Two stages of evolution... Grant Kinsler Gavin Sherlock Dmitri Petrov use #ExperimentalEvolution in yeast to show that while 1st-step mutants appear pleiotropic in nature, 2nd-step mutations show a shift towards modular adaptation #PLOSBiology plos.io/4glXoXJ

I checked out one of these cited papers at random, and the abstract reads like a textbook example of GPT-isms. "by delving deeper into this multifaceted and intricate phenomenon..."

I read Parable of the Sower over break. Brilliant book, but wild to see this come full circle in such short order

When I'm writing a grant, first thing I do when I wake up is read the whole draft, top to bottom. Morning brain is by far the most attentive and capable of reading it like my referees will (i.e., seeing it with fresh eyes, not taking the shortcut of filling in the details).

Goats are like “wtf?! This is Atlanta!”

Fun discussion, thanks Jitender Dublad!

New major paper from our lab: nature.com/articles/s4158… Interested in learning more? Come read about it at BlueSky, the new home of science twitter. Deep dive here: bsky.app/profile/wcratc… Huge thanks to NIH and HFSP for supporting this work!

Great to see the impressive work of my colleagues Will Ratcliff James T. Stroud and others to understand the evolution of multicellular life featured on the cover of nature

Here's my interview with Steven Strogatz on Quanta Magazine's Joy of Why podcast. This was *so much fun*. I was nervous going into it (I really look up to Steve!), but I had a blast and I think this is the best interview I've ever done. Thanks for having me on, folks!

Scientists, is it even worth the effort to post here anymore? For comparison, my twitter post about two recent big papers got a whopping 5 likes. My post at the other place got a lot of community engagement. Either the community here is dead, or algo attention is pay to play.

Exciting news! Will Ratcliff and I published an essay last week in nature reviewing the substantial contributions of 'long-term' studies to evolutionary biology nature.com/articles/s4158… 1/n

When you're the size of a pencil tip, water can feel as viscous as jelly. To get out of this jam, unicellular stentors team up to vacuum in more prey. These 'Family Style' meals may have been a key early step towards multicellularity Latest for The New York Times: nytimes.com/2025/03/31/sci…