Rafael D. Acemel
@rdacemel.bsky.social
RyC researcher at Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo (Sevilla/Spain). Trying to apply genomics to understand things about gene regulation and Evo-Devo.
Pinned
www.biorxiv.org
New preprint!! 🚨 Did you know that many vertebrate species determine sex based on environmental conditions rather than chromosomes? Some turtles, like Trachemys scripta, rely on temperature. We learned more about how this happen molecularly.👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?
Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n
Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n
A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...
www.science.org
February 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?
Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n
Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
1/n
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Para el turno de tarde: Preocupación por las expectativas creadas por Barbacid sobre el cáncer de páncreas: “El anuncio se ha salido de madre” www.eldiario.es/1_c5dac3?utm...
Preocupación por las expectativas creadas por Barbacid sobre el cáncer de páncreas: “El anuncio se ha salido de madre”
Varios centros de investigación están recibiendo una avalancha de peticiones tras un anuncio que, según muchos especialistas, ha sido mal comunicado: ni Barbacid ha encontrado la cura del cáncer de pá...
www.eldiario.es
February 6, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Para el turno de tarde: Preocupación por las expectativas creadas por Barbacid sobre el cáncer de páncreas: “El anuncio se ha salido de madre” www.eldiario.es/1_c5dac3?utm...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
And finally, we have It out! Do not miss It, If you are into early eye development, GRNs, and eye malformations. Thanks to Javier Macho and the rest of the authors for a terrific job.
February 2, 2026 at 8:23 PM
And finally, we have It out! Do not miss It, If you are into early eye development, GRNs, and eye malformations. Thanks to Javier Macho and the rest of the authors for a terrific job.
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
🚨 1/ Preprint Alert!
Sex determination outcome is conserved across vertebrates (i.e. generating 2 compatible sexes) ♀️♂️
But are the cell types and gene programs behind them conserved too? 🧬
Spoiler: not really 👀
Find out in our new preprint ⬇️
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Sex determination outcome is conserved across vertebrates (i.e. generating 2 compatible sexes) ♀️♂️
But are the cell types and gene programs behind them conserved too? 🧬
Spoiler: not really 👀
Find out in our new preprint ⬇️
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:02 AM
🚨 1/ Preprint Alert!
Sex determination outcome is conserved across vertebrates (i.e. generating 2 compatible sexes) ♀️♂️
But are the cell types and gene programs behind them conserved too? 🧬
Spoiler: not really 👀
Find out in our new preprint ⬇️
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Sex determination outcome is conserved across vertebrates (i.e. generating 2 compatible sexes) ♀️♂️
But are the cell types and gene programs behind them conserved too? 🧬
Spoiler: not really 👀
Find out in our new preprint ⬇️
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New preprint!! 🚨 Did you know that many vertebrate species determine sex based on environmental conditions rather than chromosomes? Some turtles, like Trachemys scripta, rely on temperature. We learned more about how this happen molecularly.👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:19 AM
New preprint!! 🚨 Did you know that many vertebrate species determine sex based on environmental conditions rather than chromosomes? Some turtles, like Trachemys scripta, rely on temperature. We learned more about how this happen molecularly.👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Back in BCN after an great week in Valencia, 1st meeting of #EvoDevOmics network with @mirimiam.bsky.social @anariesgo.bsky.social @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social @patrialvarezcam.bsky.social @jpascualanaya.bsky.social @phylobrain.bsky.social @fany-real.bsky.social @imaeso.bsky.social & Nuria Flames
January 25, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Back in BCN after an great week in Valencia, 1st meeting of #EvoDevOmics network with @mirimiam.bsky.social @anariesgo.bsky.social @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social @patrialvarezcam.bsky.social @jpascualanaya.bsky.social @phylobrain.bsky.social @fany-real.bsky.social @imaeso.bsky.social & Nuria Flames
This summer I had the chance get to know a quite comprehensive representation of the medaka community in an exciting meeting in Heidelberg. I am very grateful for the experience! Now everybody can have a glimpse on what was discussed.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
January 21, 2026 at 11:38 AM
This summer I had the chance get to know a quite comprehensive representation of the medaka community in an exciting meeting in Heidelberg. I am very grateful for the experience! Now everybody can have a glimpse on what was discussed.
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
We are thrilled to share our new pre-print: “System-wide extraction of cis-regulatory rules from sequence-to-function models in human neural development”. S2F-deeplearning models can accurately encode enhancers, yet decoding these models into human-interpretable rules remains a major challenge.
January 15, 2026 at 11:57 AM
We are thrilled to share our new pre-print: “System-wide extraction of cis-regulatory rules from sequence-to-function models in human neural development”. S2F-deeplearning models can accurately encode enhancers, yet decoding these models into human-interpretable rules remains a major challenge.
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
🧬 We’re #Hiring a #Bioinformatician/ Computational Biologist!
#Single-cell genomics, #Epigenomics & #3Dgenome biology in #Zebrafish #DevBio 🐟
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social, CABD, Seville (Spain)
🕒 Full-time, 3-year position (start March 2026)
📅 Apply by Feb 15, 2026
👉 drive.google.com/file/d/1M8rp...
#Single-cell genomics, #Epigenomics & #3Dgenome biology in #Zebrafish #DevBio 🐟
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social, CABD, Seville (Spain)
🕒 Full-time, 3-year position (start March 2026)
📅 Apply by Feb 15, 2026
👉 drive.google.com/file/d/1M8rp...
Job offer 2026.pdf
drive.google.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:57 PM
🧬 We’re #Hiring a #Bioinformatician/ Computational Biologist!
#Single-cell genomics, #Epigenomics & #3Dgenome biology in #Zebrafish #DevBio 🐟
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social, CABD, Seville (Spain)
🕒 Full-time, 3-year position (start March 2026)
📅 Apply by Feb 15, 2026
👉 drive.google.com/file/d/1M8rp...
#Single-cell genomics, #Epigenomics & #3Dgenome biology in #Zebrafish #DevBio 🐟
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social, CABD, Seville (Spain)
🕒 Full-time, 3-year position (start March 2026)
📅 Apply by Feb 15, 2026
👉 drive.google.com/file/d/1M8rp...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Our work on the evolution of the regulatory genome of echinoderms is now out in @natecoevo.nature.com. Led by my former PhD Marta Magri, Danila Voronov & Saoirse Foley. Great collaboration of Arnone, Hinman & Maeso labs, started long time ago with our missed José Luis Gomez-Skarmeta: rdcu.be/eXX8l
Deep conservation of cis-regulatory elements and chromatin organization in echinoderms uncover ancestral regulatory features of animal genomes
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Analysis of the 3D chromatin architecture and cis-regulatory elements in a sea urchin and a sea star reveals mechanisms of 3D chromatin organization in echinoderms...
rdcu.be
January 7, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Our work on the evolution of the regulatory genome of echinoderms is now out in @natecoevo.nature.com. Led by my former PhD Marta Magri, Danila Voronov & Saoirse Foley. Great collaboration of Arnone, Hinman & Maeso labs, started long time ago with our missed José Luis Gomez-Skarmeta: rdcu.be/eXX8l
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Exciting news to start the new year! We’re thrilled to see this work finally out in @natecoevo.nature.com, the result of a major collaboration between my lab and the labs of Veronica Hinman and Nacho Maeso, began many years ago with the dear José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 7, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Exciting news to start the new year! We’re thrilled to see this work finally out in @natecoevo.nature.com, the result of a major collaboration between my lab and the labs of Veronica Hinman and Nacho Maeso, began many years ago with the dear José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great news after the Christmas break! The work on the evolution of cis-regulation in echinoderms by the great Marta Magri, a PhD sibling of mine, is out in Nature Ecology and Evolution! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Deep conservation of cis-regulatory elements and chromatin organization in echinoderms uncover ancestral regulatory features of animal genomes - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Analysis of the 3D chromatin architecture and cis-regulatory elements in a sea urchin and a sea star reveals mechanisms of 3D chromatin organization in echinoderms and the long-term evolutionary dynam...
www.nature.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Great news after the Christmas break! The work on the evolution of cis-regulation in echinoderms by the great Marta Magri, a PhD sibling of mine, is out in Nature Ecology and Evolution! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
As a tribute to our founding member and president, Antonio Garcia Bellido, we have gathered the testimony of some of his closest collaborators. Thank you Antonio for your legacy youtu.be/AXlqTx5wYPE?...
Homenaje Antonio García Bellido (1936-2005)
YouTube video by Sociedad Española de Biología del Desarrollo
youtu.be
December 3, 2025 at 7:34 AM
As a tribute to our founding member and president, Antonio Garcia Bellido, we have gathered the testimony of some of his closest collaborators. Thank you Antonio for your legacy youtu.be/AXlqTx5wYPE?...
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
So grateful and excited about being part of this community! Feeling super happy and looking forward to connecting and interacting with everyone. ☺️
Congratulations to the new cohort of 28 EMBO Young Investigators! They are joining an international network of more than 800 life scientists – Welcome!
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
December 2, 2025 at 3:40 PM
So grateful and excited about being part of this community! Feeling super happy and looking forward to connecting and interacting with everyone. ☺️
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Congratulations to the new cohort of 28 EMBO Young Investigators! They are joining an international network of more than 800 life scientists – Welcome!
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
December 2, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Congratulations to the new cohort of 28 EMBO Young Investigators! They are joining an international network of more than 800 life scientists – Welcome!
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
Read the press release here:
https://www.embo.org/press-releases/twenty-eight-group-leaders-become-embo-young-investigators/
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Here is a copy of last year's Twitter thread explaining our preprint - jump to (21) for the new stuff 👀
Synergy between cis-regulatory elements can render cohesin dispensable for distal enhancer function
now revised and journal accepted at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵👇
Synergy between cis-regulatory elements can render cohesin dispensable for distal enhancer function
now revised and journal accepted at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵👇
November 27, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Here is a copy of last year's Twitter thread explaining our preprint - jump to (21) for the new stuff 👀
Synergy between cis-regulatory elements can render cohesin dispensable for distal enhancer function
now revised and journal accepted at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵👇
Synergy between cis-regulatory elements can render cohesin dispensable for distal enhancer function
now revised and journal accepted at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🧵👇
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
📢 We are hiring!
👩🏾⚕️Research technician/Lab manager
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social , Sevilla, Spain
🧬 Gene regulation in animal development & evolution
Check the details 👇 & join us!
drive.google.com/file/d/1cZJi...
#ResearchTechnician #Zebrafish #GeneRegulation #DevelopmentalBiology
👩🏾⚕️Research technician/Lab manager
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social , Sevilla, Spain
🧬 Gene regulation in animal development & evolution
Check the details 👇 & join us!
drive.google.com/file/d/1cZJi...
#ResearchTechnician #Zebrafish #GeneRegulation #DevelopmentalBiology
October 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM
📢 We are hiring!
👩🏾⚕️Research technician/Lab manager
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social , Sevilla, Spain
🧬 Gene regulation in animal development & evolution
Check the details 👇 & join us!
drive.google.com/file/d/1cZJi...
#ResearchTechnician #Zebrafish #GeneRegulation #DevelopmentalBiology
👩🏾⚕️Research technician/Lab manager
📍 @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social , Sevilla, Spain
🧬 Gene regulation in animal development & evolution
Check the details 👇 & join us!
drive.google.com/file/d/1cZJi...
#ResearchTechnician #Zebrafish #GeneRegulation #DevelopmentalBiology
I think everybody knows but Adri is awesome!
🚨JOB ALERT🚨
FRIENDS PLEASE SPREAD and RT
We are building a small expert team within the @bokelab.bsky.social at @crg.eu @prbb.org to investigate fundamental questions in oocyte cell biology, focusing on how proteostasis regulation influences dormancy and fertility.
See below 2 calls👇
FRIENDS PLEASE SPREAD and RT
We are building a small expert team within the @bokelab.bsky.social at @crg.eu @prbb.org to investigate fundamental questions in oocyte cell biology, focusing on how proteostasis regulation influences dormancy and fertility.
See below 2 calls👇
October 2, 2025 at 12:34 PM
I think everybody knows but Adri is awesome!
Very much honoured and excited with the opportunity.
Hoy presentamos a Rafael Domínguez, investigador que se ha incorporado al @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social
➡️ Conoce el trabajo que va a desempeñar en este centro de investigación
#talentocsic #CSIC
www.linkedin.com/posts/csic-a...
➡️ Conoce el trabajo que va a desempeñar en este centro de investigación
#talentocsic #CSIC
www.linkedin.com/posts/csic-a...
#talentocsic #csic | CSIC Andalucía y Extremadura
Hoy presentamos a Rafael Domínguez, investigador que se ha incorporado al Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo CABD
➡️ Conoce el trabajo que va a desempeñar en este centro de investigación
#tal...
www.linkedin.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Very much honoured and excited with the opportunity.
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
¡¡ATENCIÓN!! Esta semana comienza una nueva edición de #CienciaenelBar de la @unisevilla.bsky.social 🤩 Este curso nos encontraréis en la Sala El Cachorro
cienciabar.wordpress.com/.../comenzam...
#DivulgaUS
cienciabar.wordpress.com/.../comenzam...
#DivulgaUS
September 29, 2025 at 9:59 AM
¡¡ATENCIÓN!! Esta semana comienza una nueva edición de #CienciaenelBar de la @unisevilla.bsky.social 🤩 Este curso nos encontraréis en la Sala El Cachorro
cienciabar.wordpress.com/.../comenzam...
#DivulgaUS
cienciabar.wordpress.com/.../comenzam...
#DivulgaUS
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excited to post my first #JobOffer! I am looking for a research technician to help me build new projects from the grounds up at @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social
We will use medaka to study how organs can be reprogrammed!
Details on how to apply below 👇
#JobOffer #ScienceJobs #EvoDevo #GeneRegulation
We will use medaka to study how organs can be reprogrammed!
Details on how to apply below 👇
#JobOffer #ScienceJobs #EvoDevo #GeneRegulation
September 19, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Excited to post my first #JobOffer! I am looking for a research technician to help me build new projects from the grounds up at @cabd-upo-csic.bsky.social
We will use medaka to study how organs can be reprogrammed!
Details on how to apply below 👇
#JobOffer #ScienceJobs #EvoDevo #GeneRegulation
We will use medaka to study how organs can be reprogrammed!
Details on how to apply below 👇
#JobOffer #ScienceJobs #EvoDevo #GeneRegulation
Reposted by Rafael D. Acemel
🎉 Another exciting contribution from our lab this summer!
🧬 Nearly complete, gapless genome of the sex-changing central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) shed new light on the mystery of reptile sex determination.
Proud to be part of this collaborative effort!
academic.oup.com/gigascience/...
🧬 Nearly complete, gapless genome of the sex-changing central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) shed new light on the mystery of reptile sex determination.
Proud to be part of this collaborative effort!
academic.oup.com/gigascience/...
A near telomere-to-telomere phased genome assembly and annotation for the Australian central bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps
AbstractBackground. The central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is widely distributed in central eastern Australia and adapts readily to captivity. Among
academic.oup.com
August 19, 2025 at 11:21 PM
🎉 Another exciting contribution from our lab this summer!
🧬 Nearly complete, gapless genome of the sex-changing central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) shed new light on the mystery of reptile sex determination.
Proud to be part of this collaborative effort!
academic.oup.com/gigascience/...
🧬 Nearly complete, gapless genome of the sex-changing central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) shed new light on the mystery of reptile sex determination.
Proud to be part of this collaborative effort!
academic.oup.com/gigascience/...
Everything starts with few cells and big hopes 🙂
September 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Everything starts with few cells and big hopes 🙂
Amazing Lab and topic!!
We are looking for a student to continue our work on chromatin evolution:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The project with @seanamontgomery.bsky.social will focus on chromatin state readers across eukaryotes.
More info: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The project with @seanamontgomery.bsky.social will focus on chromatin state readers across eukaryotes.
More info: recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...
September 5, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Amazing Lab and topic!!