Adria LeBoeuf
@adriatica
I study #socialfluids. Ponderer of the #behavior of myself & other organisms. #SocialInsects / #DistributedMetabolism / #CollectiveBehavior / #CompBio Assoc. Prof @ University of Cambridge; previously Fribourg, Weizmann, Lausanne, Rockefeller, UCSB.
Diego Cortez on the weird Y chromosomes of lizards: a ribosomal protein is the sex determining factor (!) #SMBE2026 also, excellent thank you slide.
Beautiful talk by Jule Drewalowski on the magic of the syngnathiformes and the amazing genomic dataset Josefin Stiller’s group have produced. #SMBE2026
Excellent dive into the bizarre world of turtles and how they completely reworked their bodyplan through gene loss by @leonhilgers.bsky.social #SMBE2026 Especially great detective work on the genes of interest!
Wow, amazing talk by Aryeh Miller on the repeatability of evolution in anoles! #SMBE2026
Great talk @arthurmatte.bsky.social #SMBE2026 on the evolution of sperm. If you are interested the preprint is here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Inspiring talk #SMBE2026 by @emmateeling.bsky.social ranging from phylogenetics, field biology, physiology of bats to reveal targets for human issues like longevity. Wonderful to see someone who had a vision and chased it with finesse and success!
Wise words about the ethics of being a scientist these days from @meauxjuliette.bsky.social #SMBE2026: “Don’t serve the system, serve the community.” Also, it is ok (and healthy!) to feel like an imposter; rather, finding others smarter is a blessing!
I am over the moon that my HFSP proposal w/ @joriskoene.bsky.social @stynoski.bsky.social @socialtransfernet.bsky.social has been funded! If you've heard my wild ravings on #socialfluids, commonalities across them and where this could lead, you see where we're going ❤️ Thank you @hfspo.bsky.social!
@patrick-kennedy.bsky.social talks about so many fun social evolution dramas at @iussi-nwes.bsky.social winter meeting #wasplove
@rmash.bsky.social from @ucl.ac.uk opening @iussi-nwes.bsky.social winter meeting in Leuven! #CareAsACapacitor
I went as an AI hallucination this year. I actually felt very dated because I was trying to get the LLMs to build the messed up text characteristic of a year or so ago and they won’t do it anymore!
Very neat talk by @kaksonen.bsky.social on collective behavior in Fonticula alba, a different kind of social amoeba! #ESEB2025
Fun and valiant talk by Dylan Thatcher about theory of larval altruism through #socialfluids in #wasps #ESEB2025 #wasplove
Amazing talk by @jennyperry.bsky.social bringing together signalling theory and socially transferred materials. Keep your eyes peeled for the eventual paper with @steveramm.bsky.social @elvarobinson.bsky.social and myself #ESEB2025 @socialtransfernet.bsky.social
Continuing the S08 session on socially transferred materials, Axel Wiberg talks about sexually antagonistic #coevolution in populations of Drosophila #ESEB2025
Super cool talk by Garcia-Lozano from @hassansalem.bsky.social lab on yellow aiding transmission of their Stammera symbiont. Exciting implications for insects and their friends! #ESEB2025
@berasymbionts.bsky.social speaking about socially transferred materials and her amazing beetles and fungal symbiont transfer opening the @socialtransfernet.bsky.social symposium at #ESEB2025
@arthurmatte.bsky.social describes the molecular evolution during the rise of #socialfluids #ESEB2025 @socialtransfernet.bsky.social @socialfluids.bsky.social
Ellie Bladon tells us about #plasticity in metabolic division of labour during #parentalcare #socialfluids @socialtransfernet.bsky.social #ESEB2025
@joriskoene.bsky.social of the @socialtransfernet.bsky.social talking about his amazing snail system of simultaneous hermaphroditism #socialfluids
Wow! Just read a super fun kids book with my daughter about going on an expedition to find giant squid! Well done @dannastaaf.bsky.social and @sarahmackattack.bsky.social ! Such a treat to see your names. I want MOAR like this.
I’m speaking today at @camzoology.bsky.social International Women’s Day celebration. Come listen to the amazing research stories from my fellow #womeninscience!
This paper shows how the combination of ecological opportunism and reduced social conflict can spark social innovations, offering broader insights into the evolution of complex social systems. (incredible trophallaxis photos by François Brassard)
The evolution of trophallaxis enabled ants to develop larger colonies and it accelerated net diversification, paralleling how resource sharing drove other major evolutionary innovations like the emergence of complex multicellular life.
Using Bayesian neural networks and evolutionary modelling, we show that trophallaxis evolved twice in ants: 130 million years ago when flowering plants became more abundant and ants began harvesting sugary liquids from plants and their insect partners, and again in others ~90 million years ago.
How do complex social behaviors evolve and shape species' success? Here doi.org/10.1038/s420... we reveal how a key social behavior in ants - mouth-to-mouth food sharing #trophallaxis - emerged as ants opportunistically exploited new ecological niches as terrestrial environments changed.
Thanks so much to the Lorentz Center and everyone that came for the #sociallytransferredmaterials meeting. It was great fun working with you all. I can’t wait to see the outputs of this meeting. Hint: #principles of #milkcus during #globalchange 😉