Postdoc News

Welsh Opabinia

Welsh “weird wonder” fossils add piece to puzzle of arthropod evolution

November 15, 2022

The most famous fossils from the Cambrian explosion of animal life over half a billion years ago are very unlike their modern counterparts. These “weird wonders,” such as the five-eyed Opabinia with its distinctive frontal proboscis, and the fearsome apex predator Anomalocaris with its radial mouthparts and spiny feeding appendages, have become icons in popular culture. However, they were only quite recently recognised as extinct stages of evolution that are crucial for understanding the origins of one of the largest and most important animal phyla,...

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Isobel Ronai

Isobel Ronai awarded 2022 Early Career Research and Leadership Award

November 10, 2022

Postdoctoral researcher Isobel Ronai (Extavour Lab) recipient of the 2022 Entomological Society of America (International Branch) Early Career Research and Leadership Award.

The award honors young professionals working within the field of entomology who have demonstrated innovation through contributions within any area of specialization (research, teaching, extension, product development, public service, etc.).

Green Anole by Nicholas Herrmann

Two Anolis lizard genomes reveals the complex structure and evolution of the squamate major histocompatibility

November 8, 2022

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC), an important genomic region for adaptive immunity, has been extensively studied in mammals and birds, but very little in squamate reptiles. 

In a study in Frontiers in Genetics researchers provide the first detailed characterization of the squamate MHC using the genomes of two anole species, the green anole (Anolis carolinensis) and the brown anole (Anolis sagrei), revealing the complexity of the...

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Mark Little

Mark Little awarded NSF PRFP Grant

October 1, 2022
Congratulations to postdoctoral fellow Mark Little (P Girguis) awarded National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for his proposal, "Viral-microbial founder effects, gene transfer, and adaptation on successional coral reefs."
Enrico Strocchi- Lisbon Oceanarium on Flickr

Comparing shark skin surface and biomimetic models

August 25, 2022

Many marine organisms have been an inspiration for the design of bioinspired robots and other structures. Shark skin is one such organism due to its role in reducing drag and enhancing thrust. Researchers believe these properties are due to the textured surface composed of ridges on the surface of individual tooth-like scales, called denticles. Understanding the desing of shark skin can assist in developing bioinspired materials to the hulls of both surface and underwater vehicles to reduce the energetic cost of moving through water.

Attempts to replicate the...

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Artistic reconstruction of the reptile adaptive radiation in a terrestrial ecosystem during the warmest period in Earth's history by Henry Sharpe

Global warming spawned the age of reptiles

August 19, 2022

Studying climate change-induced mass extinctions in the deep geological past allows researchers to explore the impact of environmental crises on organismal evolution. One principal example is the Permian-Triassic climatic crises, a series of climatic shifts driven by global warming that occurred between the Middle Permian (265 million years ago) and Middle Triassic (230 million years ago). These climatic shifts caused two of the largest mass extinctions in the history of life at the end of the Permian, the first at...

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Isobel Ronai

Isobel Roani awarded the American Australian Association Fellowship

June 15, 2022

Postdoctoral researcher Isobel Ronai (Extavour Lab) has been awarded the American Australian Association Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project, "How a highly invasive tick reproduces without mating."

The fellowship was established in 2002 to provide support to American and Australian individuals to study and research in each other's countries respectively.

 

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Rachel Harris selected to serve on the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group

Rachel Harris selected to serve on the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group

June 14, 2022

Postdoctoral Fellow, Rachel Harris (Girguis Lab) has been selected as one of 16 scientists to serve on the NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) Mars Sample Return Campaign Science Group

The 16 scientists, from the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan, will function as a science resource for the campaign’s project teams as...

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Leeches floating in ethanol in vial

Researchers use leeches to map biodiversity

April 6, 2022

Researchers in Professor Naomi Pierce's lab teamed with researchers at the Kunming Institute, China, in a new study that used DNA samples extracted from the blood meals of leeches to map which animals live where in the Ailaoshan Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. The study, published in Nature Communications, showed that the DNA samples can be used to find out which wild animals are present across large, protected areas such as national parks...

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Henry-Tuatara Southland by Larry Koester on flickr.com

New study shows modern tuatara are little changed from 190 million year old ancestors

March 6, 2022

The modern tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) found in New Zealand may look like a lizard, but it is actually the last remnant of a mysterious and ancient order of reptiles known as the Rhynchocephalians, which peaked in the Jurassic period and then mostly vanished from the fossil record. These odd creatures with jaws that slide back and forth and a third eye on the top of their heads can live for more than a century, and they prefer a chilly climate.

The decline following the Jurassic period created a patchy fossil record making it difficult for researchers to fully study...

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