Max Telford
@maxjtelford.bsky.social
Zoologist and evolutionary biologist. Interested in animal phylogeny. At UCL.
Author of 'The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle'
Author of 'The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle'
Pinned
Max Telford
@maxjtelford.bsky.social
· Apr 24
It's publication day of my first book: The Tree of Life. The tree of life is a time machine that can take us back 4 billion years to meet our most distant ancestor. It is the magic that lets us tell the origin stories, beginning with this ancient relative, of everything from mushrooms to man.
Reposted by Max Telford
My top 10 books for 2025
December 15, 2025 at 4:39 PM
My top 10 books for 2025
Reposted by Max Telford
I’m very excited to announce that I’ve just signed a contract with @princetonupress.bsky.social for a new book, tentatively titled “The Genomic Code” 📖 😊
kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
ALT: kermit the frog is using a typewriter in a messy room .
media.tenor.com
August 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I’m very excited to announce that I’ve just signed a contract with @princetonupress.bsky.social for a new book, tentatively titled “The Genomic Code” 📖 😊
Reposted by Max Telford
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
January 3, 2026 at 9:42 PM
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Trump’s Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/o...
Reposted by Max Telford
New paper out in Science Advances:
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA
👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA
👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA
First ancient HHV-6 genomes reveal 2500 years of phylogenetic continuity and provide insights into the endogenization of HHV-6A.
www.science.org
January 3, 2026 at 1:46 PM
New paper out in Science Advances:
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA
👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Tracing 2500 years of human betaherpesvirus 6A and 6B diversity through ancient DNA
👉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Max Telford
I am thrilled to share our new open-access paper in Communications Biology!
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Huge congrats to PhD student, June Ordóñez (not on bsky), whose beautiful and meticulous work led this project! 👏🔥
@univie.ac.at@fwf-at.bsky.social @vdsee-univie.bsky.social univie.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Huge congrats to PhD student, June Ordóñez (not on bsky), whose beautiful and meticulous work led this project! 👏🔥
@univie.ac.at@fwf-at.bsky.social @vdsee-univie.bsky.social univie.bsky.social
Anterior-posterior patterning in the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera informs bilaterian nervous system and tail evolution - Communications Biology
Expression of anterior patterning and Hox genes in the chaetognath Spadella cephaloptera reveals conserved features of bilaterian body patterning and offers insight into how Hox genes contributed to n...
www.nature.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:36 AM
I am thrilled to share our new open-access paper in Communications Biology!
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Huge congrats to PhD student, June Ordóñez (not on bsky), whose beautiful and meticulous work led this project! 👏🔥
@univie.ac.at@fwf-at.bsky.social @vdsee-univie.bsky.social univie.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Huge congrats to PhD student, June Ordóñez (not on bsky), whose beautiful and meticulous work led this project! 👏🔥
@univie.ac.at@fwf-at.bsky.social @vdsee-univie.bsky.social univie.bsky.social
Reposted by Max Telford
In 2025 I read 51 books! This is just a selection pictured! Mostly for in conversation events or Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe podcast. And rarely just for pleasure!
@annamazz.bsky.social @maxjtelford.bsky.social @susiedentwords.bsky.social @christopheredge.bsky.social @marianne-brown.bsky.social
@annamazz.bsky.social @maxjtelford.bsky.social @susiedentwords.bsky.social @christopheredge.bsky.social @marianne-brown.bsky.social
December 28, 2025 at 1:09 PM
In 2025 I read 51 books! This is just a selection pictured! Mostly for in conversation events or Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe podcast. And rarely just for pleasure!
@annamazz.bsky.social @maxjtelford.bsky.social @susiedentwords.bsky.social @christopheredge.bsky.social @marianne-brown.bsky.social
@annamazz.bsky.social @maxjtelford.bsky.social @susiedentwords.bsky.social @christopheredge.bsky.social @marianne-brown.bsky.social
Thank you very much @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social
My review of Max Telford’s excellent new book ‘The Tree of Life’ by @maxjtelford.bsky.social published today in the Wall Street Journal @wsj.com @wwnorton.com
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘The Tree of Life’ Review: The Ancestor at the Root of It All
Properly deciphering the branching pathways of evolution could unlock the history of every component of natural biology.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Thank you very much @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social
Lovely review by @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social of my book ‘The Tree of Life’ in the Wall Street Journal today. Free guest link if you’re interested. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘The Tree of Life’ Review: The Ancestor at the Root of It All
Properly deciphering the branching pathways of evolution could unlock the history of every component of natural biology.
www.wsj.com
December 27, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Lovely review by @adrianwoolfson.bsky.social of my book ‘The Tree of Life’ in the Wall Street Journal today. Free guest link if you’re interested. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Reposted by Max Telford
CRICK proudly on display at D. G. Wills bookstore in San Diego, where Michael McClure gave a reading in 2000. You can watch it in the link below; Crick appears in the background of the opening shots, his back to the camera. youtu.be/ih0vCt9w8Mw?...
December 23, 2025 at 5:29 PM
CRICK proudly on display at D. G. Wills bookstore in San Diego, where Michael McClure gave a reading in 2000. You can watch it in the link below; Crick appears in the background of the opening shots, his back to the camera. youtu.be/ih0vCt9w8Mw?...
Reposted by Max Telford
A genome-wide comparison of #gene regulatory sequences & embryonic gene expression in arachnids - new insights into the impact of the arachnopulmonate whole #genome duplication academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #biodiversity #genomics
Assessing the Impact of Whole Genome Duplication on Gene Expression and Regulation During Arachnid Development
Abstract. Whole genome duplication (WGD) generates a new genetic material that can contribute to the evolution of developmental processes and phenotypic di
academic.oup.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:11 PM
A genome-wide comparison of #gene regulatory sequences & embryonic gene expression in arachnids - new insights into the impact of the arachnopulmonate whole #genome duplication academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... #biodiversity #genomics
I feel inspired! New Year’s resolution. (I.e. not QUITE YET). What Happened When My Yale Students Gave Up Their Phones for Four Weeks www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Opinion | What Happened When My Yale Students Gave Up Their Phones for Four Weeks
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I feel inspired! New Year’s resolution. (I.e. not QUITE YET). What Happened When My Yale Students Gave Up Their Phones for Four Weeks www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Reposted by Max Telford
Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
One more summary added, just in time for some holiday travel chaos! ☃️
We'll return as more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
One more summary added, just in time for some holiday travel chaos! ☃️
We'll return as more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
December 19, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Interested in the @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
One more summary added, just in time for some holiday travel chaos! ☃️
We'll return as more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
special issue on phylogenomic discordance? tinyurl.com/v2eces3s 🧪
One more summary added, just in time for some holiday travel chaos! ☃️
We'll return as more articles come live.
Again, all and any oversimplications are entirely my fault!
Wafer thin mint?
“A process which led from the amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress - though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known"
- Bertrand Russell, 1976.
Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠
- Bertrand Russell, 1976.
Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠
December 18, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Wafer thin mint?
Delighted that @nextbigidea.bsky.social team has selected my book The Tree of Life as a monthly must-read.
Here you can find 5 key insights from my book (you can even hear me read them if you prefer).
nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/por...
Here you can find 5 key insights from my book (you can even hear me read them if you prefer).
nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/por...
This Portal to the Past Could Solve the Origin Story of Life Itself
Author Max Telford shares 5 key insights from his new book, The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle.
nextbigideaclub.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Delighted that @nextbigidea.bsky.social team has selected my book The Tree of Life as a monthly must-read.
Here you can find 5 key insights from my book (you can even hear me read them if you prefer).
nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/por...
Here you can find 5 key insights from my book (you can even hear me read them if you prefer).
nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/por...
If you have 11 minutes and 59 seconds to spare you can hear me introduce 5 key insight from my book The Tree of Life nextbigidea.app.link/o8Nd1R5T8Yb (you need to sign up for 7 day free trial of book bites but it’s great)
nextbigidea.app.link
December 16, 2025 at 11:00 AM
If you have 11 minutes and 59 seconds to spare you can hear me introduce 5 key insight from my book The Tree of Life nextbigidea.app.link/o8Nd1R5T8Yb (you need to sign up for 7 day free trial of book bites but it’s great)
Reposted by Max Telford
Nice (short) review of Free Agents in BJPsych @bjpsych.bsky.social 😊 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... cc @princetonupress.bsky.social
Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will By Kevin J. Mitchell. Princeton University Press. 2025. £12.21 (pb). 360 pp. ISBN 978-0691226217 | The British Journal of Psychiatry | Cambridge Core
Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will By Kevin J. Mitchell. Princeton University Press. 2025. £12.21 (pb). 360 pp. ISBN 978-0691226217 - Volume 227 Issue 6
www.cambridge.org
December 13, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Nice (short) review of Free Agents in BJPsych @bjpsych.bsky.social 😊 www.cambridge.org/core/journal... cc @princetonupress.bsky.social
The fact that this tree could plausibly be correct (paraphyletic sponges, Placozoa sister to Bilateria, Ctenophora sister to other Metazoa) shows how little faith we currently (should) have in the phylogeny at the bottom of the animals tree.
Arano-Ansola et al. (2025 preprint, 12月 December)（オープンアクセス open access）
「18Sの系統的配置の正確性を評価し，初期に分岐した動物に潜む隠れた多様性を明らかにする」
Evaluating 18S Phylogenetic Placement Accuracy to Uncover Hidden Diversity in Early Branching Animals
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Unknown sister clade to all known extant ctenophores!?
「18Sの系統的配置の正確性を評価し，初期に分岐した動物に潜む隠れた多様性を明らかにする」
Evaluating 18S Phylogenetic Placement Accuracy to Uncover Hidden Diversity in Early Branching Animals
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Unknown sister clade to all known extant ctenophores!?
December 12, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The fact that this tree could plausibly be correct (paraphyletic sponges, Placozoa sister to Bilateria, Ctenophora sister to other Metazoa) shows how little faith we currently (should) have in the phylogeny at the bottom of the animals tree.
Very cool! BREAK THAT LONG BRANCH!!!
Arano-Ansola et al. (2025 preprint, 12月 December)（オープンアクセス open access）
「18Sの系統的配置の正確性を評価し，初期に分岐した動物に潜む隠れた多様性を明らかにする」
Evaluating 18S Phylogenetic Placement Accuracy to Uncover Hidden Diversity in Early Branching Animals
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Unknown sister clade to all known extant ctenophores!?
「18Sの系統的配置の正確性を評価し，初期に分岐した動物に潜む隠れた多様性を明らかにする」
Evaluating 18S Phylogenetic Placement Accuracy to Uncover Hidden Diversity in Early Branching Animals
doi.org/10.64898/202...
Unknown sister clade to all known extant ctenophores!?
December 12, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Very cool! BREAK THAT LONG BRANCH!!!
Reposted by Max Telford
Podcast alert! Here I am with @timcoulson.bsky.social and Syma chatting about stuff scienceofthetimes.transistor.fm/episodes/the...
Science Of The Times | The Rise and Decline of Us
Tim and Syma chat with Henry Gee about his two most recent books “The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: Why our Species is on the Edge of Extinction” and “A (Very) Short History of Life On Eart...
scienceofthetimes.transistor.fm
December 12, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Podcast alert! Here I am with @timcoulson.bsky.social and Syma chatting about stuff scienceofthetimes.transistor.fm/episodes/the...
Reposted by Max Telford
Well this happened last night. Which was nice. Thank you to @zslofficial.bsky.social for hosting such a lovely evening, for the award, and for the opportunity to meet so many interesting people.
December 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Well this happened last night. Which was nice. Thank you to @zslofficial.bsky.social for hosting such a lovely evening, for the award, and for the opportunity to meet so many interesting people.
Some more shenanigans on the Ctenophora Porifera debate from @rcply.bsky.social academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Sponges, ctenophores and the statistical significance of syntenies
Abstract. Shared fusions between ancestral chromosomal linkage groups have previously been used to support phylogenetic groupings, notably sponges with cni
academic.oup.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Some more shenanigans on the Ctenophora Porifera debate from @rcply.bsky.social academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...
Look like a great symposium (tho in my experience my 'deep' may not be your 'deep'!)
SMBE2026 Symposium 12 | Reconstructing the deep Tree of Life: challenges and new approaches
📨 Abstract submission
smbe2026.org/abstracts
📋 Programme details
smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
📨 Abstract submission
smbe2026.org/abstracts
📋 Programme details
smbe2026.org/programme
#SMBE2026
December 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Look like a great symposium (tho in my experience my 'deep' may not be your 'deep'!)
Reposted by Max Telford
Those interested in performing maximum likelihood phylogenomic analysis on data sets made up of eukaryotic nuclear genes using site heterogeneous mixture models like C60, I suggest you use the ELM model in IQ-TREE instead of the LG model /1
December 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Those interested in performing maximum likelihood phylogenomic analysis on data sets made up of eukaryotic nuclear genes using site heterogeneous mixture models like C60, I suggest you use the ELM model in IQ-TREE instead of the LG model /1