Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 2h

Many sea stars begin life as young fairy-like creature (called a brachiolaria) that float through the open ocean. Eventually, a small star forms within them (here in yellow). The fairy-like brachiolaria sinks under the star’s weight, and the star pops out!
🎥@the_story_of_a_biologist (on Insta)

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Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 8h

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

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The Linnean Society of London @linneansociety.bsky.social · 19h

It's #WorldOctopusDay! These beauties from our collection are both by French pharmacist and naturalist Jean Baptiste Vérany (1800-65).

Octopus vulgaris - the common octopus, which can grow to 9kg and change colour to match its surroundings.

Common octopus with brown and yellow colouring with hints of blue. It has yellow eyes and fills the image.

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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 3d

We are happy to see Dr @michaelemann.bsky.social visiting @mcgillscience.bsky.social to speak about his new book "Science Under Siege" with @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social

Thursday, October 23, 2025

www.mcgill.ca/sustainabili...

Dr. Michael E. Mann Public Environment Lecture

The McGill Bieler School of Environment is excited to invite you to a free annual lecture, this year with Presidential and Distinguished Professor, Dr. Michael Mann from the University of Pennsylvania...

www.mcgill.ca

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McGill Biology @biomcgill.bsky.social · 1d

www.ledevoir.com/actualites/s...?

Les conséquences des changements climatiques sur les libellules

Une étude s’est penchée sur l’influence du climat sur les caractéristiques physiques de 87 espèces de libellules en Europe.

www.ledevoir.com

McGill Biology @biomcgill.bsky.social · 2d

www.forbes.com/sites/grrlsc...

Half Male-Half Female Spider Discovered In Thailand Is New To Science

Not only is this species new to science, but this remarkable individual is the first record of a rare biological phenomenon in this previously unknown species.

www.forbes.com

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McGill Science @mcgillscience.bsky.social · 5d

McGill Physics researchers have developed a new device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them. The device offers scientists unprecedented control over how DNA behaves in real time, creating the opportunity for faster, more precise molecular analysis. mcgill.ca/x/iRJ

McGill physicists manoeuvre DNA molecules using electrical fields

Researchers in McGill’s Department of Physics have developed a new device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them. The device, which uses carefully tuned electric field...

mcgill.ca

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Science Magazine @science.org · 4d

A species of lungfish found in South America has claimed the title of the animal with the biggest genome sequenced so far.

Learn more on #WorldAnimalDay: https://scim.ag/46OMl6v

A South American lungfish against a black background, with text: This odd fish has 30 times as much DNA as humans—a new record for animals.

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Elizabeth Beston @elizabethbeston.bsky.social · 4d

It’s Ctenophore Day! (‘Cos it’s the 4th of Oct and in the States you’d say it’s 10/04 ten-oh-four ctenophore. See? See?) So here’s a Ctenophore juvenile for #ctenophoreday ! Now the word ctenophore doesn’t make any sense to me, I’ve said it too many times.
#marineplankton 🦑

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Nick Bezio @beziostudio.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Ctenophore day! Its a perfect day to celebrate such a small yet beautifully diverse phyla that comes in a wide array of shapes and colors. #Ctenophoreday

Drawing of various Ctenophore anatomies showing the diversity of the phylum. center/front, top left, and right are lobate ctenophores, center/back is a beroid or nuda ctenophore, center/right is a cydippid or tentacled ctenophore, and bottom/left is a benthic ctenophore

A drawing of the Blood belly comb jelly ctenophore (comb jelly) which is known for its stricking red coloration that helps it live in the deep sea

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CSBQ-QCBS @qcbs.ca · 7d

"Nature et climat, deux défis avec une solution commune : la biodiversité au cœur de la résilience climatique": Les co-directeurs du CSBQ Fanie Pelletier et Andrew Gonzalez @bio-diverse.bsky.social co-signent un article dans @climatoscope360.bsky.social climatoscope.ca/nature-et-cl... 🌳🪲🌅 1/2

Nature et climat, deux défis avec une solution commune : la biodiversité au cœur de la résilience climatique - Climatoscope 360

Les changements climatiques et la perte de biodiversité comptent parmi les crises environnementales les plus urgentes. Jusqu’à présent, la recherche s’est

climatoscope.ca

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McGill News Magazine @mcgillnewsmag.bsky.social · 7d

Jane Goodall has passed away. Remembering her Beatty Lecture at McGill in 2019. “It is bizarre how the most intellectual creature that ever walked the planet is destroying its only home” reporter.mcgill.ca/its-been-a-l...

"It's been a long journey," Jane Goodall tells Beatty Lecture audience - McGill Reporter

Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall captivates Beatty Memorial Lecture audience with life story tracing her journey from secretary to game-changing researcher to tireless activist

reporter.mcgill.ca

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McGill Science @mcgillscience.bsky.social · 6d

On Friday, Oct. 24, join Interim Dean of Science Alanna Watt for coffee and conversation, followed by a discussion with McGill Profs Irene Gregory-Eaves & Jeffrey McKenzie on freshwater science in a changing climate.

Free registration: mcgill.ca/x/iaR

Coffee with the Dean and Talk: Water, Climate Change, and the Future

Join Interim Dean of Science Alanna Watt for coffee and insightful conversation, while reconnecting with fellow classmates, faculty a...

mcgill.ca

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eLife @elife.bsky.social · 5d

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture.
buff.ly/P8ZTl0A

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McGill Biology @biomcgill.bsky.social · 9d

lithub.com/meet-the-oce...

Meet the Ocean’s Remarkable See-Through Animals

Both of us have been on many scuba dives in the open sea. Doing so requires training, followed by medical exams and piles of forms, and involves a lot of work, planning, and money. A big ship is ne…

lithub.com

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Anthony Ricciardi @ecoinvasions.bsky.social · 12d

New paper from our lab: The use of #microplastics as case-building material by larval caddisflies facilitates the transfer of plastic (& potentially its associated contaminants) to predatory fish.

Larval caddisflies (Limnephilidae) that had been exposed to microplastics (PET) and natural materials will readily incorporate plastic into their cases.

Plastic in gastrointestinal tract of a freshwater fish (brown bullhead) exposed to larval caddisflies whose cases incorporate plastic.

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McGill News Magazine @mcgillnewsmag.bsky.social · 12d

What impact does a warming planet have on public health? How much progress are we making in our understanding of cancer? McGill experts tackle some of the most important questions of our times on Mark my words, a new podcast mcgillnews.mcgill.ca/tag/podcasts/

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Lori O'Brien @llobrienlab.bsky.social · 12d

For this #FluorescenceFriday, a gorgeous image of an adult mouse kidney labeled with AQP2 and alpha SMA antibodies. AQP2 (green) marks the collecting duct and distal connecting segment while SMA marks the arterial tree. Courtesy of talented postdoc Sarah McLarnon.

Image of a fluorescently labeled adult mouse kidney showing AQP2 staining of collecting ducts and connecting segment in green and alpha SMA staining of the arterial tree in magenta. The collecting ducts look like squiggly branches.

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WeberLab@McGill @weber-lab.bsky.social · 13d

Congratulations (and thank you) to Prof. Nicole King (@berkeleymcb.bsky.social) for her fascinating Alma Howard Lecture @biomcgill.bsky.social 🎉🤩👩‍🔬
She shared new data on the secret (sex) lives of choanoflagellates and their implications for the evolution of mating and multicellularity in animals 🦠

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McGill Biology @biomcgill.bsky.social · 14d

reporter.mcgill.ca/the-mcgill-s...

The McGill Sustainability Park is taking shape - McGill Reporter

“The name Sustainability Park is rooted in clarity and purpose. It will be a physical and intellectual space where transformative research and policy work on sustainability will take root, grow and fl...

reporter.mcgill.ca

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Rebecca R Helm @rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · 14d

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA

10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

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Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 16d

Our latest issue is out!👇
www.cell.com/current-biol...

On the cover: Nautilus ≈ 🐙+🐚

(Maybe — like the Nautilus — our journal is a living fossil, believing in the interest and inspiration our readers might draw from the diversity of biological systems, questions and approaches we try to feature🙏 )

Nautiloids (pictured)—a lineage of ancient, externally shelled cephalopods—once dominated our oceans, but today, these living fossils are threatened and in need of protection from over-exploitation.

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Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 16d

The #UruguaySub200 science team observed charismatic animals, chemosynthetic communities & the formation of a beautiful, healthy reef that sent a clear message to the scientists: when disturbed habitats are given time to recover, healthy ecosystems can and do return.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyjM...

Expectations Surpassed | Visualizing the Deep Off Uruguay

YouTube video by Schmidt Ocean

www.youtube.com

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McGill Biology @biomcgill.bsky.social · 14d

Assistant Professor - Animal Morphogenesis
The Department of Cell & Systems Biology at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position:
Assistant Professor in the field of Animal Morphogenesis
Start date: July 1, 2026.  
jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Assistant Professor - Animal Morphogenesis

jobs.utoronto.ca