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.
My book 'The Tree of Life' is published in the USA and Canada today.
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
My book 'The Tree of Life' is published in the USA and Canada today.
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Available as book, on kindle and as audio.
I would be really grateful for reposts.
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
Reposted by Max Telford
Join us at our Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening on Wednesday 19 November to hear a talk by Professor Tim Newbold on harnessing big data and new computational tools to understand biodiversity decline. Book your place: www.ucl.ac.uk/medical-scie...
November 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Join us at our Life and Medical Sciences Postgraduate Open Evening on Wednesday 19 November to hear a talk by Professor Tim Newbold on harnessing big data and new computational tools to understand biodiversity decline. Book your place: www.ucl.ac.uk/medical-scie...
Reposted by Max Telford
PhD position available in evolutionary genomics/bioinformatics (hoehnalab.github.io/job_adverts/...). Topic: analyzing gene expression evolution across several firefly species and linking expression changes to genomic architecture. The position is jointly supervised with @anaevolcatalan.bsky.social
hoehnalab.github.io
November 11, 2025 at 9:00 AM
PhD position available in evolutionary genomics/bioinformatics (hoehnalab.github.io/job_adverts/...). Topic: analyzing gene expression evolution across several firefly species and linking expression changes to genomic architecture. The position is jointly supervised with @anaevolcatalan.bsky.social
Reposted by Max Telford
Yesterday, we lost a giant of twentieth century genetics, Antonio Garcia Bellido. His legacy will remain deeply rooted in the history of biology. Rest in peace.
November 11, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Yesterday, we lost a giant of twentieth century genetics, Antonio Garcia Bellido. His legacy will remain deeply rooted in the history of biology. Rest in peace.
Many thanks Adrian! Out tomorrow in USA. And yes obviously I will be posting more then. Brace yourself.
I am greatly enjoying #TheTreeofLife by @maxjtelford.bsky.social published by @wwnorton.com, which I am reviewing for @wsj.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Many thanks Adrian! Out tomorrow in USA. And yes obviously I will be posting more then. Brace yourself.
Reposted by Max Telford
I tremendously enjoyed Matthew Cobb’s definitive new biography of Crick. It was hard to put down and provides many new perspectives. My review of it will appear in Science later this week.
November 10, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I tremendously enjoyed Matthew Cobb’s definitive new biography of Crick. It was hard to put down and provides many new perspectives. My review of it will appear in Science later this week.
Reposted by Max Telford
Francis Wheen picks OPF as one of his Books of the Year in the Spectator
November 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Francis Wheen picks OPF as one of his Books of the Year in the Spectator
Reposted by Max Telford
Comparing phoronid and bryozoan genomes revealed seven irreversible "fusion-with-mixing" events—unique chromosomal signatures showing that phoronids and bryozoans are sister groups, finally resolving a century-old debate. (5/5)
November 7, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Comparing phoronid and bryozoan genomes revealed seven irreversible "fusion-with-mixing" events—unique chromosomal signatures showing that phoronids and bryozoans are sister groups, finally resolving a century-old debate. (5/5)
Reposted by Max Telford
Loving my brief trip to #Bulgaria! #Sofia is a fascinating city, packed with history.
Looking forward to speaking at the Ratio Forum science festival tomorrow, alongside @huwiceandstuff.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @russellarnott.bsky.social
ratio.bg/fall-en/
Looking forward to speaking at the Ratio Forum science festival tomorrow, alongside @huwiceandstuff.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @russellarnott.bsky.social
ratio.bg/fall-en/
Ratio Fall 2025 | 8 November, Sofia Tech Park
Купи билет Science, nature, and our place within it will be the focus of the autumn edition of the Ratio Forum. This fall, Ratio Forum returns with three inspiring speakers who will take us on a journ...
ratio.bg
November 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Loving my brief trip to #Bulgaria! #Sofia is a fascinating city, packed with history.
Looking forward to speaking at the Ratio Forum science festival tomorrow, alongside @huwiceandstuff.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @russellarnott.bsky.social
ratio.bg/fall-en/
Looking forward to speaking at the Ratio Forum science festival tomorrow, alongside @huwiceandstuff.bsky.social @flygirlnhm.bsky.social @russellarnott.bsky.social
ratio.bg/fall-en/
Hello AI! Might want to check your headline before pressing g publish.… scienmag.com/rewrite-oral...
November 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Hello AI! Might want to check your headline before pressing g publish.… scienmag.com/rewrite-oral...
Reposted by Max Telford
UK publication day for this wrist-spraining beauty! Appropriately, I’m travelling to Cambridge, where I’m doing a book launch talk at the LMB tomorrow afternoon.
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 AM
UK publication day for this wrist-spraining beauty! Appropriately, I’m travelling to Cambridge, where I’m doing a book launch talk at the LMB tomorrow afternoon.
Nice, intelligent review of my book "The Tree of Life" in Nature Ecology and Evolution by @bethanyjallen.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Life-So...
Out in USA next Tuesday!
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Life-So...
Out in USA next Tuesday!
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
A beginner’s guide to tree thinking - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Nature Ecology & Evolution - A beginner’s guide to tree thinking
www.nature.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Nice, intelligent review of my book "The Tree of Life" in Nature Ecology and Evolution by @bethanyjallen.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Life-So...
Out in USA next Tuesday!
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.amazon.co.uk/Tree-Life-So...
Out in USA next Tuesday!
www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
Reposted by Max Telford
Phd project on Climate Change Impacts on Sexually Selected Traits, lead by Alison Wright at Sheffield Uni, with supervisor team including @andrewpom.bsky.social and me. Application deadline 7th Jan
ACCE+ DLA Programme: The impact of climate change on sexually selected traits and its consequences for evolutionary fitness at University of Sheffield on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - ACCE+ DLA Programme: The impact of climate change on sexually selected traits and its consequences for evolutionary fitness at University of Sheffield, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Phd project on Climate Change Impacts on Sexually Selected Traits, lead by Alison Wright at Sheffield Uni, with supervisor team including @andrewpom.bsky.social and me. Application deadline 7th Jan
Not very far from the madding crowd. Hampstead Heath today.
November 2, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Not very far from the madding crowd. Hampstead Heath today.
Reposted by Max Telford
My article in tomorrow's @theobserveruk.bsky.social now online. But go and buy a copy!
Francis Crick: The science genius with poetry in his DNA
He is celebrated for co‑discovering the double helix, but it was Crick’s poetic appreciation of the world that was key to how his mind worked
observer.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 11:37 AM
My article in tomorrow's @theobserveruk.bsky.social now online. But go and buy a copy!
Sounds like this is some amazing work ! Congrats
New preprint out! Evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators control monoaminergic neuron development.
We uncover how ancient regulatory programs orchestrate the neurons that produce serotonin and dopamine across 550 million years of evolution.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
We uncover how ancient regulatory programs orchestrate the neurons that produce serotonin and dopamine across 550 million years of evolution.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators control monoaminergic neuron development
To what extent conserved developmental programs specify homologous cell types is a central question in biology. Here, we address this by focusing on reconstructing monoaminergic neuron development in ...
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Sounds like this is some amazing work ! Congrats
I've written a piece about great new article by @thibautbrunet.bsky.social, Chantal Combredet & Mylan Ansel. (www.cell.com/cell-reports... )
theconversation.com/how-the-firs...
theconversation.com/how-the-firs...
How the first animals evolved – a new clue from a tiny relative
Meet the choanoflagellates - the microscopic cousins of animals.
theconversation.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
I've written a piece about great new article by @thibautbrunet.bsky.social, Chantal Combredet & Mylan Ansel. (www.cell.com/cell-reports... )
theconversation.com/how-the-firs...
theconversation.com/how-the-firs...
I just voted online in National Trust AGM. If you are a member and would like to help keep the Nigel Farageists out of the NT then please take the short time to vote for the candidates and policies proposed by the Board of Trustees. Very quick and easy!
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
How to vote in the National Trust AGM
Find out how to take part in the National Trust's Annual General Meeting (AGM).
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
October 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
I just voted online in National Trust AGM. If you are a member and would like to help keep the Nigel Farageists out of the NT then please take the short time to vote for the candidates and policies proposed by the Board of Trustees. Very quick and easy!
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...
Reposted by Max Telford
*ALERT* Fully funded PhD. Artificial Intelligence might really help to reduce e-waste by making fault diagnostics and repair of appliances easier. Come and do the fundamental research in our vibrant research group with this PhD studentship. Details here: ucl-epsrc-dtp.github.io/2026-27-proj...
Reducing E-waste by using artificial intelligence to develop repair diagnostic tools to increase lifespan of appliances.
ucl-epsrc-dtp.github.io
October 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
*ALERT* Fully funded PhD. Artificial Intelligence might really help to reduce e-waste by making fault diagnostics and repair of appliances easier. Come and do the fundamental research in our vibrant research group with this PhD studentship. Details here: ucl-epsrc-dtp.github.io/2026-27-proj...
Reposted by Max Telford
Just going to leave this rather frightening reference about the change in global mammalian biomass from 1860 to now here. 😳🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Just going to leave this rather frightening reference about the change in global mammalian biomass from 1860 to now here. 😳🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Max Telford
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
October 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Programmed DNA elimination was present in the last common ancestor of Caenorhabditis nematodes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.23.681605v1
A bit exciting... Number one in India!
October 28, 2025 at 11:51 AM
A bit exciting... Number one in India!
Reposted by Max Telford
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...
rdcu.be
October 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E
@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
Reposted by Max Telford
Our Ryan Felice wins a @leverhulmetrust.bsky.social Research Grant with Dr Alana Sharp @livuninews.bsky.social to study the evolution of hollow spaces in the skull of mammals: do huge land animals air-fill their skulls to lighten their big heads? #anatomy @ucl.ac.uk @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Our Ryan Felice wins a @leverhulmetrust.bsky.social Research Grant with Dr Alana Sharp @livuninews.bsky.social to study the evolution of hollow spaces in the skull of mammals: do huge land animals air-fill their skulls to lighten their big heads? #anatomy @ucl.ac.uk @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
Reposted by Max Telford
Our latest: *Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding*
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 27, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Our latest: *Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding*
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
For a summary & the digested highlights see thread🧵 from @giulia-boezio.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...