Hayden Nunley
@haysconun.bsky.social
Oklahomo. Associate Research Scientist at #FlatironCCB. The opinions expressed are my own.
It was a joy to co-organize this meeting. The work presented and discussed at the meeting was exceptional. The experimental methods for quantifying key aspects of germ cell development are getting better — and the time is ripe for proposing and testing mathematical modeling of these processes!
#FlatironCCB's recent ScoRe meeting highlighted quantitative experimental work and mathematical models for germ cell development and for early developmental stages post-fertilization. Thanks to all who joined us! #science #biology
November 25, 2025 at 3:28 AM
It was a joy to co-organize this meeting. The work presented and discussed at the meeting was exceptional. The experimental methods for quantifying key aspects of germ cell development are getting better — and the time is ripe for proposing and testing mathematical modeling of these processes!
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Congrats Ben, Claude, et al! A beautiful characterization of roles of Ca++ waves and gap junction functions in tissue patterning!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Retinal calcium waves coordinate uniform tissue patterning of the Drosophila eye
Optimal neural processing relies on precise tissue patterning across diverse cell types. Here, we show that spontaneous calcium waves arise among non-neuronal support cells in the developing Drosophil...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Congrats Ben, Claude, et al! A beautiful characterization of roles of Ca++ waves and gap junction functions in tissue patterning!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Check out our latest issue where we interview Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and differentiation at Harvard University. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Q & A
Interview with Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms
employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and
differentiation at Harvard Univ...
www.cell.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Check out our latest issue where we interview Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and differentiation at Harvard University. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Was a pleasure to participate in ScoRe - Scientific Conference On REproduction - celebrating 150/y since the observation of sperm and egg pronuclear fusion in @flatironinstitute.org.
A stellar gathering discussing all things germ cells!
Thanks @haysconun.bsky.social, Stas Shvartsman for the invite!
A stellar gathering discussing all things germ cells!
Thanks @haysconun.bsky.social, Stas Shvartsman for the invite!
November 19, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Was a pleasure to participate in ScoRe - Scientific Conference On REproduction - celebrating 150/y since the observation of sperm and egg pronuclear fusion in @flatironinstitute.org.
A stellar gathering discussing all things germ cells!
Thanks @haysconun.bsky.social, Stas Shvartsman for the invite!
A stellar gathering discussing all things germ cells!
Thanks @haysconun.bsky.social, Stas Shvartsman for the invite!
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
New Online! Signal control during tissue regeneration in adult animals
Signal control during tissue regeneration in adult animals
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Published online: 11 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41580-025-00917-1The ability to track single cells in vivo, combined with insights into chromatin structure, immune–tissue crosstalk, bioelectric and metabolic cues and quantitative modelling, is changing our understanding of how tissues are repaired and renewed. This Review discusses how signals are regulated during regeneration and future directions for a more quantitative understanding of regenerative biology.
bit.ly
November 11, 2025 at 6:04 PM
New Online! Signal control during tissue regeneration in adult animals
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
This image shows neurons being grown on a surface with tiny patterns that resemble human tissue to ‘steer’ their growth.
Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease.
Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social
Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease.
Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 12:44 PM
This image shows neurons being grown on a surface with tiny patterns that resemble human tissue to ‘steer’ their growth.
Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease.
Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social
Models like this allow us to learn more about our nervous system and conditions like motor neurone disease.
Image credit: Cathleen Hagemann and @andreaserio.bsky.social
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Got to love studies that were clearly conducted "for the love of the game" (“self-decapitating sea slugs”, “plants that see and use that for mimicry”, “worms that jump in the air”, aka papers you sometimes find in @currentbiology.bsky.social
) References to all of this bellow👇
) References to all of this bellow👇
September 29, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Got to love studies that were clearly conducted "for the love of the game" (“self-decapitating sea slugs”, “plants that see and use that for mimicry”, “worms that jump in the air”, aka papers you sometimes find in @currentbiology.bsky.social
) References to all of this bellow👇
) References to all of this bellow👇
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
A ring of cells deforms into a triangular keyhole in just 15 minutes. Meet the hindgut, a model for boundary-driven morphogenesis!
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
September 18, 2025 at 8:32 PM
A ring of cells deforms into a triangular keyhole in just 15 minutes. Meet the hindgut, a model for boundary-driven morphogenesis!
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Out now in @pnas.org at doi.org/10.1073/pnas... with @zhaoshh.bsky.social, Alex Jacinto, Eric Wieschaus, Stas Shvartsman, @lepuslapis.bsky.social (1/8)
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Super impressive study by the group of Stefano di Talia on the segmentation of zebrafish notochord. There might even be a SNIC ! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Tissue-wide, synchronous Erk oscillations time the segmentation of the zebrafish notochord
The generation of a periodic body plan is a fundamental property of vertebrates. While biological oscillators provide a mechanism for timing the formation of repeated structures, few examples of signa...
www.biorxiv.org
September 9, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Super impressive study by the group of Stefano di Talia on the segmentation of zebrafish notochord. There might even be a SNIC ! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
🧵Does the nucleus set the cell cycle clock? 🕒
In frog egg extract “mini-cells” we see that as nuclei grow, cycles slow down. The period scales with the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, across Xenopus species, and even when DNA replication or transcription are blocked.
👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
In frog egg extract “mini-cells” we see that as nuclei grow, cycles slow down. The period scales with the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, across Xenopus species, and even when DNA replication or transcription are blocked.
👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
September 2, 2025 at 8:43 PM
🧵Does the nucleus set the cell cycle clock? 🕒
In frog egg extract “mini-cells” we see that as nuclei grow, cycles slow down. The period scales with the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, across Xenopus species, and even when DNA replication or transcription are blocked.
👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
In frog egg extract “mini-cells” we see that as nuclei grow, cycles slow down. The period scales with the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio, across Xenopus species, and even when DNA replication or transcription are blocked.
👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Latest on Waddington Landscapes: Computational methods to fit dynamical landscapes directly to single cell data
Applied to neural tube patterning shows morphogen-signalling landscapes can be linearly interpolated
Connects interpretable landscape models with data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Applied to neural tube patterning shows morphogen-signalling landscapes can be linearly interpolated
Connects interpretable landscape models with data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reconstructing Waddington's Landscape from Data
The development of a zygote into a functional organism requires that this single progenitor cell gives rise to numerous distinct cell types. Attempts to exhaustively tabulate the interactions within d...
www.biorxiv.org
August 14, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Latest on Waddington Landscapes: Computational methods to fit dynamical landscapes directly to single cell data
Applied to neural tube patterning shows morphogen-signalling landscapes can be linearly interpolated
Connects interpretable landscape models with data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Applied to neural tube patterning shows morphogen-signalling landscapes can be linearly interpolated
Connects interpretable landscape models with data
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Synthetic materials accumulate damage with every mechanical challenge. Epithelial tissues are regularly loaded, yet healthy epithelia rarely rupture. Why?
We are @epmech.bsky.social and @baldaufsci.bsky.social and in this thread we introduce you to cyclic loading.
bsky.app/profile/epim...
We are @epmech.bsky.social and @baldaufsci.bsky.social and in this thread we introduce you to cyclic loading.
bsky.app/profile/epim...
August 10, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Synthetic materials accumulate damage with every mechanical challenge. Epithelial tissues are regularly loaded, yet healthy epithelia rarely rupture. Why?
We are @epmech.bsky.social and @baldaufsci.bsky.social and in this thread we introduce you to cyclic loading.
bsky.app/profile/epim...
We are @epmech.bsky.social and @baldaufsci.bsky.social and in this thread we introduce you to cyclic loading.
bsky.app/profile/epim...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Rotation 1 introduced me to the amazing Physarum 😍💛 Amy, Zach, Ameya, @haysconun.bsky.social and Vita from @gladfelterlab.bsky.social were encouraging TA's.
August 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Rotation 1 introduced me to the amazing Physarum 😍💛 Amy, Zach, Ameya, @haysconun.bsky.social and Vita from @gladfelterlab.bsky.social were encouraging TA's.
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Thrilled to share our work using live imaging to understand how Epiblast (future embryo proper) and Primitive Endoderm (future extraembryonic tissues) cell fates segregate in the preimplantation mouse embryo. Gargantuan effort led by amazing @rpkimyip.bsky.social, David Denberg and Denis Faerberg!
August 2, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Thrilled to share our work using live imaging to understand how Epiblast (future embryo proper) and Primitive Endoderm (future extraembryonic tissues) cell fates segregate in the preimplantation mouse embryo. Gargantuan effort led by amazing @rpkimyip.bsky.social, David Denberg and Denis Faerberg!
Belated post, but I really enjoyed working as a theory buddy with the Gladfelter lab at MBL physiology. Was refreshing to work on an array of beautiful problems in fungi and slime molds. These big, syncytial cells challenge preconceptions about cell cycles, distribution of resources, and more.
July 26, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Belated post, but I really enjoyed working as a theory buddy with the Gladfelter lab at MBL physiology. Was refreshing to work on an array of beautiful problems in fungi and slime molds. These big, syncytial cells challenge preconceptions about cell cycles, distribution of resources, and more.
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
That's a wrap! The results of the first #cryoEM heterogeneity challenge are up on biorxiv!
biorxiv.org/content/10.110
biorxiv.org/content/10.110
biorxiv.org
July 23, 2025 at 9:43 PM
That's a wrap! The results of the first #cryoEM heterogeneity challenge are up on biorxiv!
biorxiv.org/content/10.110
biorxiv.org/content/10.110
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Just noticed a super nice preview of our paper by @ditalialab.bsky.social and Alexandra Hiestand. As always, good editorial experience with @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-systems...
www.cell.com/cell-systems...
July 17, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Just noticed a super nice preview of our paper by @ditalialab.bsky.social and Alexandra Hiestand. As always, good editorial experience with @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-systems...
www.cell.com/cell-systems...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Watch: 6 Science Short Films Created by Flatiron Institute Researchers and Filmmakers www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/06/18/w...
Watch: 6 Science Short Films Created by Flatiron Institute Researchers and Filmmakers
The two-week-long Symbiosis program yielded six experimental short films about basic science.
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 28, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Watch: 6 Science Short Films Created by Flatiron Institute Researchers and Filmmakers www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/06/18/w...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
New work on dynamics of morphogen signaling:
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Rapid transcriptional response to a dynamic morphogen by time integration
During development, cells must interpret extracellular signals with speed and accuracy. While morphogen gradients pattern tissues, how cells respond to dynamic morphogens remains unclear. Here, we inv...
www.biorxiv.org
June 10, 2025 at 8:07 AM
New work on dynamics of morphogen signaling:
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cells decode BMP gradient via temporal integration of signaling level, not instantaneous thresholds. While GRN gates response to provide additional spatial input
Morphogen signalling dynamics + GRN for tissue patterning
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to share this newly published work: link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
This is the product of a collaboration with Jianping Fu’s lab. We proposed a mathematical model for fate patterning by mechanical stresses. This model made a non-intuitive prediction that was confirmed by follow-up experiments.
This is the product of a collaboration with Jianping Fu’s lab. We proposed a mathematical model for fate patterning by mechanical stresses. This model made a non-intuitive prediction that was confirmed by follow-up experiments.
Generation of fate patterns via intercellular forces
A model for the generation of a cell fate pattern via a coupling between mechanical stress and cell fate is presented. $I\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n$ $v\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\ph...
link.aps.org
June 5, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Excited to share this newly published work: link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
This is the product of a collaboration with Jianping Fu’s lab. We proposed a mathematical model for fate patterning by mechanical stresses. This model made a non-intuitive prediction that was confirmed by follow-up experiments.
This is the product of a collaboration with Jianping Fu’s lab. We proposed a mathematical model for fate patterning by mechanical stresses. This model made a non-intuitive prediction that was confirmed by follow-up experiments.
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
What is this? Believe it or not, a plant in bloom!
Conopholis americana goes by several common names (bear corn is my fave). As a parasitic plant, it lacks chlorophyll and does no photosynthesis. Rather, it connects to oak roots and thieves the resources it needs
Conopholis americana goes by several common names (bear corn is my fave). As a parasitic plant, it lacks chlorophyll and does no photosynthesis. Rather, it connects to oak roots and thieves the resources it needs
May 27, 2025 at 8:14 PM
What is this? Believe it or not, a plant in bloom!
Conopholis americana goes by several common names (bear corn is my fave). As a parasitic plant, it lacks chlorophyll and does no photosynthesis. Rather, it connects to oak roots and thieves the resources it needs
Conopholis americana goes by several common names (bear corn is my fave). As a parasitic plant, it lacks chlorophyll and does no photosynthesis. Rather, it connects to oak roots and thieves the resources it needs
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
In a new special series called “Science, Promise and Peril in the Age of AI,” @quantamagazine.bsky.social looks far beyond AI-based research tools to explore how #AI is changing what it means to do #science and what it means to be a scientist.
www.quantamagazine.org/series/scien...
www.quantamagazine.org/series/scien...
AI Changes Science and Math Forever | Quanta Magazine
An exploration of how artificial intelligence is changing what it means to do science and math, and what it means to be a scientist.
www.quantamagazine.org
May 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
In a new special series called “Science, Promise and Peril in the Age of AI,” @quantamagazine.bsky.social looks far beyond AI-based research tools to explore how #AI is changing what it means to do #science and what it means to be a scientist.
www.quantamagazine.org/series/scien...
www.quantamagazine.org/series/scien...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
Our short film about our co-founder Jim Simons was nominated for the @Telly Awards. Help amplify the story of his incredible life and contributions to math and basic science by voting for our film here: peoples.tellyawards.com/PublicVoting... #science #philanthropy
April 11, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Our short film about our co-founder Jim Simons was nominated for the @Telly Awards. Help amplify the story of his incredible life and contributions to math and basic science by voting for our film here: peoples.tellyawards.com/PublicVoting... #science #philanthropy
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
For my first science post here, I’m proud to advertise our latest work exploring why germ cell connectivity is really important for meiosis 🐁
Done with some awesome colleagues @florpratto.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Done with some awesome colleagues @florpratto.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Intercellular bridges are essential for transposon repression and meiosis in the male germline - Nature Communications
A conserved feature of metazoan meiosis is that it occurs in a syncytium. Here, the authors show that intercellular bridges that connect germ cells in a syncytium are critical for ensuring proper meio...
www.nature.com
April 8, 2025 at 10:47 PM
For my first science post here, I’m proud to advertise our latest work exploring why germ cell connectivity is really important for meiosis 🐁
Done with some awesome colleagues @florpratto.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Done with some awesome colleagues @florpratto.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Hayden Nunley
ICYMI: #FlatironCCB scientist @henryhmattingly.bsky.social developed the first analytical model for predicting how bacteria spread in obstacle-laden environments. Read more: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/03/21/n... #science #biology
New Model Predicts How Bacteria Navigate Obstacles to Spread
A Flatiron Institute scientist has developed the first analytical model for predicting how bacteria spread in environments filled with obstacles.
www.simonsfoundation.org
April 8, 2025 at 6:36 PM
ICYMI: #FlatironCCB scientist @henryhmattingly.bsky.social developed the first analytical model for predicting how bacteria spread in obstacle-laden environments. Read more: www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/03/21/n... #science #biology