Molly Schumer
@mollyschumer.bsky.social
Genetics & Evolution, Faculty at Stanford & Freeman Hrabowski Scholar at HHMI. My views do not reflect those of my employer.
schumerlab.com
schumerlab.com
Reposted by Molly Schumer
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
November 26, 2025 at 4:21 PM
How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery?
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore.
👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1
Reposted by Molly Schumer
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Applications now open for the International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2026! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Apply by January 30: www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci... @evolmtg.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Applications now open for the International Travel Stipends to attend #Evol2026! Funds cover registration, travel, food, and lodging. Apply by January 30: www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci... @evolmtg.bsky.social
Reposted by Molly Schumer
One of my favorite preprints of the year from the great @mollyschumer.bsky.social. A foamy virus that makes things sparkle, now up on TWiEVO episode 120 for some podcast peer review www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T65...
TWiEVO #120 Livestream 11/26/25 1:00 PM Eastern
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:01 PM
One of my favorite preprints of the year from the great @mollyschumer.bsky.social. A foamy virus that makes things sparkle, now up on TWiEVO episode 120 for some podcast peer review www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T65...
Can't believe that our pre-print on the evolution of iridescence in swordtails was covered by @elearlybird.bsky.social on the TWiEVO podcast! I love the suggestion to rename the endogenous foamy retrovirus to "sparkle pony" -- what do you think @nadiahaghani.bsky.social?
bsky.app/profile/elea...
bsky.app/profile/elea...
One of my favorite preprints of the year from the great @mollyschumer.bsky.social. A foamy virus that makes things sparkle, now up on TWiEVO episode 120 for some podcast peer review www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T65...
TWiEVO #120 Livestream 11/26/25 1:00 PM Eastern
YouTube video by MicrobeTV
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Can't believe that our pre-print on the evolution of iridescence in swordtails was covered by @elearlybird.bsky.social on the TWiEVO podcast! I love the suggestion to rename the endogenous foamy retrovirus to "sparkle pony" -- what do you think @nadiahaghani.bsky.social?
bsky.app/profile/elea...
bsky.app/profile/elea...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Work from my amazing undergrad @leyan-wang.bsky.social is just preprinted! TL;DR: If you worry that ARG methods might fail on unphased data due to phasing errors, you may not need to.
Check it out & consider reposting to support a great young scientist!
Check it out & consider reposting to support a great young scientist!
We are excited to share our recent work on the surprising robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG) inference tools to computational phasing errors, now available on BioRxiv: biorxiv.org/content/10.1....
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
This work is co-advised by @yundeng.bsky.social and Rasmus Nielsen.
1/7
Robustness of Ancestral Recombination Graph Inference Tools to Phasing Errors
Ancestral Recombination Graphs (ARGs) are fundamental population genetic structures that encode the genealogical history of a sample of haplotypes along the genome. They have recently received substan...
biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Work from my amazing undergrad @leyan-wang.bsky.social is just preprinted! TL;DR: If you worry that ARG methods might fail on unphased data due to phasing errors, you may not need to.
Check it out & consider reposting to support a great young scientist!
Check it out & consider reposting to support a great young scientist!
Reposted by Molly Schumer
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
November 26, 2025 at 5:50 AM
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Putting on my hat as @asn-amnat.bsky.social
ASN President for announcements, please share widely!!!
2. ASN Early Career Investigator awards are now open for application. Self-nominations okay! Due Jan 5
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
ASN President for announcements, please share widely!!!
2. ASN Early Career Investigator awards are now open for application. Self-nominations okay! Due Jan 5
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Applications for the 2026 ASN Early Career Investigator Award
<p>Nominations/Applications for the 2026 Early Career Investigator Award are <strong>due January 5, 2026</strong></p><br/>
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Putting on my hat as @asn-amnat.bsky.social
ASN President for announcements, please share widely!!!
2. ASN Early Career Investigator awards are now open for application. Self-nominations okay! Due Jan 5
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
ASN President for announcements, please share widely!!!
2. ASN Early Career Investigator awards are now open for application. Self-nominations okay! Due Jan 5
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
The last work of my PhD is finally out: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...! This work is about accurately estimating branch length in the Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG), which is achieved by a really simple framework with minimal assumptions. (1/n)
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 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
The last work of my PhD is finally out: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...! This work is about accurately estimating branch length in the Ancestral Recombination Graph (ARG), which is achieved by a really simple framework with minimal assumptions. (1/n)
Reposted by Molly Schumer
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 Molly Schumer
Unfortunately, I can confirm that this is true.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB."
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH.
🧪 1/
November 24, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Unfortunately, I can confirm that this is true.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
I have known Carl for 2 decades and he is smart, dedicated, and quite apolitical, focused on science and getting stuff done on important problems.
Huge unnecessary loss of leadership and expertise.
Reposted by Molly Schumer
My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...
OU College of International Studies professor reportedly arrested by ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly arrested an OU professor at Will Rogers International Airport Saturday.
www.oudaily.com
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 PM
My colleague, Dr. Vahid Abedini, was illegally detained by ICE on Saturday. He is currently being held without a court date in sight, despite being in the country legally. Please spread the word! We must ensure his due process rights are upheld. www.oudaily.com/news/ou-prof...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466
Reposted by Molly Schumer
I'm recruiting a new master's student for fall 2026 in my lab at Northern Michigan University @bionmu.bsky.social ! Students with interests in evolution of freshwater fish are encouraged to apply. Please see our lab website lizmandeville.github.io and the attached advertisement for more information.
Mandeville Lab
Fish are so delightfully weird. We study the evolutionary genetics and ecology of freshwater fishes, plus a few more things, at Northern Michigan University
lizmandeville.github.io
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I'm recruiting a new master's student for fall 2026 in my lab at Northern Michigan University @bionmu.bsky.social ! Students with interests in evolution of freshwater fish are encouraged to apply. Please see our lab website lizmandeville.github.io and the attached advertisement for more information.
Reposted by Molly Schumer
WAT
November 21, 2025 at 10:04 PM
WAT
Reposted by Molly Schumer
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 Molly Schumer
@hhmi.org Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - #CechFellows named in honor of Prof Tom Cech
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
@hhmi.org Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - #CechFellows named in honor of Prof Tom Cech
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Update on a significant development NIH grant terms.
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
HHS devises legal playbook for future grant terminations, internal memo shows
Exclusive: HHS devises a legal playbook for future research grant terminations, an internal memo shows.
www.statnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Update on a significant development NIH grant terms.
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
On 10/1, a change to grant making regs went into effect that gives NIH more power to terminate grants for policy reasons.
But to use this power, new grant terms must include specific language. See @aniloza.bsky.social w/ the story from July.
1/
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Congrats on the very cool and thorough work!
We also found that variation in the related gene alkal2l is a main cause of red-blue color differences in betta.
Knocking it out abolishes iridescence.
Interesting convergence.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/gen...
We also found that variation in the related gene alkal2l is a main cause of red-blue color differences in betta.
Knocking it out abolishes iridescence.
Interesting convergence.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/gen...
November 21, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Congrats on the very cool and thorough work!
We also found that variation in the related gene alkal2l is a main cause of red-blue color differences in betta.
Knocking it out abolishes iridescence.
Interesting convergence.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/gen...
We also found that variation in the related gene alkal2l is a main cause of red-blue color differences in betta.
Knocking it out abolishes iridescence.
Interesting convergence.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/gen...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
November 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Team fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Brand new preprint from my lab, showing that TnpB, the ancestor of Cas12, acts as a gene drive in plasmids! And it turns out in conjugative plasmids that it acts as a primitive anti-self defense system, providing a potential link between its transposon effect and becoming CRISPR!
What is the best strategy to win any contest?
Eliminate your opponents of course.
Recently, my friend @fernpizza.bsky.social showed how plasmids compete intracellularly (check out his paper published in Science today!). With @baym.lol, we now know they can fight.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Eliminate your opponents of course.
Recently, my friend @fernpizza.bsky.social showed how plasmids compete intracellularly (check out his paper published in Science today!). With @baym.lol, we now know they can fight.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 20, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Brand new preprint from my lab, showing that TnpB, the ancestor of Cas12, acts as a gene drive in plasmids! And it turns out in conjugative plasmids that it acts as a primitive anti-self defense system, providing a potential link between its transposon effect and becoming CRISPR!
Reposted by Molly Schumer
I am currently searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass at Michigan State University. This work will be funded by a newly funded five-year DOE grant. careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...
Research Associate-Fixed Term - East Lansing, Michigan, United States
Position Summary
The Lowry Lab at Michigan State University is searching for a postdoctoral research associate to conduct molecular and physiological experiments to understand the causes of genetic va...
careers.msu.edu
November 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I am currently searching for a new postdoctoral researcher to study the evolution, genetics, and physiology of cold acclimation and freezing tolerance in switchgrass at Michigan State University. This work will be funded by a newly funded five-year DOE grant. careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
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 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
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/...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
NIH Grant Terminations Disrupt 1 in 30 Clinical Trials, Impacting Over 74,000 Participants | AJMC
Infectious disease was hit hardest by funding cuts to NIH grant for clinical trials that did not align with the Trump administration's priorities.
www.ajmc.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:31 PM
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
Reposted by Molly Schumer
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 20, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Our lab from @HHMINEWS & @UCBerkeley is looking for undergrads to come for an internship!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...