Professor Mary J O'Connell
@evol-molly.bsky.social
Evolutionary Biologist, Mammals, Phylogenies, Comparative Genomics, Art and Running
Congratulations to Eilidh Ward (first author and PhD student co-supervised by co-authors Julie Aspden, David Westhead and yours truly) on this lovely contribution - a method to visually inspect reads from novel open reading frames: doi.org/10.1093/bioa...
InspectorORF: a tool for visualising Ribo-Seq and additional genomic or transcriptomic data
AbstractMotivation. The advent of ribosome profiling (an adaptation of RNA sequencing) to determine the translatome, has led to a huge improvement in our u
doi.org
February 3, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Congratulations to Eilidh Ward (first author and PhD student co-supervised by co-authors Julie Aspden, David Westhead and yours truly) on this lovely contribution - a method to visually inspect reads from novel open reading frames: doi.org/10.1093/bioa...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
January 28, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Pre-announcement ... keep an eye out for news of our upcoming #Biodiversity #Bioinformatics Summer School 21-26 June in Germany co-organised by @sib.swiss & @denbi.bsky.social ... sign up to the mailing list to be sure not to miss it! www.sib.swiss/training/upc...
Upcoming training courses
The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is an academic not-for-profit organization whose mission is to lead and coordinate the field of bioinformatics in Switzerland.
www.sib.swiss
January 27, 2026 at 8:35 AM
Pre-announcement ... keep an eye out for news of our upcoming #Biodiversity #Bioinformatics Summer School 21-26 June in Germany co-organised by @sib.swiss & @denbi.bsky.social ... sign up to the mailing list to be sure not to miss it! www.sib.swiss/training/upc...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Mother nature is a raver.
January 25, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Mother nature is a raver.
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
The abstract submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting on Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is this Saturday!
January 26, 2026 at 6:27 AM
The abstract submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting on Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is this Saturday!
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Last chance to apply for our funded PhD opportunity. w. Prof. Fredric Coulon @ Cranfield University. This will investigate expansion of ML models for AMR phenotype detection to agriculture settings to create a sensor-ready hit list.
Detail here:
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Detail here:
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
From Genomic Context to Sensor Design: Computational Identification of AMR Biomarkers in Agriculture (project at Queen's University Belfast) at University of Reading on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - From Genomic Context to Sensor Design: Computational Identification of AMR Biomarkers in Agriculture (project at Queen's University Belfast) at University of Reading, listed on FindAPhD....
www.findaphd.com
January 23, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Last chance to apply for our funded PhD opportunity. w. Prof. Fredric Coulon @ Cranfield University. This will investigate expansion of ML models for AMR phenotype detection to agriculture settings to create a sensor-ready hit list.
Detail here:
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Detail here:
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
📣 Please spread: we’re hiring a Lab Manager! It is a critical position in our new lab. As our lab moves to Barcelona and joins the @crg.eu, we’re looking for a Lab Manager to help build the lab and set the lab atmosphere.
🔗 Apply here 👉 recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
🔗 Apply here 👉 recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
January 23, 2026 at 6:41 AM
📣 Please spread: we’re hiring a Lab Manager! It is a critical position in our new lab. As our lab moves to Barcelona and joins the @crg.eu, we’re looking for a Lab Manager to help build the lab and set the lab atmosphere.
🔗 Apply here 👉 recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
🔗 Apply here 👉 recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
A new study by Philip Leverhulme Prize Winner Harrison Steel, @gabriel-abrahams.bsky.social and others has proved for the first time that it is possible to deliberately engineer quantum mechanical processes occurring inside a protein, and use these to create new sensing technologies.
Our research on magneto-sensitive fluorescent proteins and some of their applications has now been published!
Huge thank you to the many many people involved in making this happen. 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Huge thank you to the many many people involved in making this happen. 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Quantum spin resonance in engineered proteins for multimodal sensing - Nature
A recently developed class of magneto-sensitive fluorescent proteins are engineered to alter the properties of their response to magnetic fields and radio frequencies, enabling multimodal sensing of b...
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 11:28 AM
A new study by Philip Leverhulme Prize Winner Harrison Steel, @gabriel-abrahams.bsky.social and others has proved for the first time that it is possible to deliberately engineer quantum mechanical processes occurring inside a protein, and use these to create new sensing technologies.
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
The submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting in Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is getting closer!
January 19, 2026 at 5:01 AM
The submission deadline (Jan 31st) for the 2026 Mathematical and Computational Evolutionary Biology Meeting in Crete mceb2026.sciencesconf.org is getting closer!
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
NYU's Rocha Lab seeks a Postdoctoral Associate in Evolutionary Biology. Ideal candidates hold a PhD, with expertise in genetic diversity, bioinformatics, and mentoring. Apply by Feb 26, 2026. More info: https://apply.interfolio.com/180051 #postdoc
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:27 AM
NYU's Rocha Lab seeks a Postdoctoral Associate in Evolutionary Biology. Ideal candidates hold a PhD, with expertise in genetic diversity, bioinformatics, and mentoring. Apply by Feb 26, 2026. More info: https://apply.interfolio.com/180051 #postdoc
Interested in pangenomics ? This paper just out from Alan Beavan (not on socials), @blackpassiflora.bsky.social and @jomcinerney.bsky.social is a must: doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
PanForest: predicting genes in genomes using random forests
AbstractMotivation. The presence or absence of some genes in a genome can influence whether other genes are likely to be present or absent. Understanding t
doi.org
January 15, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Interested in pangenomics ? This paper just out from Alan Beavan (not on socials), @blackpassiflora.bsky.social and @jomcinerney.bsky.social is a must: doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
So excited to have @szytynska.bsky.social kicking off our Evolution & Ecology day at @manchester.ac.uk today! #UoM_EEday
January 12, 2026 at 9:39 AM
So excited to have @szytynska.bsky.social kicking off our Evolution & Ecology day at @manchester.ac.uk today! #UoM_EEday
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others
Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history
Sponges have a cryptic Ediacaran history because ancestral sponges were soft-bodied and had low fossilization potential.
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:39 AM
Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
300,000 Wondrous Nature Illustrations Put Online by The Biodiversity Heritage Library | Open Culture
300,000 Wondrous Nature Illustrations Put Online by The Biodiversity Heritage Library
Are we truly in the midst of a human-caused sixth mass extinction, an era of “biological annihilation”?
www.openculture.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:16 PM
300,000 Wondrous Nature Illustrations Put Online by The Biodiversity Heritage Library | Open Culture
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Thawornwattana, Rannala & @zihengyang.bsky.social use simulation to study the false positive rate of a Bayesian test of gene flow under the MSC with multiple influencing factors.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf327
#evobio #molbio #compbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf327
#evobio #molbio #compbio
On the robustness of Bayesian inference of gene flow to intragenic recombination and natural selection
Abstract. The multispecies coalescent (MSC) model provides a framework for detecting gene flow using genomic data, including between sister species. Howeve
doi.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Thawornwattana, Rannala & @zihengyang.bsky.social use simulation to study the false positive rate of a Bayesian test of gene flow under the MSC with multiple influencing factors.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf327
#evobio #molbio #compbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf327
#evobio #molbio #compbio
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say
www.theguardian.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
🚨 What if evolution is the ”law”… and networks are the machines that do the work?
In this paper (just published) I try to formalize how living systems are non-equilibrium, information-processing, adaptive matter. With a great biological flavor! 🧪🌐🌍🧬🦠
👉 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
🧵 1/
In this paper (just published) I try to formalize how living systems are non-equilibrium, information-processing, adaptive matter. With a great biological flavor! 🧪🌐🌍🧬🦠
👉 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
🧵 1/
December 16, 2025 at 9:04 AM
🚨 What if evolution is the ”law”… and networks are the machines that do the work?
In this paper (just published) I try to formalize how living systems are non-equilibrium, information-processing, adaptive matter. With a great biological flavor! 🧪🌐🌍🧬🦠
👉 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
🧵 1/
In this paper (just published) I try to formalize how living systems are non-equilibrium, information-processing, adaptive matter. With a great biological flavor! 🧪🌐🌍🧬🦠
👉 iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
🧵 1/
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
We have a PhD studentship available starting in October 2026. Investigating climate change heat stress impacts on maternal and child health. Get in touch if you have questions! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Harnessing comparative biology to understand climate change induced heat stress impacts on maternal and offspring health at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Harnessing comparative biology to understand climate change induced heat stress impacts on maternal and offspring health at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
December 16, 2025 at 10:06 PM
We have a PhD studentship available starting in October 2026. Investigating climate change heat stress impacts on maternal and child health. Get in touch if you have questions! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Wow, this is a very impressive embryo model. "What sets the model described in this study apart from other embryo models is its ability to continuously mimic primate development from pre-implantation through to late gastrulation." (Nice, @amartinezarias.bsky.social!)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Primate embryo model leaps across developmental boundaries
A stem-cell-based monkey embryo model that self-organizes into a comprehensive body plan could lead the way to more-sophisticated models of early human development.
www.nature.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Wow, this is a very impressive embryo model. "What sets the model described in this study apart from other embryo models is its ability to continuously mimic primate development from pre-implantation through to late gastrulation." (Nice, @amartinezarias.bsky.social!)
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Latest preprint with @hairyllama.bsky.social and @evol-molly.bsky.social This is a program that helps calculate several phylogenetic support measures.
Dissecting Phylogenetic Support: Unified Decay Indices, AU Tests, and Branch-Site Specific Visualizations. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.05.692543v1
December 5, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Latest preprint with @hairyllama.bsky.social and @evol-molly.bsky.social This is a program that helps calculate several phylogenetic support measures.
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Please help! We are looking for tissue-specific RNA-seq datasets or pubs with both male and female individual gene expression data, not pooled, from animal species. If you know of any relevant resources, please drop a link in the comments or send me a DM. Also, please help spread the word - thanks!
December 5, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Please help! We are looking for tissue-specific RNA-seq datasets or pubs with both male and female individual gene expression data, not pooled, from animal species. If you know of any relevant resources, please drop a link in the comments or send me a DM. Also, please help spread the word - thanks!
Paper out by the sensational @haideetinning.bsky.social and @niamhforde.bsky.social and co-authors. A conceptus-derived and highly conserved protein “PDI” alters function of endometrium to facilitate early preg events in mammals with different early preg phenotypes. academic.oup.com/biolreprod/a...
The embryo-derived protein PDI is highly conserved among placental mammals and alters the endometrial transcriptome and secretome in vitro across species with differing implantation strategies
SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We provide evidence that a highly conserved protein (PDI) alters the endometrial transcriptome in a species- and cell-specific manne
academic.oup.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Paper out by the sensational @haideetinning.bsky.social and @niamhforde.bsky.social and co-authors. A conceptus-derived and highly conserved protein “PDI” alters function of endometrium to facilitate early preg events in mammals with different early preg phenotypes. academic.oup.com/biolreprod/a...
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Our latest, led by the inimitable Chris Kay "Dated gene duplications elucidate the evolutionary assembly of eukaryotes" in which we used gene duplications to test hypotheses of eukaryogenesis. TLDR? They're all wrong. With @tweethinking.bsky.social @anya1.bsky.social @ssolo.bsky.social Davide Pisani
Dated gene duplications elucidate the evolutionary assembly of eukaryotes - Nature
Analysis of eukaryotic gene sequences using a relaxed molecular clock methodology indicate that eukaryotes emerged 3.0–2.25 billion years ago as a result of mitochondrial endosymbiosis with complex ar...
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Our latest, led by the inimitable Chris Kay "Dated gene duplications elucidate the evolutionary assembly of eukaryotes" in which we used gene duplications to test hypotheses of eukaryogenesis. TLDR? They're all wrong. With @tweethinking.bsky.social @anya1.bsky.social @ssolo.bsky.social Davide Pisani
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
New editor's spotlights to highlight some of the exciting work we see at #MGen, getting kicked off by @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social diving into the latest work from @sylvainbrisse.bsky.social et al 🔍 vaccine impacts on non-target species!
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #IDSky #MedSky #evobio #clinmicro 💻🧬 🧪
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #IDSky #MedSky #evobio #clinmicro 💻🧬 🧪
📣🦠Check out our new Editor’s Spotlight! Senior MGEN editor Jesse Shapiro tells us about a recently published paper on the bystander effect on the evolution of Bordetella parapertussis, a non-target species of the pertussis vaccine #MGEN
Read the full blog here: microb.io/48zfOlJ
Read the full blog here: microb.io/48zfOlJ
December 3, 2025 at 6:25 AM
New editor's spotlights to highlight some of the exciting work we see at #MGen, getting kicked off by @bjesseshapiro.bsky.social diving into the latest work from @sylvainbrisse.bsky.social et al 🔍 vaccine impacts on non-target species!
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #IDSky #MedSky #evobio #clinmicro 💻🧬 🧪
#MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky #IDSky #MedSky #evobio #clinmicro 💻🧬 🧪
Reposted by Professor Mary J O'Connell
Sharma & Kumar present the Net Bootstrap Support (NBS) approach that accounts for phylogenetic variation in the estimates of bootstrap confidence.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf296
#evobio #molbio #phylogenetics
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf296
#evobio #molbio #phylogenetics
Robust and Efficient Confidence Limits for Phylogenomic Inference of Organismal Relationships
Abstract. Phylogenomic data are indispensable for establishing reliable relationships needed to build a robust Tree of Life. The superalignment approach co
doi.org
December 2, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Sharma & Kumar present the Net Bootstrap Support (NBS) approach that accounts for phylogenetic variation in the estimates of bootstrap confidence.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf296
#evobio #molbio #phylogenetics
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf296
#evobio #molbio #phylogenetics