? www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

Calling all OrthoFinder users!

We’ve just released GLADE, a tool to infer gene gains, losses, duplications, and ancestral genomes across a phylogeny.

GLADE runs directly on OrthoFinder results.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
github.com/lauriebelch/...

(1/10)

Warmer environments harbor greater thermal trait diversity in moth assemblages - Nature Communications Climate limits where insects can live and which species can coexist. Using thermal tolerances of 653 moths on Asian mountains, this study shows warmer temperatures broaden thermal tolerance traits div...

How do temperature regimes shape trait diversity in communities? Does variability promote more specialists or more generalists?

Our new Nature Communications paper tackles this with eco-evo simulations + 653 moth species across latitudinal and elevational gradients.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The marvellous @kitopie.bsky.social explaining how both monogamy and 'promiscuous' mating can help females avoid infanticide, "both early humans and chimpanzees are trying to solve the same problem"!

Romantic stuff, eh 😂

A comparative approach to the evolution of kissing Kissing can be observed across the animal kingdom. This presents an evolutionary puzzle, since the fitness benefits of kissing are unclear. We use a n…

"we ... employ Bayesian phylogenetic methods to reconstruct the evolutionary history of kissing."

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Superstar researcher @averymaune.bsky.social on her awesome new paper! 🤩

This looks like a great resource, please could you add me to the list?

Have had a very exciting and unexpected start to this week, travelling to Salford for an interview with BBC Breakfast talking all things #wasps! Many thanks to @waspwoman.bsky.social for trusting me with this opportunity, and the fantastic #WorldOfWasps at @uclgrantmuseum.bsky.social for the props!

Everyone isn’t ‘a little bit autistic’ – here’s why this notion is harmful This casual phrase might seem harmless but it misunderstands what autism really is and can do real harm to autistic people.

This casual phrase might seem harmless but it misunderstands what autism really is and can do real harm to autistic people.

🚨🐜!!! Check out our new paper where we investigate the impact of a soil level (SoilTemp) dataset on niche shifts of introduced ant species globally — using soil temperatures often lessens the extent of niche shifts between native and introduced ranges! 🐜 🐜 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Ten quick tips to get you started with Bayesian statistics

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Professor Stuart West

The ASN Distinguished Achievement in the Conceptual Unification of the Biological Sciences is for a senior (but still active) investigator who has made major contributions that relate to the goals of ASN. This year’s awardee is Stuart West (Oxford) www.biology.ox.ac.uk/people/stuar...
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Anna Dewar Dr Anna Dewar Career Development Research FellowSt John's College & Department of Biology, University of Oxford Honorary Research FellowDepartment of Genetics, Evolution & Environment, University C...

The ASN Early Career Investigator Awards recognize outstanding work by 4 researchers who have received their doctorates in the past 3 years. Recipients include:
d. Anna Dewar www.anna-dewar.com
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Great, thanks!

Sounds great Kit, sorry I can't make it! ☹️

Really looking forward to this talk at @radicalanthro.bsky.social where I’ll argue that the evolution of menopause is crucial to an understanding of the evolution of modern humans and language. @bristolantharch.bsky.social