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Genetics Society at Greenman Festival 2023
Music festivals attract people from a wide range of interests and backgrounds, making them a fantastic place for public engagement.
In 2023 I was at Greenman Festival, in the beautiful Brecon Beacons, working with the Genetics Society to get people thinking and talking about genetics and the science of making a human being!
GENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF DISPERSAL IN TRIBOLIUM
My PhD is looking at dispersal evolution in Tribolium flour beetles.
In a new paper we show that dispersal responds to artificial selection, and by comparing experimental results to simulations under different genetic architectures, show that relatively few genes may be controlling this behaviour.
Read the paper for free on the Heredity Journal website.
TRIBOLIUM​ FLOUR BEETLES AS A MODEL SYSTEM
My PhD is looking at dispersal evolution in Tribolium flour beetles.
I have just published a research paper with my supervisors on the history of how these tiny creatures have been used to further our understanding of topics across the fields of ecology and evolution.
Read the paper for free on the Heredity Journal website.
PODCASTING FROM POPGROUP 53
I started off 2020 by doing some work with the Heredity Podcast, interviewing the key speakers at PopGroup53, the 53rd conference of the Population Genetics Group of the Genetics Society, held this year in Leicester.
Here's the episode: Google Podcasts | Download
PopGroup54 is next year in Liverpool, but look out for a Norwich Research Park hosted PopGroup at the UEA in 2022 - don't miss it.
PROJECT MARPLE - CRACKING A CASE OF WHEAT RUST
I am very pleased to have signed up to take part in the next phase of the MARPLE diagnostics project run by the John Innes Centre & partners in Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, wheat is an essential crop for food and livelihoods, but prevailing wind conditions mean new rust strains arrive from Asia.
MARPLE is a genomic-based sampling and analysis pipeline designed to enable identification of wheat rust strains within 48-hours in the field.
NRP DAY AT NORWICH SCIENCE FESTIVAL
Our Dazzling Diversity stand formed part of the Norwich Research Park day at Norwich's science festival this week.
For more details on the event, check out this YouTube video featuring me talking about skulls and Lewis handing out joy in the form of colour-in badges.
CRYPTIC SPECIES DIVERSITY
Recently, I was reading some papers about the discovery of cryptic species.
I learnt so much new stuff that I wrote this article to organise it.
You can find it here: CRYPTIC SPECIES BLOG ARTICLE
NATURE'S DAZZLING DIVERSITY - UEA AT LATITUDE FESTIVAL
Come and see us for some hands-on evolutionary ecology family fun.
We'll be bringing our smash hit Latitude Festival stand to the Norwich Science Festival 2019 on October 23rd.
Don't miss it.
Read Becky Lewis' article about our time doing family Sci Comm at Latitude festival experiences here.
REPTILE TRANSLOCATIONS
A look at the history of reptile translocation.
How past projects are informing our work with Phelsuma antanosy, and how these results might interact with future conservation initiatives.
Read the article: reptile translocations
SUMMER AT THE ROYAL SOCIETY
I had a great time working at this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
A fantastically interactive showcase of some of the UK's leading research. Perfect for families, or with 'lates' (after hours sessions) for the more grown-up visitors.
I couldn't recommend a visit to 2019's exhibition more highly - hopefully I will see you there.
P.ANTANOSY ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE
The day gecko that I am working on, Phelsuma antanosy, has recently been named as No.93 on the Zoological Society of London's 'EDGE List' of endangered reptiles.
The programme uses a scientific framework to rank species on how Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) they are, with a view to raising awareness and catalysing a conservation reaction.
You can learn more about EDGE or check out the P.antanosy page, complete with a great photo taken by Alex Tomb during our fieldwork in April.
MORE SCIENCE READING...
Look out for some more fresh and fascinating features landing here real soon.
In the meantime, here's some great content from some sources that I enjoy reading:
Earlham Institute - articles
Molecular ecologist
Nature
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