Dávalos Lab
@labdavalos.bsky.social
Principal Investigator 👉🏽 https://lmdavalos.github.io/ Editor-in-Chief 👉🏽 @qrb.bsky.social/ recent Fulbright Amazonia scholar (https://www.fulbrightprogram.org/amazonia/), news from lab and beyond
Pinned
New Research on Shrew Wintering Strategy Reveals Genetic Links Between Size, Metabolism, and Lifespan in Mammals | Human Frontier Science Program
www.hfsp.org
.🚨 ❄️ New research reveals how Eurasian common shrews survive winter by linking size 📏, metabolism ⚡, and lifespan ⏳ through genetic changes. Thanks to @hfspo.bsky.social 🌍, this study connects adaptation to longevity
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
(Sorry, I'm realizing this is getting reaaaallly long, but you gotta love the amazing ways that evolution has honed our body's ability to produce so many slightly different molecules to ensure that no matter what microbe nature throws at us we'll be able to produce a matching antibody...)
February 12, 2026 at 9:19 PM
(Sorry, I'm realizing this is getting reaaaallly long, but you gotta love the amazing ways that evolution has honed our body's ability to produce so many slightly different molecules to ensure that no matter what microbe nature throws at us we'll be able to produce a matching antibody...)
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Here's my other new friend from Puerto Rico.
Meet the Puerto Rican Tody which has the unfortunate scientific name of 'Todus mexicanus', thanks to a mix-up of samples by a visiting ornithologist in 1830.
There's a campaign to rename it to 'Todus borinquensis', the Taíno name for the island.
Meet the Puerto Rican Tody which has the unfortunate scientific name of 'Todus mexicanus', thanks to a mix-up of samples by a visiting ornithologist in 1830.
There's a campaign to rename it to 'Todus borinquensis', the Taíno name for the island.
February 12, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Here's my other new friend from Puerto Rico.
Meet the Puerto Rican Tody which has the unfortunate scientific name of 'Todus mexicanus', thanks to a mix-up of samples by a visiting ornithologist in 1830.
There's a campaign to rename it to 'Todus borinquensis', the Taíno name for the island.
Meet the Puerto Rican Tody which has the unfortunate scientific name of 'Todus mexicanus', thanks to a mix-up of samples by a visiting ornithologist in 1830.
There's a campaign to rename it to 'Todus borinquensis', the Taíno name for the island.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
"The existence of talking machines—entities that can do many of the things that only we have ever been able to do—throws a lot of other things into question."
A cement mixer also does work that was unique to humans at one point. But we're not asking general contractors whether they're conscious.
A cement mixer also does work that was unique to humans at one point. But we're not asking general contractors whether they're conscious.
February 11, 2026 at 3:53 PM
"The existence of talking machines—entities that can do many of the things that only we have ever been able to do—throws a lot of other things into question."
A cement mixer also does work that was unique to humans at one point. But we're not asking general contractors whether they're conscious.
A cement mixer also does work that was unique to humans at one point. But we're not asking general contractors whether they're conscious.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus)
📷 Christian Ziegler
📷 Christian Ziegler
February 11, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus)
📷 Christian Ziegler
📷 Christian Ziegler
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Thomas et al. reveal that positively selected and differentially expressed hippocampal genes cluster near breakpoints in shrews, tying chromosomal rearrangements and accessible chromatin to adaptation and brain size plasticity.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag006
📷 Christian Ziegler
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag006
📷 Christian Ziegler
#evobio #molbio
February 11, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Thomas et al. reveal that positively selected and differentially expressed hippocampal genes cluster near breakpoints in shrews, tying chromosomal rearrangements and accessible chromatin to adaptation and brain size plasticity.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag006
📷 Christian Ziegler
#evobio #molbio
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag006
📷 Christian Ziegler
#evobio #molbio
.🚨 ❄️ New research reveals how Eurasian common shrews survive winter by linking size 📏, metabolism ⚡, and lifespan ⏳ through genetic changes. Thanks to @hfspo.bsky.social 🌍, this study connects adaptation to longevity
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
New Research on Shrew Wintering Strategy Reveals Genetic Links Between Size, Metabolism, and Lifespan in Mammals | Human Frontier Science Program
www.hfsp.org
February 10, 2026 at 11:18 PM
.🚨 ❄️ New research reveals how Eurasian common shrews survive winter by linking size 📏, metabolism ⚡, and lifespan ⏳ through genetic changes. Thanks to @hfspo.bsky.social 🌍, this study connects adaptation to longevity
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
www.hfsp.org/hfsp-news/ne...
🤦🏽♀️ Where to begin... I love the phrase 'stochastic parrot' as much as the next person but I live with a parrot and stochastic it is not: intention, volition, calculation, meaning, and sentience in compact yet mighty brain, within flighted body.
This though. This is the sort of thing that really bugs me. "There is no guarantee" - sure, since we don't understand how the human mind works. There's no guarantee we're not all Boltzmann brains. But there are good reasons to think this is not how we work. (cc @shannonvallor.bsky.social)
February 10, 2026 at 12:13 AM
🤦🏽♀️ Where to begin... I love the phrase 'stochastic parrot' as much as the next person but I live with a parrot and stochastic it is not: intention, volition, calculation, meaning, and sentience in compact yet mighty brain, within flighted body.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
January 28, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
And, in the process, create an academic system subservient to plutocrat whims by actively undermining/defunding all public research systems 👇🏽
This desire to decimate the white collar workforce is also driving the billionaire class's efforts to cut, curb, and control higher education. Because academia is the machine that produces the white collar class.
bsky.app/profile/loui...
bsky.app/profile/loui...
Most of this applies to academia too!
February 5, 2026 at 4:18 PM
And, in the process, create an academic system subservient to plutocrat whims by actively undermining/defunding all public research systems 👇🏽
I didn't get a winning ticket and what's unhelpful is getting no feedback 🤷🏽♀️. Volume as explanation seems weak; @hfspo.bsky.social handles ~800 applications every year providing a brief explanation each time...
February 5, 2026 at 2:28 PM
I didn't get a winning ticket and what's unhelpful is getting no feedback 🤷🏽♀️. Volume as explanation seems weak; @hfspo.bsky.social handles ~800 applications every year providing a brief explanation each time...
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
"We show that the median amount of time spent under review is 7.4%–14.6% longer for female-authored articles than for male-authored articles." 👎🧪
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
journals.plos.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:44 AM
"We show that the median amount of time spent under review is 7.4%–14.6% longer for female-authored articles than for male-authored articles." 👎🧪
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
February 2, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
I got to use some really special specimens for this one. Only 10 specimens of greasefish exist! And the poor Christmas Island shrew is now extinct but this one was collected when there were so many, and they were so noisy, they kept people awake at night!
February 2, 2026 at 10:31 AM
I got to use some really special specimens for this one. Only 10 specimens of greasefish exist! And the poor Christmas Island shrew is now extinct but this one was collected when there were so many, and they were so noisy, they kept people awake at night!
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Of course, we also have to ask why universities are willing to look the other way when big-name scholars behave badly. A big part of it is that declining public $ support for students pushes universities to chase big grants and big donors. Big-name scholars who get to act badly often bring in both.
February 1, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Of course, we also have to ask why universities are willing to look the other way when big-name scholars behave badly. A big part of it is that declining public $ support for students pushes universities to chase big grants and big donors. Big-name scholars who get to act badly often bring in both.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Indigo-capped Hummingbird at El Retorno de los Colibris, Anaime, Tolima #Colombia
#birds #hummingbirds #nature
#birds #hummingbirds #nature
January 30, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Indigo-capped Hummingbird at El Retorno de los Colibris, Anaime, Tolima #Colombia
#birds #hummingbirds #nature
#birds #hummingbirds #nature
🤦🏽♀️
The latest from Anthropic: using Anthropic's products makes you worse at your job
How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills
Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.
www.anthropic.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:50 AM
🤦🏽♀️
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Are you (or do you know someone) recently graduated from undergrad looking to beef up your skills and experience prior to starting grad school/career? Do you like social drama and parakeets? Come join my team! I'm looking for two people to start very soon!! tinyurl.com/59rf8jcy
January 28, 2026 at 10:05 PM
Are you (or do you know someone) recently graduated from undergrad looking to beef up your skills and experience prior to starting grad school/career? Do you like social drama and parakeets? Come join my team! I'm looking for two people to start very soon!! tinyurl.com/59rf8jcy
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
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/...
Scale up science challenge!
Plus National Lab postdocs, DoD RDT&E staff, NSF/ARPA rotators, and science, policy, and environmental state agencies. We need 300,000 federal, state, and local government STEAM workforce opportunities by 2030.
PMF and all the others — AAAS S&T fellows, Knauss Sea Grant, state-level programs (Idaho’s a great example). Gov post-docs like USGS Mendenhall program, adding some Fed hiring preference across agencies. There’s a lot to leverage.
January 28, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Scale up science challenge!
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
“At NSF, the net reduction of 205 STEM Ph.D.s between 1 January and 30 November constituted 40% of its total pre-Trump Ph.D. workforce of 517, by far the largest percentage at any agency. STEM Ph.D.s also make up a larger percentage of the total workforce at NSF than at any other agency…”.
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 11:37 AM
“At NSF, the net reduction of 205 STEM Ph.D.s between 1 January and 30 November constituted 40% of its total pre-Trump Ph.D. workforce of 517, by far the largest percentage at any agency. STEM Ph.D.s also make up a larger percentage of the total workforce at NSF than at any other agency…”.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
More than 12,500 extreme climate events were recorded in the Amazon from 2013–2023 — but the true number is likely far higher.
A new study shows major data gaps across countries, masking heat waves and droughts and leaving the most vulnerable communities invisible.
A new study shows major data gaps across countries, masking heat waves and droughts and leaving the most vulnerable communities invisible.
Many Amazon climate disasters are missing from official records, study finds
More than 12,500 extreme climate events were registered in the Amazon biome between 2013 and 2023, according to a recent study. But many more events were never recorded, as some Amazonian countries…
news.mongabay.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:21 PM
More than 12,500 extreme climate events were recorded in the Amazon from 2013–2023 — but the true number is likely far higher.
A new study shows major data gaps across countries, masking heat waves and droughts and leaving the most vulnerable communities invisible.
A new study shows major data gaps across countries, masking heat waves and droughts and leaving the most vulnerable communities invisible.
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
January 27, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
📣 Call for Abstracts!
Working on sex chromosomes? Join us at SMBE 2026 in Copenhagen (28 June–2 July). All taxa, systems, and approaches welcome!
⏰ Deadline: 3 Feb 2026
👉 smbe2026.org/abstracts/
Working on sex chromosomes? Join us at SMBE 2026 in Copenhagen (28 June–2 July). All taxa, systems, and approaches welcome!
⏰ Deadline: 3 Feb 2026
👉 smbe2026.org/abstracts/
January 25, 2026 at 10:37 AM
📣 Call for Abstracts!
Working on sex chromosomes? Join us at SMBE 2026 in Copenhagen (28 June–2 July). All taxa, systems, and approaches welcome!
⏰ Deadline: 3 Feb 2026
👉 smbe2026.org/abstracts/
Working on sex chromosomes? Join us at SMBE 2026 in Copenhagen (28 June–2 July). All taxa, systems, and approaches welcome!
⏰ Deadline: 3 Feb 2026
👉 smbe2026.org/abstracts/
Reposted by Dávalos Lab
Check this one fact out:
"In 2024, the total installed electricity capacity of the planet—every coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear plant and all of the renewables—was about 10 terawatts. The Chinese solar supply chain can now pump out 1 terawatt of panels every year."
"In 2024, the total installed electricity capacity of the planet—every coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear plant and all of the renewables—was about 10 terawatts. The Chinese solar supply chain can now pump out 1 terawatt of panels every year."
January 21, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Check this one fact out:
"In 2024, the total installed electricity capacity of the planet—every coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear plant and all of the renewables—was about 10 terawatts. The Chinese solar supply chain can now pump out 1 terawatt of panels every year."
"In 2024, the total installed electricity capacity of the planet—every coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear plant and all of the renewables—was about 10 terawatts. The Chinese solar supply chain can now pump out 1 terawatt of panels every year."