Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 2h

Rat snake - pantherophis obsoletus

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 13h

Out on a run, makin’ a bud

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 14h

“You didn’t agree, but you’re more than capable of toughing it out …”

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 15h

“Recently you agreed to review”

a man with a beard and a hat is talking about having no memory of this place .

ALT: a man with a beard and a hat is talking about having no memory of this place .

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by April Wright

Matthew Hahn @3rdreviewer.bsky.social · 5d

New preprint led by grad student, Yu Mo! We introduce new software to calculate evolutionary rates of quantitative characters in the presence of discordance

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www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Estimating the rate of quantitative trait evolution in the presence of gene tree discordance by calculating likelihoods across trees

Quantitative traits provide insights into how phenotypes evolve across species. However, standard comparative methods often assume a single species tree and overlook the discordant gene tree histories...

www.biorxiv.org

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 5d

In honor of getting busted singing out loud on a treadmill (rancid - ruby soho), enjoy this totally bonkers interview with Community’s Danny Pudi www.runnersworld.com/runners-stor...

I'm a Runner: Danny Pudi

The Community actor talks about his running life.

www.runnersworld.com

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 6d

🎉

Laura Lagomarsino, PhD @tropicalbotany.bsky.social · 6d

I’m so proud of my grad student @evoyeyo.bsky.social for defending his @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD thesis on macroevolution of #Brachyotum and the broader Andean flora today. Felicidades, Dr. Paredes-Burneo!! ⛰️🧬🌻🥳👨🏽‍🎓🇵🇪

Diego and I posing next to each other after his defense in the LSU herbarium.

Diego in front of a slide that says “Plant evolution in the Andes is more complex than current phylogenomic models can explain” with lots of pretty plant photos around the text.

A celebration in Diego’s honor in the LSU herbarium.

Diego, family, me and other close friends celebrate at dinner.

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 6d

I'll allow it - that sounds like hard work

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 6d

Continuing my tour of books I should have already read, Calling Bullshit by @carlbergstrom.com and @jevinwest.bsky.social. Just a delight - an accessible, entertaining, insightful look at various forms of BS. Much like Weapons of Math Destruction, would love a 2025 update of this one.

Calling Bullshit: Data Reasoning in a Digital World

The world is awash in bullshit. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Higher education rewards bullshit over analytic thought. Startup culture elevates bullshi...

www.callingbullshit.org

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 9d

Got myself one of these snazzy accessories. First time Virginia voter!

An “I voted” sticker on an olive green shirt

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 9d

Been considering asking for that term on SSB JMC seat for the same reason

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 9d

It might actually be good if went for JMC in 28 so there’s someone with inst memory for the joint congress in 29

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Reposted by April Wright

Josef Uyeda @pseudacris.bsky.social · 10d

Master's degree position at Towson University with Daniel Caetano on macroevolutionary and phylogenetic comparative methods! Daniel is an awesome human and a great mentor, share with your students!
caetanods.weebly.com/join-the-lab...

Join the lab

The Caetano lab at Towson University (Maryland, USA) is seeking a Master's degree student to start in Fall 2026. A Research Assistant (RA) position is available to the student during part (or all) of....

caetanods.weebly.com

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 10d

I came across ours while shopping online at Barnes and Noble. Very weird.

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 11d

We are hope

youtu.be/7vgEWp7Voyk?...

These Days (2011 Remaster)

YouTube video by R.E.M. - Topic

youtu.be

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Reposted by April Wright

Oregon Zoo @oregonzoo.bsky.social · 11d

let the gourd times roll

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 12d

A bit gloomy out today. Enjoy a view from my commute on a sunnier day.

Red and yellow flowers in the foreground. I river runs behind them under a blue sky.

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 16d

Guy must have been apoplectic in a restaurant

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 16d

Really worry about this across all sectors covered by “service”

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 17d

The other thing I really love that @heckeberg.bsky.social et al did was a literature review to see what people are *actually* doing with respect to clock and tree models. Very useful info for anyone designing a simulation study.

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 17d

Cool work comparing a bunch of different character and tree models in brachiopods. Excellent to see more work at the interaction of character, clock and tree model.

brachiopod.bsky.social @brachiopod.bsky.social · 17d

Our athyridide brachiopod paper has finally come out in Journal of Paleontology as FirstView! doi.org/10.1017/jpa..... Please let us know what you think!

Phylogeny of Athyridida (Brachiopoda): a comparison of methods of inference | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core

Phylogeny of Athyridida (Brachiopoda): a comparison of methods of inference

doi.org

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April Wright @wrightam.bsky.social · 17d

Absolutely beautiful figures in this one

Alessio Capobianco @acapomorphic.bsky.social · 17d

I am extremely happy to see that our review on fossil tip-dating is out in early view in Systematic Biology! A huge thanks to all the authors of this massive project (@heckeberg.bsky.social, @basantakhakurel.bsky.social, Gustavo Darlim, and @hoehna.bsky.social)! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

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Reposted by April Wright

David Bapst @dwbapst.bsky.social · 17d

New from Sandy Carlson and co-authors... includes parsimony and Bayesian with FBD methods.

brachiopod.bsky.social @brachiopod.bsky.social · 17d

Our athyridide brachiopod paper has finally come out in Journal of Paleontology as FirstView! doi.org/10.1017/jpa..... Please let us know what you think!

Phylogeny of Athyridida (Brachiopoda): a comparison of methods of inference | Journal of Paleontology | Cambridge Core

Phylogeny of Athyridida (Brachiopoda): a comparison of methods of inference

doi.org

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Reposted by April Wright

𝙱𝙰𝚂𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰 𝙺𝙷𝙰𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙴𝙻 @basantakhakurel.bsky.social · 17d

Ever wondered how to incorporate fossils as tips in a phylogenetic tree?
Our new paper provides a comprehensive guide!

#EarlyFossilFriday
#FossilFriday
#TipDating
#Phylogeny
#EvolutionaryBiology

Alessio Capobianco @acapomorphic.bsky.social · 17d

I am extremely happy to see that our review on fossil tip-dating is out in early view in Systematic Biology! A huge thanks to all the authors of this massive project (@heckeberg.bsky.social, @basantakhakurel.bsky.social, Gustavo Darlim, and @hoehna.bsky.social)! academic.oup.com/sysbio/advan...

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Reposted by April Wright

Evolution Meetings @evolmtg.bsky.social · 20d

1 week left to get your image in for Evolution 2026 logo contest! www.evolutionmeetings.org/2026-logo-co...

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