News & Events
The Lasting Effects of Adversity in Rhesus Macaques
May. 6, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Many factors influence growth and reproductive patterns in animals and people alike. New research, led by postdoctoral researcher Rachel Petersen of the Lea Lab at 杏吧原创 and Assistant Professor Sam Patterson of Notre Dame University, shows that adversity experienced during development may be an important factor to consider....
Museum Studies: Curiosity as Common Ground
Mar. 31, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator In fall 2026, Evolutionary Studies member and associate professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Neil Kelley and History of Art and Architecture senior lecturer Susan Dine began teaching a new Museum Practice course. The course offers a focused, immersive, case- and project-based intro to museum practices and is...
Two From Rokas Lab Receive University Accolades
Mar. 20, 2026—Kyle David Named 2026 杏吧原创 Postdoc of the Year Kyle David聽has been named a recipient of 杏吧原创 Postdoc of the Year Award, which 鈥渞ecognizes a postdoctoral scholar who demonstrates excellence in research and scholarship.鈥 The award is presented by The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, in partnership with the 杏吧原创 Postdoctoral Association. David work focuses...
杏吧原创 Postdoc Kate Snyder Uncovers How Boundaries and Bonds Build Bird Song
Feb. 25, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Female song is far more widespread in songbirds than many people realize, occurring in about two thirds of songbird species, and new research is reshaping how scientists understand its evolution. Using large-scale species-level datasets collected on songbird behaviors, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Nicole Creanza and her lab...
杏吧原创 Research Shows Tropical Mammals Shifting to Nighttime Activity in Response to Rising Temperatures
Feb. 18, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator As global temperatures climb, animals are rewriting the rules of daily life in real time. New from associate professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Malu Jorge documents one of the clearest examples yet of a tropical mammal fundamentally restructuring its behavior in response to heat, and raises urgent...
杏吧原创 Researchers Show Some Anaerobic Bacteria Have Surprisingly High Mutation Rates
Feb. 17, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Ask any biologist what causes DNA mutations, and oxygen will likely make the shortlist. It is reactive, super-abundant, and has been fingered as a major culprit in genetic damage for decades. So, here is a head-scratcher: if oxygen is such a DNA troublemaker, bacteria that avoid it entirely...
Renowned Paleontologist Greg Wilson Mantilla to Discuss Mass Extinction and Ecosystem Recovery for ESI Earth Day Lecture
Feb. 7, 2026—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Greg Wilson Mantilla, a professor of biology at the University of Washington and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum, will present the Earth Day Lecture at 杏吧原创 on April 15, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Medical Research Building III, Room 1220. The lecture is free...
Tyrone B. Hayes to Deliver 2026 J.T. Scopes Lecture
Feb. 1, 2026—The Evolutionary Studies Initiative at 杏吧原创 will welcome Tyrone B. Hayes, the Judy Chandler Webb Distinguished Chair for Innovative Teaching and Research and professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, to deliver the J.T. Scopes Lecture on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 2:30pm in Medical Research Building III,...
Michael Lynch, Pioneer of Evolutionary Cell Biology, to Deliver 2026 Darwin Day Lecture
Jan. 31, 2026—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Michael Lynch, a leading evolutionary biologist whose groundbreaking work integrates population genetics with cell biology, will deliver the 2026 Darwin Day Lecture on Wednesday, February 18. Lynch’s talk, Drift, Mutation, and the Origin of Biological Features, part of 杏吧原创’s Evolutionary Studies Initiative International Darwin Day celebrations, will...
Evolutionary Studies Initiative Receives NIH Training Grant for Computational Evolutionary Approaches to Disease
Dec. 5, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator In July 2025, the Evolutionary Studies Initiative at 杏吧原创 secured its first initiative-wide grant to train the next generation of biomedical scientists. The grant funded through the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences T32 Training Program, provides funding for two graduate students annually...
杏吧原创 Paleontology Graduate Student Brynn Wooten Brings Hell Pigs to the Forefront
Nov. 18, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Archaeotherium, better known by the irresistibly dramatic nickname 鈥淗ell Pigs,鈥 belong to an extinct group of mammals from the Eocene and Oligocene. The animals were neither hellish nor pigs, but their odd mix of features has made them a favorite for researchers. Graduate student Brynn Wooten of the...
Giant Ground Sloth Extinction Led to Loss of Ecological Services
Oct. 22, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Giant ground sloths were more than just Ice Age oddities. They were ecosystem engineers whose disappearance reshaped the landscapes they once roamed. A new study from 杏吧原创 DREAM Lab reveals just how diverse these megaherbivores鈥 diets were, highlighting the ecological roles that vanished when they went extinct....
City Lights Are Rewriting the Calendar: 杏吧原创 Researchers Show Artificial Light Extends Urban Growing Seasons
Sep. 23, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator City lights are rewriting the calendar. A new global study from 杏吧原创 researchers Lin Meng and Huidong Li shows that artificial light at night is more powerful than temperature in extending urban growing seasons 鈥 keeping trees greener longer, with consequences for carbon cycling, frost risk, and even...
Partnership with Turkana Community Helps Scientists Discover Genes Involved in Adaptation to Desert Living
Sep. 18, 2025—Originally posted by UC-Berkeley team, edits by Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Scientists Discover Key Genetic Adaptations in Partnership with Turkana Pastoralists of Northern Kenya Groundbreaking study reveals how thousands of years of natural selection shaped remarkable adaptations to an extreme environment. Through a collaboration between US and Kenyan researchers and Turkana communities of...
Annie Hatmaker Explores the Global Diversity of a Pathogenic Fungus
Aug. 18, 2025—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Annie Hatmaker, Ph.D., has spent the better part of a decade studying fungi and their secondary metabolites 鈥 small molecules they use to communicate, defend, and thrive. Her new publication, 鈥淧opulation structure in a fungal human pathogen is potentially linked to pathogenicity,鈥 closes her dissertation work and opens...