C. Brandon Ogbunu
@cbo.bsky.social
Scientist + Humanist + Pugilist.
"Tip your hat; pop the chain; short Joe Louis; then wipe his nose with the hook. It's that simple." (c) Brother Naazim Richardson
https://linktr.ee/chike98
"Tip your hat; pop the chain; short Joe Louis; then wipe his nose with the hook. It's that simple." (c) Brother Naazim Richardson
https://linktr.ee/chike98
Pinned
What James Watson got wrong about DNA - The Boston Globe
The science he helped pioneer consistently undermines his view that genes determine everything about us.
www.bostonglobe.com
"What James Watson got wrong about DNA"
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
By the great Sohini Ramachandran (@sramach.bsky.social) and your boy for The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com).
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/14/o...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
How to keep in step when your (protein) partner speeds up…
Here we investigated the adaptive remodeling of a protein-protein interaction surface essential for telomere protection.
Congrats to whole team!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here we investigated the adaptive remodeling of a protein-protein interaction surface essential for telomere protection.
Congrats to whole team!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Rapid compensatory evolution within a multiprotein complex preserves telomere integrity
Intragenomic conflict with selfish genetic elements spurs adaptive changes in subunits of essential multiprotein complexes. Whether and how these adaptive changes disrupt interactions within such comp...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 5:22 PM
How to keep in step when your (protein) partner speeds up…
Here we investigated the adaptive remodeling of a protein-protein interaction surface essential for telomere protection.
Congrats to whole team!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here we investigated the adaptive remodeling of a protein-protein interaction surface essential for telomere protection.
Congrats to whole team!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
SAVE THE DATE: the yearly NY Population Genetics meeting will be back on March 9 2026, generously hosted by the
@simonsfoundation.org. Details to follow. Please RT.
@simonsfoundation.org. Details to follow. Please RT.
November 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
SAVE THE DATE: the yearly NY Population Genetics meeting will be back on March 9 2026, generously hosted by the
@simonsfoundation.org. Details to follow. Please RT.
@simonsfoundation.org. Details to follow. Please RT.
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
GitHub - alanrogers/popgen: A course on population genetics
A course on population genetics. Contribute to alanrogers/popgen development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I taught (and co-taught) a course on human population genetics from 2000-2024. Having retired, I'm now making all the course materials public: github.com/alanrogers/p... #popgen #evbio
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Very useful analysis of how the metaphors have changed over time.
This is my last post in the 'metaphors for AI' trilogy. I never thought there was so much to say about it all. But this is it for now! Comments welcome. #AI #metaphor makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/28/o...
Observing shifts in metaphors for AI: What changed and why it matters
In my previous two posts I have made the case for an AI metaphor observatory and surveyed the recent academic landscape of studies dealing with metaphors for AI in the sense of GenAI and LLMs. In t…
makingsciencepublic.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Very useful analysis of how the metaphors have changed over time.
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
"Understanding the strengths and limitations of community-based responses to misinformation" — very nice commentary by @ekvraga.bsky.social in PNAS, covering my recent paper on causal effects of Community Notes w/ @isaacslaughter.bsky.social @axelp.bsky.social @msaveski.bsky.social
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
www.pnas.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:35 PM
"Understanding the strengths and limitations of community-based responses to misinformation" — very nice commentary by @ekvraga.bsky.social in PNAS, covering my recent paper on causal effects of Community Notes w/ @isaacslaughter.bsky.social @axelp.bsky.social @msaveski.bsky.social
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Political scientists are rethinking how we understand voting patterns. Old assumptions about identity and alignment don't hold up. Understanding why people vote requires new models and the willingness to abandon outdated narratives.
The Increasingly Complex Science of Political Identity
Opinion | Understanding why people vote the way they do has emerged as a cutting-edge scientific question requiring new tools.
f.mtr.cool
November 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Political scientists are rethinking how we understand voting patterns. Old assumptions about identity and alignment don't hold up. Understanding why people vote requires new models and the willingness to abandon outdated narratives.
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Boris Shraiman points a physicist’s eye on biological quandaries news.ucsb.edu/2025/022264/... 🧪
Boris Shraiman points a physicist’s eye on biological quandaries
Boris Shraiman is awarded the American Physical Society’s Max Delbrück Prize in Biological Physics.
news.ucsb.edu
November 25, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Boris Shraiman points a physicist’s eye on biological quandaries news.ucsb.edu/2025/022264/... 🧪
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Blog post: A Missing Heritability Update. Three legs and other problems. I follow up on the recent excellent post on the subject by @sashagusevposts.bsky.social. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/missing-he...
Missing Heritability Revisited
Following up on Sasha
ericturkheimer.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Blog post: A Missing Heritability Update. Three legs and other problems. I follow up on the recent excellent post on the subject by @sashagusevposts.bsky.social. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/missing-he...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
High frequency body site translocation of nosocomial Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications
Here, the authors report within-host diversity and body site translocation dynamics in hospital samples of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and reveal that body site sharing was likely due to within-patient tra...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Really pleased to share the first paper to come out of the lab.
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that hospital patients were frequently colonised with P. aeruginosa and that the same clone was shared between the gut and the lung.
The phylogenies indicate that the clones moved from lung->gut
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Ever wondered whether dogs are a different species from wolves? On an ecological, and behavioral basis, I think so. The Dec 2 issue of PNAS will be interesting! www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122... and the introductory article to the issue: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... . Here: my daughter, my son, and our dog:
November 25, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Ever wondered whether dogs are a different species from wolves? On an ecological, and behavioral basis, I think so. The Dec 2 issue of PNAS will be interesting! www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122... and the introductory article to the issue: doi.org/10.1073/pnas... . Here: my daughter, my son, and our dog:
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Our new collaborative work led by @taliamycota.bsky.social
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
November 18, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Our new collaborative work led by @taliamycota.bsky.social
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Yale’s Institute for Foundations of Data Science (FDS) @yaledatascience.bsky.social is seeking applications for postdoctoral positions. These are cool, generously supported, competitive positions, expected to last 2-3 years, for independent scholars working on the foundations of data science.
Yale University, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science
Job #AJO31114, Postdoc in Foundations of Data Science, Institute for the Foundations of Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US
academicjobsonline.org
November 17, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Yale’s Institute for Foundations of Data Science (FDS) @yaledatascience.bsky.social is seeking applications for postdoctoral positions. These are cool, generously supported, competitive positions, expected to last 2-3 years, for independent scholars working on the foundations of data science.
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
New work by Andy Dahl and Michal Sadowski on using GxE to study genetics of drug response now out in Cell Genomics www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
Characterizing the genetic architecture of drug response using gene-context interaction methods
Sadowski et al. propose a framework to study the genetics of response to commonly prescribed drugs in large biobanks. They quantify the heritability of response to statins, metformin, warfarin, and methotrexate, and identify associated genes. Their analysis also shows the importance of accounting for drug use in genetic risk prediction.
www.cell.com
December 4, 2024 at 8:46 PM
New work by Andy Dahl and Michal Sadowski on using GxE to study genetics of drug response now out in Cell Genomics www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Indeed, we showed that different measures of association give very different ranking of top genes biodatamining.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... #gwas #genomics
November 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Indeed, we showed that different measures of association give very different ranking of top genes biodatamining.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... #gwas #genomics
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
"Due to the stochastic nature of this microscopic
engine, there are large fluctuations in its heat exchange,
including heat flowing the thermodynamically “wrong”
way".
Make an engine small enough and hot enough, and weird stuff happens.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
engine, there are large fluctuations in its heat exchange,
including heat flowing the thermodynamically “wrong”
way".
Make an engine small enough and hot enough, and weird stuff happens.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
journals.aps.org
November 24, 2025 at 9:33 AM
"Due to the stochastic nature of this microscopic
engine, there are large fluctuations in its heat exchange,
including heat flowing the thermodynamically “wrong”
way".
Make an engine small enough and hot enough, and weird stuff happens.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
engine, there are large fluctuations in its heat exchange,
including heat flowing the thermodynamically “wrong”
way".
Make an engine small enough and hot enough, and weird stuff happens.
journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n
What enables human language? A biocultural framework
Explaining the origins of language is a key challenge in understanding ourselves as a species. We present an empirical framework that draws on synergies across fields to facilitate robust studies of l...
www.science.org
November 23, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Origins of language, one of humanity’s most distinctive traits, may be best explained as a unique convergence of multiple capacities each with its own evolutionary history, involving intertwined roles of biology & culture. This framing can expand research horizons. A 🧵 on our @science.org paper.🧪1/n
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
“This article focuses on the epistemic specificity of humanities research which makes it not only not suitable for replication, but also at odds with many of the other scientific reform measures touted as solutions to the so-called replication crisis.”
A new article by Chloe Patton in #ResearchEvaluation shows how debates about #OpenScience often slip into absurdity – like demanding #replication from the #Humanities. You can’t replicate history, culture, or interpretation the way you replicate a physics experiment: doi.org/10.1093/rese...
November 23, 2025 at 2:35 PM
“This article focuses on the epistemic specificity of humanities research which makes it not only not suitable for replication, but also at odds with many of the other scientific reform measures touted as solutions to the so-called replication crisis.”
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
We got published in Ecology&Evolution! We propose an equation from which we derive the fundamental equations of population ecology and evolutionary biology (the Price equation). #evobio #philbio onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
November 23, 2025 at 8:09 AM
We got published in Ecology&Evolution! We propose an equation from which we derive the fundamental equations of population ecology and evolutionary biology (the Price equation). #evobio #philbio onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Is your favourite fruit at risk?🍌
Watch & learn from Dr. Honour McCann @honour.bsky.social as she dives into the impact of the pathogen Ralstonia syzygii on banana plantations in our new video.
For more on #PlantPathogen #Evolution, visit: www.bio.mpg.de/48883/plant-pathogen-evolution-honour-mccann
Watch & learn from Dr. Honour McCann @honour.bsky.social as she dives into the impact of the pathogen Ralstonia syzygii on banana plantations in our new video.
For more on #PlantPathogen #Evolution, visit: www.bio.mpg.de/48883/plant-pathogen-evolution-honour-mccann
Plant Pathogen Evolution: Bananas
YouTube video by MPI for Biology & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory
youtu.be
December 19, 2024 at 10:54 AM
Is your favourite fruit at risk?🍌
Watch & learn from Dr. Honour McCann @honour.bsky.social as she dives into the impact of the pathogen Ralstonia syzygii on banana plantations in our new video.
For more on #PlantPathogen #Evolution, visit: www.bio.mpg.de/48883/plant-pathogen-evolution-honour-mccann
Watch & learn from Dr. Honour McCann @honour.bsky.social as she dives into the impact of the pathogen Ralstonia syzygii on banana plantations in our new video.
For more on #PlantPathogen #Evolution, visit: www.bio.mpg.de/48883/plant-pathogen-evolution-honour-mccann
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
Not this again
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
The findings of a study in Nature Medicine introduce microbial elements as a component of the brain tumor microenvironment and lay the foundation for future mechanistic and translational studies. go.nature.com/44bO314 #medsky #microbiome 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Not this again
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
'however, standard culture methods did not yield readily cultivable microbiota.'
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
"It may be uncomfortable to conclude that a widely used study design has been producing spurious results. But the evidence is in, and telling uncomfortable truths is a part of doing science."
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"It may be uncomfortable to conclude that a widely used study design has been producing spurious results. But the evidence is in, and telling uncomfortable truths is a part of doing science."
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I wrote a little bit about the "missing heritability" question and several recent studies that have brought it to a close. A short 🧵
Reposted by C. Brandon Ogbunu
🔥🔥🔥
𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘁𝘀 & 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘇 will give their first-ever 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 at NetSci 2026! Their groundbreaking work has shaped how we understand networks, & this session will be a highlight of NetSci’s 20th anniversary.
Call for abstracts: tinyurl.com/3tbj2v83
Call for satellites: tinyurl.com/42sru6kz
Call for abstracts: tinyurl.com/3tbj2v83
Call for satellites: tinyurl.com/42sru6kz
November 21, 2025 at 11:52 AM
🔥🔥🔥
✅ Addresses important fundamental questions
✅ Uses insanely creative methods
✅ Gives us a truly new picture of how a tricky phenomenon works
Outstanding.
✅ Uses insanely creative methods
✅ Gives us a truly new picture of how a tricky phenomenon works
Outstanding.
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 11:56 AM
✅ Addresses important fundamental questions
✅ Uses insanely creative methods
✅ Gives us a truly new picture of how a tricky phenomenon works
Outstanding.
✅ Uses insanely creative methods
✅ Gives us a truly new picture of how a tricky phenomenon works
Outstanding.