Max Brown 🌱

This is insane. A species of Asteraceae (Heterosperma pinnatum) changes what kind of seeds it produces according to local growing conditions. If conditions are lousy, seeds with wind-dispersal structures are produced so the next generation can get the hell out of there.

It's #FungusFriday and our Observation of the Day is this pin #mold in the genus Pilobolus, seen in #NewZealand by jaylichter! More details at: inaturalist.org/observations/2… #mycology #nature #biodiversity

Our telomere identification toolkit is finally published: academic.oup.com/bioinformatics… Our tool predicts short canonical telomeric repeats well, and if it doesn’t, it indicates odd telomere structure. Check it out!

Bluesky is pretty amazing, so I’m over there mostly. Same name!

Thanks @popgroup for a wonderful conference, feeling very inspired ☺️

Last chance to apply for our fully funded PhD (thanks @CamPhilSoc), welcome to *all students* on somatic evolution in plants. Come and work with me @ARU_Biology and Alex @ATJCagan @GeneticsCam Deadline tomorrow midnight! findaphd.com/phds/project/s…

This is getting exciting. Over 20 abstracts submitted. The committee will be looking at them next week. Looking forward to these discussions. There is still time to submit (due Monday 18th). Google form link: forms.gle/v5FJ21oLcJQokw…

Nice PhD opportunity with @Euphrasiologist @AngliaRuskin @cambridge_uni deadline November 22nd, shorturl.at/FZOcw

Looking for a PhD project to use evo-devo approaches with exciting floral traits, in a busy, friendly research group? Check out our projects for October 2025 entry at plantsci.cam.ac.uk/research/group…

Still time to apply with me and @ATJCagan to study somatic mutations in plants! Fully funded PhD opportunity, open to *all* students, domestic or international. findaphd.com/phds/project/s…

Amidst all its challenges, #Pakistan successfully eliminated #Trachoma

We are advertising for a PhD! Come and work with me @ARU_Biology and @ATJCagan at the @GeneticsCam on somatic mutations in plants. More info here: findaphd.com/phds/project/s… Please apply through findaphd. Looking forward to seeing the applications :)

A wonderful photo. An incredible nature spectacle is taking place right now. A mass movement of insects across Europe. Resulting in massive numbers of this massive moth reaching our shores. Pure magic!

Observable Plot 0.6.16 🆕 is out! Adds a waffle 🧇 mark, tips for the geo mark, more support for GeoJSON & Apache Arrow data, more options for rounded corners, and a bunch of other improvements and bug fixes.

Jiff is a new datetime library for Rust! github.com/BurntSushi/jiff

How the Tulip Breaking Virus Creates Striped Tulips biorxiv.org/content/10.110… #plantscience ♻️

Just two days left to apply - don't miss out!

Time for a new mind-bending project! #QLOCK — A JavaScript Quine Clock aem1k.com/qlock It displays the current time in a seven-segment style, embedded within its own JavaScript source code. 🕔 🕝 🕢 🕤 🕑 🕜 (321 bytes)

Just over a week left to apply for a PhD in somatic evolution in plants with me and @ATJCagan, collaborating with @ARU_Biology @GeneticsCam using @darwintreelife genomes. Be at the forefront of research in somatic mutations in plants! findaphd.com/phds/project/s…

Millipedes have rigid calcium impregnated exoskeletons & chemical defense glands on their segments. The bristly millipedes (subclass Penicillata) don't have either. They defend themselves w/ detachable bristles that can entangle ants #MillipedeMonday DOI 10.1073/pnas.93.20.10848