the evolutionary history of genes and species, building phylogenetic trees of life
the contrasting roles of horizontal gene transfer and introgression in shaping evolution
the biology of symbioses, especially symbioses between eukaryotes and bacteria, and between parasites and their hosts
the processes that drive the evolution of pattern in the structure of chromosomes
the diversity of meiofauna, particularly tardigrades, nematodes and other Ecdysozoa
the genomics of extremophilia

More at https://www.sanger.ac.uk/group/blaxter-group/

Our research centres on the use of genetics/genomics and phenotypic studies to address complex questions in the ecology, epidemiology and evolution of microbes. Our most recent interest focuses upon comparative genome analysis to describe the core and flexible genome of pathogenic bacteria (Campylobacter, Acinetobacter, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus suis) and how this is related to population genetic structuring, the maintenance of species, and the evolution of host/niche adaptation and virulence.

More at https://sheppardlab.com/research/

About 8,000 years ago, the gene EGLN1 changed by a single DNA base pair. Today, a relatively short time later on the scale of human history, 88 percent of Tibetans have the genetic variation, and it was virtually absent from closely related lowland Asians. The findings indicate the genetic variation endows its carriers with an advantage.

In those without the adaptation, low oxygen caused their blood to become thick with oxygen-carrying red blood cells, an attempt to feed starved tissues, which could cause long-term complications such as heart failure. The researchers found that the newly identified genetic variation protected Tibetans by decreasing the over-response to low oxygen.

Reference: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v512/n7513/abs/nature13408.html

The bones sat quietly in a fossil collection for years. One was part of a femur; the other, a tibia. They looked like the remains of an unusually large ancient human. But who did they belong to?

The answer came from an unexpected source: ancient proteins.

Using palaeoproteomic analysis, researchers found a molecular signature in both bones that matches the Denisovan lineage. The discovery identifies the two Penghu fossils as Denisovan and, more importantly, gives scientists their first substantial glimpse of the Denisovans' body size.

And the picture is striking.

One individual is estimated to have been about 1.8 metres tall and weighed around 83 kilograms. The other may have reached 1.9 metres and about 91 kilograms. Their leg bones rank among the largest known from Pleistocene Homo.

These were not small or fragile people.

They were powerful, heavily built humans moving through Ice Age eastern Asia.

But the bones tell an even more intriguing story. The femur has a pronounced ridge called a femoral pilaster—a feature particularly associated with modern human hunter-gatherers and increased mechanical strength during terrestrial movement. Why would a Denisovan, with an otherwise strongly archaic skeleton, possess this modern-looking feature?

Perhaps these Denisovans travelled extensively across the landscape. Perhaps their bodies were shaped by a demanding hunting lifestyle. Or perhaps, the researchers suggest, genetic exchange with early modern humans contributed to some of these features.

Their extraordinary size raises another mystery. A common expectation in human evolution is that populations living closer to the tropics tend to be smaller. Yet these Denisovans lived around 23°N latitude and were exceptionally large. The researchers argue that cold climate alone cannot explain their size, pointing instead toward lifestyle and diet—including evidence that at least one Penghu individual relied heavily on meat.

So, piece by piece, the Denisovans are becoming less mysterious.

What was once a shadowy population known mainly from DNA is beginning to take physical form: large, robust, mobile humans who lived across eastern Asia and whose bodies carried a fascinating mixture of ancient and modern traits.

And perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is where it began—not in a spectacular cave discovery, but with two weathered bones lying among thousands of fossils.

The Denisovans may have left no written history. But their bones are beginning to tell one.

*Note: This research is currently a bioRxiv preprint and has not yet undergone peer review.  Detail at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.07.743438v1.full.pdf

Research Directions

Stony corals: evolution of novelty and photosymbiosis

Symbiotic acoels: cell type evolution and photosymbiosis

Animal genomes: structural evolution and gene regulation

https://sgel.biodiv.tw/home

More @ http://www.ncbs.res.in/sowdhamini/groups_sowdhamini.htm

Address of the bookmark: https://sourceforge.net/projects/mimicree2/

Daniel A Dalquen, Maria Anisimova, Gaston H Gonnet, Christophe Dessimoz: ALF - A Simulation Framework for Genome Evolution. Mol Biol Evol, 29(4):1115-1123, April 2012.
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/4/1115

Address of the bookmark: http://alfsim.org/#index

Finally, I find the underlying R code in a file created by GrapheR. For more details read also the package vignette, which is available in English, French and German!

Applications are invited to an all-expenses paid position at a 5-day
"IdeasLab"* workshop to be held near Prague CZ in June 2022. Thirty
successful applicants will be drawn in equal number from the relevant
sectors biological evolution, A-Life anbd theoretical physics. The week's
activities will lead these thirty to form interdisciplinary teams which
each propose how they can advance frontiers of abiogenesis research. Up to
$5 million total funding will be available for developing these ideas
produced by the week's activities. Further details of the event,
including the online application form, are found at the link posted above