I am honored to have been selected for the Genetics Society of America Medal--thanks to the @GeneticsGSA for all that you do to advance science. I dedicate this award to all of my mentees and collaborators without whom none of the discoveries would have been made!.

Note Discussion is at 10 not 9 even though says so on course scheduler (we are correcting it!).

Calling all @UCBerkeley undergrads! Professor Nicole King and I are teaching MCELLBI 143: “Evolution of Genomes, Cells, and Development” this Fall (Tu/Th 11am-12:30 with Fr 9-10am Discussion). On Fridays we discuss papers and tour places like the UC Paleontology Museum.

RT @jennfrey: University of Tulsa students have started a petition to save their Honors College and have asked me to share with my follower….

RT @jennfrey: I wrote about the lack of administrative support for the liberal arts in @nytimes. The standard story we hear is that student….

RT @GeneticsGSA: GSA Medal recipient @NKWhiteman describes his scientific journey into the world of herbivorous insects and their host plan….

Celebrating a Notice of Award for our genetics training grant (!) and my first barber 💈 cut since 2019…🤗

3. We think is first Or in Dmel known to be sensitive to volatile isothiocyanates, although there must be others.

2. The mustard feeing Scaptomyza have an expanded repertoire that detect a far more diverse array of isothiocyanates (e.g. wasabi). Site-directed mutagenesis and in vivo electrophysiology reveal a few AA subs can toggle the tuning if the Ors to the ancestral vs derived ligands….

Pleased this paper led by @TeruyukiMatsun1 at University of Tokyo (former postdoc) and in collaboration with many colleagues is out @official-smbe.bsky.social MBE: Or42a is an isothiocyanate sensor and can drive aversion to ITCs:

RT @GeneticsGSA: TODAY🚨 Join us at 2pm EDT to hear from 2025 GSA Medal recipient @NKWhiteman. In this lecture, Whiteman explores how animal….

Please join us on Thursday (sign up below).

RT @GeneticsGSA: New research in #GENETICS provides new insights into the origin and early evolution of de novo genes by leveraging large-s….

Sorry UC wide faculty.

Six heroic UC Berkeley faculty are suing the Executive Branch for violating their constitutional rights to due process and other fundamental freedoms after their research funding was terminated (a class action bound to be joined by many more colleagues):

On beautiful Tomales Bay for the annual Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, a true gem of Berkeley. I had the privilege of being a Miller Professor and have been introduced to new concepts in physics, math, astronomy, quantum computing, physics, & immunology.

Thanks Sophien, I had a great time. ALSO I learned that Sophien wrote THIS with Saskia Hogenhout, which documented the FASTEST land animal. a tiger beetle.

Excited to share this piece I wrote for @AsimovPress with all of you on how evolutionary solutions to defense and counter-defense in the form of toxic proteins and peptides have been and could been co-opted by us as new drugs.

RT @AsimovPress: Nature is a pharmaceutical innovator. Ziconotide, derived from cone snail venom, treats chronic pain better than opioids.….

Proud of new Dr. Rebecca Tarnopol @trnpl, my 10th (!) PhD student, who gave a spectacular finishing talk (on the role of HGT in the evolution of novelty in animals) today @UCBerkeley. Her proud parents and siblings attended. She said my lab was the “Talmudic” lab. : )

Consider submitting reports of new genome assemblies to G3 (Genome Reports). I am Senior Editor and we provide robust, rapid peer reviews. OA manuscript charges are ~$2400 for GSA members & waived for those from lower income countries @GeneticsGSA.