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A close-up of a hand holding a clear plastic container filled with muddy water and several large, segmented, worm-like organisms. The container appears to be covered in mud both inside and around the edges. The worms are light brown in color and vary in size.

Graduate Student Sheds Light on Ancient Worms as Early Ecosystem Engineers

Sep. 10, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Graduate student Kat Turk from ��ԭ��’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, along with an international team of collaborators, has uncovered new evidence that ancient priapulid worms, through their burrowing behavior, may have been some of the earliest ecosystem engineers. The study, “Priapulid neoichnology, ecosystem engineering, and...

A cartoon of an anthropomorphized cyanobacterium with a smooth green skin layer, enjoying a sunny summer day while lying on a beach chair. The cyanobacterium has a happy expression and is thinking about snow falling from a cloud, with a snowy landscape in the background.

Researchers Discover the Evolution of Seasonal Anticipation in Cyanobacteria

Sep. 6, 2024—By Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Being able to correlate changes in day length with seasonal weather patterns is crucial for many organisms to adapt to their environments. Trees shed their leaves, arctic foxes grow thicker coats, and bears prepare for hibernation. But what about smaller, short-lived organisms? New research led by BBSRC Discovery...

A historical museum exhibit featuring a large fossilized skeleton of a prehistoric animal mounted vertically on a wooden support, with its ribcage and skull prominently displayed. In the foreground, there is a large tusk and skull of a mastodon. Multiple glass display cases filled with various fossils and geological specimens are arranged around the room. The room has tall windows with arched tops, a wooden ceiling with exposed beams, and framed pictures hanging on the walls.

Rediscovering the Lost Plesiosaur (Cast): Restoring ��ԭ��’s Natural History Museum

Aug. 27, 2024—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator Embarking on a new research project often brings unexpected discoveries—some intriguing, some novel, but rarely a find of a lifetime. Such a remarkable discovery occurred when university archivist and associate director Kathy Smith stumbled upon a pile of plaster, hidden away for 60 years in a dim, cluttered...

Visual representation of the Bortle scale showing varying levels of light pollution, from an 'Excellent Dark Sky Site' with a clear view of the Milky Way to a 'City/Inner City Sky' with bright lights from an urban skyline, illustrating the gradient of light pollution from rural to urban areas.

VU Graduate Student Uses Satellites to Provide Critical ALAN Data for Public Policy

Aug. 9, 2024—By: Alexandria Leeper, Evolutionary Studies Graduate Communications Assistant Imagine you are trying to stargaze. You live in a suburban area where there are little streetlamps, and the darkness of the night envelops most of the sky, making the stars visible. However, you are adjacent to a major city. When you turn your gaze towards that...

A young man wearing glasses is seated at a desk, working on a computer. He is typing on a keyboard and looking at the code displayed on the monitor. The desk has shelves with various items, including a framed certificate, a potted plant, and some personal belongings. Another laptop is open on the desk, displaying a different screen.

Analyzing Evolutionary Trade-Offs in Immune Systems: Computational Biology with Reese Martin

Jul. 22, 2024—By Nick McCoy, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant Reese Martin has always been drawn to biology and exploring the behaviors of different organisms. During his childhood, he dug in anthills, and now he observes the life history traits of flower beetles and other taxa. Martin’s new first-author paper, “Pleiotropy Alleviates the Fitness Costs Associated With...

"Two scientists wearing full-body protective suits, gloves, masks, and hair coverings, standing in a laboratory. One has 'Katie' written on their suit and is wearing green Crocs, while the other has 'Jada' written on their suit and is wearing green shoe covers. They are standing next to laboratory equipment, including a fume hood labeled 'AirClean 600' and various lab supplies." alt text generated by ChatGPT

VU Graduate Student Explores Ancient Oral Microbiomes

Jun. 24, 2024—By Neomi Chen, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant As Katie McCormack meticulously extracted calcified dental plaque from ancient Peruvian teeth, she felt the weight of centuries of history in her hands. This intricate work, part of her groundbreaking research in the Jada Benn Torres Lab, aims to unravel the secrets of ancient oral health. With...

Marie-Claire Harrison sitting on a couch smiling

Graduate Student Uncovers New Galactose Assimilation Pathway

Apr. 26, 2024—By: Andy Flick Evolutionary Studies Scientific Coordinator Not to be outdone by her significant contributions to a study that appeared in April 25’s Science magazine, Marie-Claire Harrison, a graduate student in the Rokas Lab, published a first-author article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the very next day titled “Machine learning...

Neil Kelley in the field with mountains in the distance

Unveiling Evolutionary Transitions: ��ԭ�� Professor Explores Triassic Mammals’ Adaptations to Changing Environments

Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Communications Assistant ��ԭ�� professor Neil Kelley assisted in a study which characterized the evolutionary response of 250-million-year-old (Triassic) mammals to habitat transitions. Their work was published August 2023 in the Swiss Journal of Paleontology, and it explores how similar mammals can react differently to the same environmental challenges. Kelley finds...

Kat in the field standing in front of some tents and smiling

��ԭ�� Graduate Student is Getting to the Bottom of Worm Burrows

Apr. 26, 2024—By: Sarah Ward, Evolutionary Studies Graduate Communications Assistant ��ԭ�� graduate student Katherine Turk and colleagues found that worm burrowing behaviors could have emerged earlier in earth’s history than was previously thought. Her work Archaeichnium haughtoni: a robust burrow lining from the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition of Namibia was published this January 2024 in Papers in Paleontology, and...

A group of 5 yeasts showcasing their diversity of forms

��ԭ�� Researchers Flip the Script on Yeast Ecological Diversity

Apr. 25, 2024—By: Andy Flick, Evolutionary Studies scientific coordinator A mere decade or two ago, decoding the genome of every organism in a major branch of the tree of life and deciphering their diets was a pipedream. In a groundbreaking study, a team of researchers from ��ԭ��, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and other institutions worldwide have...

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