Philip Donoghue
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phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Philip Donoghue
@phil-donoghue.bsky.social
750 followers 280 following 78 posts
Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol, UK
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phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Pleased to be a small part of this molecular palaeobiology study by Jialin Wei, led by Marta Álvarez-Presas and Jordi Paps, with help from Davide Pisani. Animals repeatedly used similar genomic solutions to the challenges of terrestrialization @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 3:13 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
NERC GW4+ PhD: Genome duplication, extinction and diversification in the evolution of flowering plants, supervised by Phil Donoghue, James Clark and Ilia Leitch. Deets soon but get in touch with @phil-donoghue.bsky.social if interested. Jan 8 application deadline @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 11:03 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest: Investigating the morphogenesis and replacement of lamprey toothlets using synchrotron imaging, led by Madleen Grohganz @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social, just out in Journal of Morphology. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
October 22, 2025 at 8:15 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest, led by Edu Ocaña-Pallarès and @ssolo.bsky.social, a timescale for fungal phylogeny that wrangles calibration from the unstructured fossil record of fungi and a history of horizontal gene transfers

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A timetree of Fungi dated with fossils and horizontal gene transfers - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Combining fossil-based and molecular calibrations with data on horizontal gene transfer events, the authors develop a time-calibrated phylogeny of Fungi. This timescale, which integrates analytic uncertainties, suggests an older age of crown Fungi (1,401–896 million years ago), as well as a minimum age for ancient interactions involving fungi and the algal ancestors of embryophytes in terrestrial ecosystems (1,253–797 Ma).
www.nature.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:41 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
The proceedings volume from our Nov24 meeting on the evolution of biospheres is just in PhilTransB @royalsocietypublishing.org delivering insights into how our biosphere evolved - and how other biospheres may evolve
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1931
royalsocietypublishing.org
August 11, 2025 at 9:43 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Lots of fun last night in the lab get together at Siji Minfu Roast Duck Restaurant in Hepingli, Beijing
July 22, 2025 at 12:08 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest "Morphological constraints in hymenopteran forewings limit flight efficiency optimization" led by Iman Fadel, with help from Pablo Milla Carmona, Yuming Liu and @emilyrayfield.bsky.social
Morphological constraints in hymenopteran forewings limit flight efficiency optimization | Royal Society Open Science
The evolution of wings and flapping flight was integral to the radiation of Pterygota, but little is known about the factors underpinning the morphological disparity of insect wings. We use a theoreti...
royalsocietypublishing.org
July 16, 2025 at 8:21 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest, led by @jameswclark.bsky.social of @milnerevolution.bsky.social shows that the notorious mismatch between molecular and palaeontological estimates for the timing of origin of angiosperms is a consequence of equivocal interpretation of their fossil record @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Uncertainty in the timing of diversification of flowering plants rests with equivocal interpretation of their fossil record | Royal Society Open Science
The timing of the origin of crown-angiosperms exemplifies the impact of competing approaches to establishing evolutionary timescales. Fossils of unequivocal crown-angiosperms are not known from before...
royalsocietypublishing.org
May 28, 2025 at 12:27 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
The latest issue of eVOLUCIÓN @sesbe-org.bsky.social includes me pontificating on all manner of topics evolutionary. sesbe.org/revista-evol...
May 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Thanks to Carlos Martinez, Sonia Ros, Jesus Marugan, Hugo Martin-Abad and friends for making @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social Iberian Cordillera field trip such a success for our BSc/MSci Palaeontology & Evolution students
April 26, 2025 at 10:17 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Barcelona in October and research on the origins of multicellularity - how could anyone resist this meeting?
Evolution and origins of multicellularity across the tree of life
The study of the origins and evolution of multicellularity in different lineages has recently captured the attention of many research groups and is fueling the generation of numerous innovative resea…
meetings.embo.org
April 17, 2025 at 4:16 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
The last bit of Frankie Dunn's PhD is finally published! @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Morphogenesis of Fractofusus andersoni and the nature of early animal development - Nature Communications
Rangeomorphs are some of the oldest complex macroscopic fossil organisms. Here, the authors describe a population of rangeomorphs with two, spindle-shaped fronds from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, mod...
www.nature.com
April 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Really pleased to be part of this project which shows that aerobic bacteria arose in the Archaean, long before the GOE - after which aerobes proliferated through HGT. Fun @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social collab including @tweethinking.bsky.social @sabifo4.bsky.social @emoody.bsky.social Davide Pisani
ssolo.bsky.social ssolo.bsky.social @ssolo.bsky.social · Apr 4
Dating Bacteria is hard due to the lack of maxima. Assuming aerobes likely postdated the GOE gave us better resolved ages, but also surprised us, but not Dr Dayhoff, showing O2 use predated its atmospheric rise by 900 Mys and helped oxygenic photosynthesis to evolve. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
April 4, 2025 at 8:44 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
This interesting article on reviewer fatigue prompts me to publicize my most over-used web resource: JANE - the Journal Author Name Estimator jane.biosemantics.org which, based on an abstract, can help authors find a home for their manuscripts and help editors to find reviewers for submissions
On improving the sustainability of peer review
The term “reviewer fatigue” has become only too familiar in scientific publishing. This editorial discusses how we can ease the burden on reviewers to make the peer review system more sustainable, whi...
dx.plos.org
March 28, 2025 at 9:15 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest: Evolution of herbivory, not terrestrialization, drove morphological change in the mandibles of Palaeozoic, led by @harryberks.bsky.social with help from Pablo Milla Carmona @emilyrayfield.bsky.social and myself @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social. Out now in
@evojlinnsoc.bsky.social
The evolution of herbivory, not terrestrialization, drove morphological change in the mandibles of Palaeozoic tetrapods
Abstract. The radiation of tetrapods during the Devonian and Early Carboniferous was associated with a transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments,
doi.org
March 21, 2025 at 11:15 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Should the future of scientific publishing lie with megapublishers who return profits to shareholders, or with professional societies that plough their returns back into science and scientific communities? Vote now with your manuscript submissions!
How to Fix Scientific Publishing
YouTube video by Francis Crick Institute
www.youtube.com
March 15, 2025 at 12:27 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
@thepalass.bsky.social and @nhm-london.bsky.social are hosting a FREE workshop at the Natural History Museum, London on May 15, 2-4 pm for in person and online attendees:

Fossil Collecting In England and Wales: Do We Need More Legislation?

🌐 Sign up: buff.ly/LXtoUao
March 12, 2025 at 11:34 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
About a week to go to the application deadline for this position - please get in touch if you have questions!
phil-donoghue.bsky.social Philip Donoghue @phil-donoghue.bsky.social · Feb 18
Job Alert: Senior Research Associate in Phylogenomics @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social researching timing, sequence and phenotypic consequences of rediploidisation following whole genome duplication - comparative genomics, molecular clock and phenotypic disparity methods, with @jameswclark.bsky.social
March 5, 2025 at 4:05 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Job Alert: Senior Research Associate in Phylogenomics @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social researching timing, sequence and phenotypic consequences of rediploidisation following whole genome duplication - comparative genomics, molecular clock and phenotypic disparity methods, with @jameswclark.bsky.social
February 18, 2025 at 9:45 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest: a Richard Boyle (Exeter) production, using simulations to show how differential selection of biogeochemical cycles can lead to planetary homeostasis, with some empirical data from @emoody.bsky.social and @sabifo4.bsky.social @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social
Persistence selection between simulated biogeochemical cycle variants for their distinct effects on the Earth system | PNAS
The average long-term impact of Darwinian evolution on Earth’s habitability remains extremely uncertain. Recent attempts to reconcile this uncertai...
www.pnas.org
February 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
I'd like to remind everyone that February is the worst month of the year
Whole 'nother Story - February
YouTube video by KMOX1120
www.youtube.com
February 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Lectureship in Evolutionary Biology up for grabs @bristolbiosci.bsky.social for someone who studies "evolutionary processes and the emergence of large-scale patterns of organismal diversity using comparative genomics, and/or bioinformatics. Application deadline February 16
Details | Working at Bristol | University of Bristol
www.bristol.ac.uk
February 5, 2025 at 9:40 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
Our latest, led by Mattia Giacomelli and Davide Pisani, shows the power of CAT-PMSF in ML analyses of genome scale datasets. Mattia used it to test hypotheses of panarthropod relationships, finding Lobopodia (Tardigrada,(Onychophora, Euarthropoda)) best supported

academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
CAT-Posterior Mean Site Frequencies Improves Phylogenetic Modeling Under Maximum Likelihood and Resolves Tardigrada as the Sister of Arthropoda Plus Onychophora
Abstract. Tardigrada, the water bears, are microscopic animals with walking appendages that are members of Ecdysozoa, the clade of molting animals that als
academic.oup.com
February 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
PostDoc position in evolutionary genomics available with Dan MacQueen at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, part of our BBSRC sLoLa on rediploidisation following whole genome duplication
Post-doctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genomics
Two post-doctoral researcher positions are available that will play key roles in delivering an exciting new 4-year multi-partner BBSRC research project focussed on understanding genome evolution follo...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
January 28, 2025 at 7:41 PM
phil-donoghue.bsky.social
In friday’s palaeo seminar @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social we were treated to Microfossil evolution and morphological change through warm and cold climates by the amazing @bridgetwade.bsky.social
January 27, 2025 at 10:02 AM