Authors James O McInerney, Fiona J Whelan, Maria Rosa Domingo-Sananes, Alan McNally, Mary J O’Connell. The evolution and structure of prokaryotic genomes are largely shaped by horizontal gene transfer. This process is so prevalent that DNA can be seen as a public good—a resource that is shared across individuals, populations, and species. The consequence is […]
Read MoreFor some time, it has become apparent that many evolving entities (genes, cells, viruses, plasmids, genomes, etc.) are mosaic. That is to say, we cannot describe their evolutionary history without telling more than one story about it. Genes can be chimaeric and indeed, it is arguable that it is almost impossible for them not to […]
Read Morepost-doc applicants wanted We are looking for post-doctoral applicants for the upcoming IRCSET grant deadline. The name of the programme is EMPOWER and it is aimed at relatively early-stage postodoctoral applicants. Here is some of the information form the website: EMPOWER: Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowships in Science, Engineering and Technology IRCSET will continue to […]
Read MoreToday the Irish Independent ran a nice report on Davide Pisani’s recent publication on the phylogenetic position of Tardigrades. The work is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Here’s the link.
Read MoreGoods-thinking versus Tree-thinking In the famous Monty Python “Dead Parrot” sketch, John Cleese returns to a pet shop where he has just bought a parrot and asks for his money back. The reason being that the parrot is in fact dead. This seems to be a not unreasonable request on the part of the purchaser […]
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