Aylwyn Scally
@aylwyn-scally.bsky.social
Human evolutionary genetics, University of Cambridge; Darwin College. 🇮🇪
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
To celebrate the publication of the paper about GHIST 2024, the 2025 Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament has been extended to December 1st, 2025.
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
GHIST 2024: The First Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament
Abstract. Evaluating population genetic inference methods is challenging due to the complexity of evolutionary histories, potential model misspecification,
doi.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:49 PM
To celebrate the publication of the paper about GHIST 2024, the 2025 Genomic History Inference Strategies Tournament has been extended to December 1st, 2025.
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Read about the 2024 competition in Molecular Biology and Evolution: doi.org/10.1093/molb...
And join the 2025 competition at ghist.bio!
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
This is out now:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
November 10, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This is out now:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Association between lactase persistence and height in the past (indicating people with the persistence allele were better nourished by drinking milk than those without it) provides a potential explanation for why it was under strong selection.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
OK, I have set up a Substack and posted an article there going into much more detail about Francis Crick and the poet Michael McClure. If the link between science and art is your thing, or you just like psychedelic poetry, have a read:
The Powerful Knowledge: How the Poetry of Michael McClure Influenced the Scientist Francis Crick
In July 1959, the co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, Francis Crick, took a psychedelic trip on peyote through the power of poetry.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
OK, I have set up a Substack and posted an article there going into much more detail about Francis Crick and the poet Michael McClure. If the link between science and art is your thing, or you just like psychedelic poetry, have a read:
Difficult to believe a sentient being could have written this headline.
November 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Difficult to believe a sentient being could have written this headline.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
A negotiation expert running for Congress (full disclosure: I’m married to him) explains exactly how bad the deal was that some Dems struck last night. www.facebook.com/share/v/1FPD...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
A negotiation expert running for Congress (full disclosure: I’m married to him) explains exactly how bad the deal was that some Dems struck last night. www.facebook.com/share/v/1FPD...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Read ‘Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders’ from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, @genomicsengland.bsky.social, @cuh.nhs.uk and collaborators in @natcomms.nature.com here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders - Nature Communications
De novo structural variants are an important cause of rare disorders but remain poorly understood. Here, the authors analyse over 12,000 families and reveal the prevalence, diversity, and clinical imp...
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Read ‘Complex de novo structural variants are an underestimated cause of rare disorders’ from @sangerinstitute.bsky.social, @genomicsengland.bsky.social, @cuh.nhs.uk and collaborators in @natcomms.nature.com here:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
That Roman database of roads that's been in the news: treat with some caution.
Comparaison entre ce qui est connu (en rouge) et les tracés du dataset (en vert) pour l'est de la Bourgogne. Les données mises a disposition sont sans doute meilleures dans les zones où des spécialiste ont été sollicité.e.s (Egypte, etc). Bonne base de départ donc, mais a utiliser avec prudence 3/3
November 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
That Roman database of roads that's been in the news: treat with some caution.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Okay, here are some first reflections on Watson.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Watson's life is a tragedy, really of Shakespearean proportions. He did not, as most bios will tell you, do one great thing when he was young and then collect laurels for it for the next 60 years. His career arc was unlike any in science.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Bluetorial-Jim Watson
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.
What follows is my personal perspective.
1/41
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
These brave men. The end of Scott’s last expedition. Read these diary entries; they will sober you up.
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
These brave men. The end of Scott’s last expedition. Read these diary entries; they will sober you up.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Labour MP, “I’ve never heard of Zohran Mamdani.”
November 8, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Labour MP, “I’ve never heard of Zohran Mamdani.”
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:21 AM
If I see one more stupid Rosalind Franklin take I'm going to lose my mind. Thank god for @matthewcobb.bsky.social and @nccomfort.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network
A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.
go.nature.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:13 PM
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
go.nature.com/4qMYGRw
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
‘Epigenetic serum’ makes you wonder !
November 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
‘Epigenetic serum’ makes you wonder !
Dublin Bay at dusk.
November 1, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Dublin Bay at dusk.
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
New preprint from another part of my PhD! 📝👇
Some mutations arise after fertilisation 🧬, so early they can appear in both a parent’s body and their germ cells.
By analysing family trio genomes 👪, we built one of the largest catalogues of these “hidden” inherited variants yet.
tinyurl.com/mvns2ytv
Some mutations arise after fertilisation 🧬, so early they can appear in both a parent’s body and their germ cells.
By analysing family trio genomes 👪, we built one of the largest catalogues of these “hidden” inherited variants yet.
tinyurl.com/mvns2ytv
Landscape of parental postzygotic mutations in >11,000 rare disease trios
Postzygotic mutations (PZMs) arising post-fertilisation, prior to primordial germ cell specification, may be subsequently inherited by both somatic and germ cells, causing somatic mosaicism in the par...
tinyurl.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:04 AM
New preprint from another part of my PhD! 📝👇
Some mutations arise after fertilisation 🧬, so early they can appear in both a parent’s body and their germ cells.
By analysing family trio genomes 👪, we built one of the largest catalogues of these “hidden” inherited variants yet.
tinyurl.com/mvns2ytv
Some mutations arise after fertilisation 🧬, so early they can appear in both a parent’s body and their germ cells.
By analysing family trio genomes 👪, we built one of the largest catalogues of these “hidden” inherited variants yet.
tinyurl.com/mvns2ytv
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Darwin alumna and President of the UK Space Trade Association Dr Alice Bunn will present the story of the International Space Station as it marks its 25th anniversary.
Out of This World: 25 Years of the ISS will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm on Saturday 1 Nov.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Out of This World: 25 Years of the ISS will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm on Saturday 1 Nov.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
October 30, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Darwin alumna and President of the UK Space Trade Association Dr Alice Bunn will present the story of the International Space Station as it marks its 25th anniversary.
Out of This World: 25 Years of the ISS will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm on Saturday 1 Nov.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Out of This World: 25 Years of the ISS will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm on Saturday 1 Nov.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
The tomb of Sir Edmund Goldyng and his wife Elizabeth Fleming (I bet it was his idea), in the grounds of St. Peter's Church, Drogheda.
This effigy dates from the 16th century. It is known as a ‘cadaver tomb’ and depicts the decomposing bodies in their burial shrouds.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Samhain
This effigy dates from the 16th century. It is known as a ‘cadaver tomb’ and depicts the decomposing bodies in their burial shrouds.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Samhain
October 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
The tomb of Sir Edmund Goldyng and his wife Elizabeth Fleming (I bet it was his idea), in the grounds of St. Peter's Church, Drogheda.
This effigy dates from the 16th century. It is known as a ‘cadaver tomb’ and depicts the decomposing bodies in their burial shrouds.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Samhain
This effigy dates from the 16th century. It is known as a ‘cadaver tomb’ and depicts the decomposing bodies in their burial shrouds.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm #Samhain
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Political scientist Charles "Bell Curve" Murray has at last found God, finding evidence for divinity in the existence of consciousness and terminal lucidity: phenomena that we don't (yet) understood. Steve Pinker and Michael Shermer criticize Murray's latest contentions.
bit.ly/4huVCFr
bit.ly/4huVCFr
October 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Political scientist Charles "Bell Curve" Murray has at last found God, finding evidence for divinity in the existence of consciousness and terminal lucidity: phenomena that we don't (yet) understood. Steve Pinker and Michael Shermer criticize Murray's latest contentions.
bit.ly/4huVCFr
bit.ly/4huVCFr
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
New podcast, in which I explain why the Battle of Hastings doesn't feature in my new book on eleventh-century Europe 💅
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/1...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/1...
11th-century Europe: not just the Norman Conquest
Podcast Episode · History Extra podcast · 21/10/2025 · 32m
podcasts.apple.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:12 AM
New podcast, in which I explain why the Battle of Hastings doesn't feature in my new book on eleventh-century Europe 💅
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/1...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/1...
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
Let's talk about the grotesque Führerprinzip sweeping Republican institutions. With receipts.
This is one of my favorite documents from the Reagan Library: a White Paper prepared for him that led up to one of the ideas he was most impassioned about, a "North American Free Trade Area."... 1/x
This is one of my favorite documents from the Reagan Library: a White Paper prepared for him that led up to one of the ideas he was most impassioned about, a "North American Free Trade Area."... 1/x
October 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Let's talk about the grotesque Führerprinzip sweeping Republican institutions. With receipts.
This is one of my favorite documents from the Reagan Library: a White Paper prepared for him that led up to one of the ideas he was most impassioned about, a "North American Free Trade Area."... 1/x
This is one of my favorite documents from the Reagan Library: a White Paper prepared for him that led up to one of the ideas he was most impassioned about, a "North American Free Trade Area."... 1/x
Reposted by Aylwyn Scally
It was a pleasure for the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta to host a visit from the Ambassador of Ireland to Malta, Caroline Whelan.
October 23, 2025 at 2:17 PM
It was a pleasure for the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta to host a visit from the Ambassador of Ireland to Malta, Caroline Whelan.