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amwinsor.bsky.social
Alex M Winsor
@amwinsor.bsky.social
81 followers 150 following 11 posts
active sensory processing PhD candidate in evolutionary biology https://alexmwinsor.com
alexmwinsor.com
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amwinsor.bsky.social
Alex M Winsor @amwinsor.bsky.social · Jun 25
Can jumping spiders extract implied object shape from motion? Check out our new preprint to find out. Collab with Massimo De Agrò @neuroethology.org

doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Biological point-light displays scanning by the principal eyes of a jumping spider
The semi-rigid structure of bodies forces animals to move in rhythmic patterns shared by all creatures with skeletons, exoskeletons, or limb connections. This pattern, known as biological motion, is i...
doi.org
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
danielkronauer.bsky.social
Daniel Kronauer @danielkronauer.bsky.social · 20d
The final version of our paper on how ants and possibly other insects use a crazy mechanism involving extensive transcriptional interference to regulate odorant receptor expression is now open access in my favorite journal, @currentbiology.bsky.social

authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
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gkafetzis.bsky.social
Georgios Kafetzis @gkafetzis.bsky.social · 27d
👁️The retina — strikingly conserved across vertebrates, but an oddity among bilaterians!

So how did it evolve?

With @mikebok.bsky.social, @neurofishh.bsky.social and @denilsson.bsky.social, we argue that retinal complexity may 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑦𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/n
a black and white dog is sitting on a couch with its tongue sticking out .
ALT: a black and white dog is sitting on a couch with its tongue sticking out .
media.tenor.com
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tessamontague.bsky.social
Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · Sep 8
Excited to share our new paper!

✨Natural habitat and wild behaviors of the dwarf cuttlefish, Ascarosepion bandense✨

tinyurl.com/bdew5x3s

Our first cuttlefish expedition - diving in the dark to observe our cuttlefish in the wild...

Check out the paper & new expedition tool on Cuttlebase.org 🧠
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
elife.bsky.social
eLife @elife.bsky.social · Sep 7
A digital atlas of every cell in a developing marine worm reveals how networks across the body coordinate sensing and movement, and provides insights into the evolution of the nervous system.
buff.ly/6vTDWVS
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chrisjernigan.bsky.social
Chris Jernigan @chrisjernigan.bsky.social · Aug 25
I am recruiting PhD students to join my lab at Wake Forest University Fall 2026. Current projects focus on the neurobiology, behavior, and development of identity processing in paper wasps. Contact me if interested. Deadline to apply is Dec. 15th 2025. Please share!
#PhDposition #PhD #wasplove
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gkolyfetis.bsky.social
George Kolyfetis @gkolyfetis.bsky.social · Sep 3
Our findings on bees' photoreceptors are now officially published in Biology Letters of the Royal Society Publishing!! Thanks again for a productive collaboration @jjfosterlab.bsky.social and @gregoeur.bsky.social !!
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
gkolyfetis.bsky.social
George Kolyfetis @gkolyfetis.bsky.social · May 4
I'm really happy to share the first preprint of my PhD work in @jjfosterlab.bsky.social! During a fruitful collaboration with @gregoeur.bsky.social, we uncovered a surprising feature of bees' eyes!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
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grassfoundation.bsky.social
The Grass Foundation @grassfoundation.bsky.social · Sep 2
Now accepting applications for the 2026 Grass Fellowship!

Do you have a great idea for a project you can do next summer in the Grass Lab at the @mblscience.bsky.social?

Get working on that proposal!
grassfoundation.org/apply-for-th...
Apply now 2026 Grass Fellowship Priority Deadline: October 15, 2025 Final Deadline: December 1, 2025 GrassFoundation.org
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elife.bsky.social
eLife @elife.bsky.social · Sep 1
Scientists have mapped the entire connectome of a 3-day-old marine worm larva (Platynereis dumerilii), including over 9,000 cells and 200+ neuronal types. This resource can help us understand how nervous systems evolved and coordinate whole-body movement.
buff.ly/IPxFCHs
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jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy
Gaspar Jekely @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 28
At long last, the version of record of our paper on the #platynereis #connectome

"Whole-body connectome of a segmented annelid larva" is out.

Explore the rich online presentation with all the videos, figures and source data here:

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.97964

@eLife
@biology […]
Original post on biologists.social
biologists.social
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
vanspidergirl.bsky.social
Vanessa Penna Goncalves (she/her) @vanspidergirl.bsky.social · Aug 28
✨ It’s published! ✨

🕷️ Social spiders have bigger brains… but only in the right places! Our new study shows that in social huntsman spiders, regions for memory & vision processing are proportionally larger, supporting group living.

Read more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Volumetric Comparison of Overall Brain and Neuropil Size Between Social and Non‐social Spiders: Exploring the Social Brain Hypothesis
Brain size may be influenced by the cognitive demands of sociality (social brain hypothesis). We used microCT to compare CNS and brain volumes in social versus solitary huntsman and crab spiders. Soc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Aug 25
Dear ISN Members, the Program Committee is now soliciting symposia proposals for the 2026 ICN in Vancouver. The symposium organizers must be ISN members, but they can recruit non-members as speakers. EXTENDED DEADLINE! Proposals are now due by 17 Sept. 2025: ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... 🔈
https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GBEKR3C2xXEfiu🔈
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pbrand.bsky.social
Philipp Brand @pbrand.bsky.social · Aug 21
Exciting new Ruta lab preprint by @annaryba.bsky.social et al. on the neural underpinnings of intraspecific behavioral variation: Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution Drosophila

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strain variation identifies a neural substrate for behavioral evolution in Drosophila
Sexual selection acts on heritable differences within species, driving the parallel diversification of signal production in one sex and behavioral responses in the other. This coevolution implies that...
www.biorxiv.org
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
thetransmitter.bsky.social
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · Jul 16
To identify fundamental neuroscientific principles that generalize across species, systems and circuits, neuroscientists must embrace an evolutionary perspective, argue Karl Farrow and @katjareinhard.bsky.social.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/systems-neur...
Systems and circuit neuroscience need an evolutionary perspective
To identify fundamental neuroscientific principles that generalize across species, neuroscientists must frame their research through an evolutionary lens.
www.thetransmitter.org
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amwinsor.bsky.social
Alex M Winsor @amwinsor.bsky.social · Jul 18
The hidden life of trees. I try to listen to audiobooks while hiking!
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mottcallie.bsky.social
Matt Collie @mottcallie.bsky.social · Jul 17
New paper from our lab! This was such a fun project to be a part of - proof that sometimes following a spurious observations down the rabbit hole leads to awesome findings.

www.cell.com/current-biol...
A cell type in the visual system that receives feedback about limb movement
Hartman et al. describe a cell type in the Drosophila visual system that is activated during head grooming through visual and non-visual signals arising from foreleg movements. These neurons inhibit a...
www.cell.com
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Jul 13
A single neuron in fruit flies can trigger two different behaviors in response to the same odor.

www.cell.com/current-biol...
Divergent synaptic dynamics originate parallel pathways for computation and behavior in an olfactory circuit
Kim et al. investigate how the Drosophila olfactory system dynamically transforms odor information. They discover that distinct synaptic dynamics from individual projection neurons underlie different ...
www.cell.com
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Jul 10
🚨New paper out on "Repeated #evolution of reduced visual investment at the onset of ecological speciation in high-altitude Heliconius #butterflies" by @gadusmo.bsky.social et al. @dickmerrill.bsky.social @ebablab.bsky.social ↘️ doi.org/10.1093/evle... ↙️ 🦋🧠💙💕 #neuroplasticity #opticlobe #sntennallobe
Repeated evolution of reduced visual investment at the onset of ecological speciation in high-altitude Heliconius butterflies
Abstract. Colonization of new habitats is typically followed by divergent selection acting on traits that are immediately important for fitness. For exampl
academic.oup.com
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neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Jul 8
🚨 New review out: " #Neuroanatomy of blood-feeding #arthropods" by Jessica A. Hearn and @gabriellawolff.bsky.social in Current Opinion in #Insect #Science 🧠🧪🦟🕷🩸 (anyone noticed the fact that we lack relevant arthropod smileys!?) #bedbugs #lice #ticks
Enjoy reading ↘️ doi.org/10.1016/j.co... ↙️
Redirecting
doi.org
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mimicryin3d.bsky.social
Dr Christopher Taylor @mimicryin3d.bsky.social · Jul 2
Why do imperfect mimics (such as many hoverflies) exist? We created 3D printed replicas of flies, wasps and our own custom intermediates and then "asked" various predators what they thought of our 3D stimuli. Read all about it here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mapping the adaptive landscape of Batesian mimicry using 3D-printed stimuli - Nature
Birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate harmless insects from those that they mimic on the basis of subtle differences in appearance.
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Jul 2
We are looking for early carrer researchers who want to share their fascination for Neuroethology by introducing their work.
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Reposted by Alex M Winsor
prashantpsharma.bsky.social
Prashant Sharma @prashantpsharma.bsky.social · Jul 1
The lab is proud to have contributed to the first chromosome-level sea spider genome! Many thanks to Niko Papadopoulos, Georg Brenneis, and Andi Wanninger, who spearheaded the work! #pycnogonida

bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
The genome of a sea spider corroborates a shared Hox cluster motif in arthropods with a reduced posterior tagma - BMC Biology
Background Chelicerate evolution is contentiously debated, with recent studies challenging traditional phylogenetic hypotheses and scenarios of major evolutionary events, like terrestrialization. Sea ...
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com
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amwinsor.bsky.social
Alex M Winsor @amwinsor.bsky.social · Jun 30
Wow that looks cool!
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neuroethology.org
International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · Jun 30
Yesterday evening the Neuroethology Gordon Research Conference started at the Renaissance Tuscany II 🇮🇹
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caseywdunn.bsky.social
Casey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · Jun 24
Our new paper on structure and growth of Porpita porpita - rdcu.be/etcY6 . Like Velella and Physalia, this is a colonial cnidarian that floats at the surface of the Ocean. The whole colony arises form a single embryo through clonal growth that gives rise to many specialized bodies.
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pawelburkhardt.bsky.social
Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · Jun 28
Our new paper is out: "The 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ & the evolution of complex integrative centers in animals.

We reveal a remarkable cell type diversity, nerve net condensation, a multilayered circuit & gene expression profiles.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ctenophores
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