Aylwyn Scally
@aylwyn-scally.bsky.social
Human evolutionary genetics, University of Cambridge; Darwin College. 🇮🇪
Can I just say that getting an automatic "I'm away, please contact my PA" when you reply directly to someone is fucking irritating. Mail clients should block sending when auto-reply is on.
November 14, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Can I just say that getting an automatic "I'm away, please contact my PA" when you reply directly to someone is fucking irritating. Mail clients should block sending when auto-reply is on.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
A great 40th anniversary event for the Anglo-Irish Agreement at @chuarchives.bsky.social. A unique panel of Irish & GB negotiators: Michael Lillis, Dick Spring, Sean Donlon, Charles Powell. Moving to see deep respect & lasting friendships between "opposing" teams; very thankful for the later peace.
The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement in historical perspective - Churchill Archives Centre
Free two-day conference on the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement, held at Churchill College, Cambridge, 13-14 November 2025
archives.chu.cam.ac.uk
November 14, 2025 at 9:49 AM
A great 40th anniversary event for the Anglo-Irish Agreement at @chuarchives.bsky.social. A unique panel of Irish & GB negotiators: Michael Lillis, Dick Spring, Sean Donlon, Charles Powell. Moving to see deep respect & lasting friendships between "opposing" teams; very thankful for the later peace.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Get outside into a dark place if you can tonight - no guarantees, but a possible brilliant display of the northern lights.
We have upgraded our geomagnetic forecast today (12 November 2025) to the highest intensity level amid an ongoing solar storm.
Current predictions suggest that the activity will result in potentially the largest solar storm to hit our planet in over two decades.
Current predictions suggest that the activity will result in potentially the largest solar storm to hit our planet in over two decades.
November 12, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Get outside into a dark place if you can tonight - no guarantees, but a possible brilliant display of the northern lights.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Going through my dad’s collection of books. Found this software management book from 1973, before my time, and struck by how rational the project structure works. Forget agile and scrum.
November 13, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Going through my dad’s collection of books. Found this software management book from 1973, before my time, and struck by how rational the project structure works. Forget agile and scrum.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Darwin is thrilled to welcome its first cohort of students as part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme.
Congratulations to Jacqueline, Abubakar, Esther, Samson, Ruquaiya and Isaac! We wish you all the best with your studies.
www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/welcome...
Congratulations to Jacqueline, Abubakar, Esther, Samson, Ruquaiya and Isaac! We wish you all the best with your studies.
www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/welcome...
November 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Darwin is thrilled to welcome its first cohort of students as part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme.
Congratulations to Jacqueline, Abubakar, Esther, Samson, Ruquaiya and Isaac! We wish you all the best with your studies.
www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/welcome...
Congratulations to Jacqueline, Abubakar, Esther, Samson, Ruquaiya and Isaac! We wish you all the best with your studies.
www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/news/welcome...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
One for #HillFortsWednesday Lego hillfort at the Museum of the Iron Age, Andover
November 12, 2025 at 9:42 AM
One for #HillFortsWednesday Lego hillfort at the Museum of the Iron Age, Andover
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
I learn from my students of the Icelandic Saga map: hours of fun! sagamap.hi.is/is/
Icelandic Saga Map
sagamap.hi.is
November 12, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I learn from my students of the Icelandic Saga map: hours of fun! sagamap.hi.is/is/
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
🌟 Ready to take the next step in your career?
Applications are open for the Cambridge Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme! 🔬
➡️ Fully funded opportunities: supported by the BBSRC
Learn more and apply now: bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/how-apply
#Postgraduate #Cambridge #PhD
Applications are open for the Cambridge Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme! 🔬
➡️ Fully funded opportunities: supported by the BBSRC
Learn more and apply now: bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/how-apply
#Postgraduate #Cambridge #PhD
November 11, 2025 at 5:19 PM
🌟 Ready to take the next step in your career?
Applications are open for the Cambridge Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme! 🔬
➡️ Fully funded opportunities: supported by the BBSRC
Learn more and apply now: bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/how-apply
#Postgraduate #Cambridge #PhD
Applications are open for the Cambridge Biosciences Doctoral Training Programme! 🔬
➡️ Fully funded opportunities: supported by the BBSRC
Learn more and apply now: bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/how-apply
#Postgraduate #Cambridge #PhD
Come and join us here in Cambridge! Applications open for a new faculty position, for a researcher in computational and/or theoretical biology, based jointly in Genetics and Mathematics. Happy to answer questions about research, teaching and working here.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
Faculty Position in Computational Biology
Applications are invited for an Assistant/ Associate Professorship in Computational Biology to commence on 1 April 2026 or shortly thereafter. This is a joint post between the Department of Applied
www.cam.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Come and join us here in Cambridge! Applications open for a new faculty position, for a researcher in computational and/or theoretical biology, based jointly in Genetics and Mathematics. Happy to answer questions about research, teaching and working here.
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/faculty...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
To celebrate the publication of the paper about GHIST 2024, the 2025 Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament has been extended to December 1st, 2025.
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
GHIST 2024: The First Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament
Abstract. Evaluating population genetic inference methods is challenging due to the complexity of evolutionary histories, potential model misspecification,
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:49 PM
To celebrate the publication of the paper about GHIST 2024, the 2025 Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament has been extended to December 1st, 2025.
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
This is out now:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
November 10, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This is out now:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
OK, I have set up a Substack and posted an article there going into much more detail about Francis Crick and the poet Michael McClure. If the link between science and art is your thing, or you just like psychedelic poetry, have a read:
The Powerful Knowledge: How the Poetry of Michael McClure Influenced the Scientist Francis Crick
In July 1959, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, Francis Crick, took a psychedelic trip on peyote through the power of poetry.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
OK, I have set up a Substack and posted an article there going into much more detail about Francis Crick and the poet Michael McClure. If the link between science and art is your thing, or you just like psychedelic poetry, have a read:
Difficult to believe a sentient being could have written this headline.
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Difficult to believe a sentient being could have written this headline.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
A negotiation expert running for Congress (full disclosure: I’m married to him) explains exactly how bad the deal was that some Dems struck last night. www.facebook.com/share/v/1FPD...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
A negotiation expert running for Congress (full disclosure: I’m married to him) explains exactly how bad the deal was that some Dems struck last night. www.facebook.com/share/v/1FPD...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Read ‘Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders’ from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, @genomicsengland.bsky.social, @cuh.nhs.uk and collaborators in @natcomms.nature.com here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders - Nature Communications
De novo structural variants are an important cause of rare disorders but remain poorly understood. Here, the authors analyse over 12,000 families and reveal the prevalence, diversity, and clinical imp...
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Read ‘Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders’ from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, @genomicsengland.bsky.social, @cuh.nhs.uk and collaborators in @natcomms.nature.com here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
That Roman database of roads that's been in the news: treat with some caution.
Comparaison entre ce qui est connu (en rouge) et les tracés du dataset (en vert) pour l'est de la Bourgogne. Les données mises a disposition sont sans doute meilleures dans les zones où des spécialiste ont été sollicité.e.s (Egypte, etc). Bonne base de départ donc, mais a utiliser avec prudence 3/3
November 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
That Roman database of roads that's been in the news: treat with some caution.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
These brave men. The end of Scott’s last expedition. Read these diary entries; they will sober you up.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
These brave men. The end of Scott’s last expedition. Read these diary entries; they will sober you up.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Labour MP, “I’ve never heard of Zohran Mamdani.”
November 8, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Labour MP, “I’ve never heard of Zohran Mamdani.”
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network
A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.
go.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
‘Epigenetic serum’ makes you wonder !
November 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
‘Epigenetic serum’ makes you wonder !