Angus Davison
Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at University of Nottingham. Evolution and genetics/genomics of colour and left-right asymmetry (chirality) in snails. Hand-model for snails - available for hire. Mostly posting at @snailman@ecoevo.social
- I need to insure a snail shell - the remains of "Jeremy the shellebrity snail" - for international travel. It is going to be the centrepoint of Netherlands museum exhibit! But what value do I put on a one in million snail?! #snail #snaillove
- Reporting back from the frontline of the 59th iteration of PopGroup conference in Lille, only the 2nd ever outside the UK. With a free bar stocked with local bar, excellent frites for the poster session and top quality food, why would we ever hold it anywhere again?! 😁 #pgg59 #popgroup59 #conference
- "With free bar stocked with local beer" I think I meant 🍺
- Reposted by Angus DavisonI've been sitting on this for over a month...but given how cross I am with @royalsociety.org at their ongoing inaction over #Elon #Musk I thought I'd share this. They invited me to serve on their Public Engagement Committee; I could have been more eloquent, but I had to give a firm "no"...
- Why the @royalsociety.org want to be tethered to this sinking ship is beyond me ☹️
- Reposted by Angus DavisonAnd if you want a list of the reasons that have been given for keeping Musk as FRS, there's this piece deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/02/seve...
- Reposted by Angus Davison🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨 Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social - employment benefits - 4 years funding - 1000% fun Deadline: 14/1/2026 Details: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonAccurate Runs of Homozygosity Estimation From Low Coverage Genome Sequences in Non-Model Species #popgen #consgen doi.org/10.1111/1755...
- Reposted by Angus Davison🚨Two funded PhDs on the evolutionary ecology of antipredator colouration 🦋 with myself and Iliana Medina. One in Swansea tinyurl.com/4thtbph6 deadline Jan 12th @crocus-dla.bsky.social The other in Melbourne - deadline Jan 1st Please share among potential students!
- Reposted by Angus DavisonIn time for the festive season, my latest paper charts the 25 million year story of how mistletoe and songbirds somersaulted across the Americas, diversifying as they went. Strap in for an epic ecological tale #MistletoeMunchersFromWayBack 1/12 nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
- Reposted by Angus Davison"Rediscovery of the greater chestnut #weevil highlights the power of digital platforms in biodiversity research and conservation" spkl.io/63326Ad07u @Michael A. Charles & colleagues @currentbiology.bsky.social
- Two days of demos and inspirational speeches outside Trent building - while university council decide our future but without our consultation, or consideration of the local and East Midlands community. #UoN promotes #WeAreUoN hashtag but does not listen. #University #eastmidlands @ucu.org.uk
- Reposted by Angus DavisonI wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
- BREAKING The University of Nottingham has decided to lead the way in being the first 🥇 Russell group university to NOT do modern languages. Music is also gone! 🗡️ Apparently, neither are necessary for a world "top 100" university with charitable status. ENDS #UoN #Russell @ucu.org.uk #UCU
- Reposted by Angus DavisonJoin us! 🧬🪰🎉🔬 We are currently advertising two #PhD projects to study the #evolution, #development and #genomics of sexual traits in stalk-eyed flies. Deadline for applying is Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Get in touch for more info!
- Reposted by Angus DavisonRight. Hitler's DNA. Brace yourselves for a deluge of misinformation and bad science. I'm in Australia, so do get in touch if you want some expert debunking.
- The world needs more Polymita 🐌 This one is Polymita sulpurosa, superb pic by Julio Larramendi. We now have a genome sequence! 🌝 #snails #polymita
- Bizarre story, an elaborate mollusc based tax avoidance scheme! www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball... #molluscs #snails/ #taxavoidance
- Problems and progress in getting molluscan 🐌 genome assemblies, new paper out. Although the publication was much delayed, we recently redid the analysis, finding that actually not much ahs improved 😔 academic.oup.com/mollus/artic... 🧬 & 🖥️ #genomics #snails #molluscs
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- Reposted by Angus DavisonWe are still interested in any found twite feathers for a study on the relationships and genetic diversity between the British groups - particularly now for birds of Scottish origin in the NE of England or, birds on the Avon. DM me for me more info. #birdringing
- Reposted by Angus DavisonTalk about an in-flight meal. For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: scim.ag/3Jqldmn
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- Reposted by Angus DavisonExciting news! The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris. This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics. More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk See you there !
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- Reposted by Angus DavisonI get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)
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- Reposted by Angus DavisonCheck out this awesome study from my phenomenally talented colleague @accorsi-alice.bsky.social ! Apple snails can regrow their eyes! How do they do this? 👀 Read below ⬇️ to find out more! #regeneration
- Snails with human-like eyes?! Published in @natcomms.nature.com, the @planaria1.bsky.social & @accorsi-alice.bsky.social Labs have established apple snails as a novel model for studying vision restoration. They have complex camera-type eyes & the ability to regrow them in 28 days: bit.ly/4mvaxkq
- Reposted by Angus DavisonEvolution’s eye game is wild, but mollusks take it to another level CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess It turns out Evolution doesn’t just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates rdcu.be/ezw0t
- Reposted by Angus Davison🐌👀What do apple snails have to do with human vision? Stowers scientists took a chance on a tiny creature, with big results. Learn how @planaria1.bsky.social & then postdoc @accorsi-alice.bsky.social brought apple snails to the Institute. ⬇️ #ResearchSky #SciSky Learn more: youtu.be/U-yQ7z1e6nA
- Reposted by Angus DavisonSnails with human-like eyes?! Published in @natcomms.nature.com, the @planaria1.bsky.social & @accorsi-alice.bsky.social Labs have established apple snails as a novel model for studying vision restoration. They have complex camera-type eyes & the ability to regrow them in 28 days: bit.ly/4mvaxkq
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- Turned my Cuban adventures back in March into "breaking news", snail-bombing the whole of the BBC and beyond 🤔😄. 1/3 www.bbc.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonBiologist folk (especially in evolutionary biology and/or ecology, but it don’t matter): Can you give me your favorite examples of trade offs in biology? Organism or system don’t matter. Primary literature or reviews preferred.
- For snail Friday, new image of Polymita picta from Tetas de Santa*, Cuba #cuba #snail #snailfriday #alliterationfail #polymita *try translating that 😭, I am going with Santa's tits although that might not be exactly correct
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- Reposted by Angus Davison🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com! We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments www.nature.com/articles/s41... This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
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- Very excited and delighted for new paper by my #UoN colleague Tom Reader, exploring the mechanisms behind Batesian mimicry using 3D printed insects: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... There's a N&V, a podcast and a blog to accompany it! #mimicry #batesian #UoN #hoverfly #wasp
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- I have been asked to review a paper for a Royal Society journal. Feeling conflicted about whether I should accept, because of their poor stance re Elon Musk. Not reviewing the paper would mainly hurt the authors. Opinions anyone? #RoyalSociety #Musk
- Garden snails 🐌 try to stab each other with 'love darts' prior to mating. We finally got it on video! We could hear a 'ding' as the dart pierced through the body and hit the glass on the other side. Ouch! #snails #lovedarts #bbcspringwatch #UoN
- Our snails 🐌 featured on #BBCSpringwatch last night. A lot of work for five minutes of film - but quite pleased overall. Mostly shot in studio in Life Sciences, rest on campus. bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002 (14 minutes into program, UK only or VPN) instagram.com/reel/DK0DmMntmMZ #BBC #snails #UoN
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- Snails seeking a nicotine high 🚬, after recent rain #snails #recycling 🚬🐌🚬
- Reposted by Angus Davison*Copy one of Boris Johnson's stupidest and most self-destructive policies. *Ignore the massive wave of public fury it ignited. *Smear and attack anyone warning that it might not be a great idea. In this week's column I ask what the hell Keir Starmer is playing at. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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- Probably the most complete snail genome yet, a chromosome-Level assembly for the aptly-named, invasive 'Asian Tramp Snail' Bradybaena similaris. This particular one was not difficult - but it has been a long road to get to this point. #genomics #snails #HiFi #PacBio academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonNew genomic & genetic insights into Mendel’s pea genes, including previously uncharacterised alleles 159 years after Mendel published his work, this is a real delight (especially for a geneticist) 🧪 @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonWell written and sobering take-down of the blue origin flight. Worth a read. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonAwesome new paper by @lucalivraghi.bsky.social et al. doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... in @currentbiology.bsky.social on the evo-devo of a butterfly color variation enjoy the show!
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- Reposted by Angus DavisonStriking new study from @archaeon-alex.bsky.social's lab just out in @science.org on multicellular development induced by compression in Archaea: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Angus DavisonSketch, capture and layout phylogenies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧬🖥️🧪 github.com/husonlab/phy...
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