It's Postdoc Appreciation Week - thanks to all the fabulous postdocs in the Ashe lab for their hard work and collegiality!

Upon germline stem cell loss, cytonemes are necessary for differentiating germ cells to reaccess the self-renewal BMP signal, recolonize an empty niche, and dedifferentiate to germline stem cells. Our data also reveal how other cells can act as a physical barrier to cytoneme-target cell contact.

We show that Drosophila ovarian germline stem cell cytonemes are required for asymmetric signalling, niche occupancy, and fitness during homeostasis. We also establish a new S2 cell-based model for studying BMP cytonemes.

Our work on germline stem cell cytonemes and BMP signalling is finally published! A great team effort from the Ashe lab, @wilcocksonscott.bsky.social and @shukryjhabib.bsky.social.

www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....

Biblical!

Fun @mcf-uom.bsky.social celebration event today. Nice to see team LEAF being recognised for all the hard work in helping the MCF labs get LEAF gold awards. And good to celebrate Ali’s paper again!

Just seen a local post box with a crocheted topper with 22 bees remembering each victim of the Manchester Arena bombing ❤️

Think we’ve captured a hedgehog courtship ritual on camera last night. Fingers crossed for some hoglets in a couple of months

Not sure what the collective noun is for tadpoles

Really excited about this collaboration!

Sog translation live in the embryo - so beautiful!
Work done in collaboration with @markashe.bsky.social and @mrattray.bsky.social

We are hiring! A postdoc position is available in the lab studying gene expression dynamics in Drosophila embryos, as part of a larger research effort in collaboration with @mrattray.bsky.social 🧬🔬🪰

Full details are in the ad: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Our exciting garden visitor is back. Shame I was sleeping at the time 🦡

Fun paper celebrations across the developmental biology and @mcf-uom.bsky.social groupings this afternoon. Celebrating our latest paper and papers from the @brainotopia.bsky.social @lovegrovelab.bsky.social, Herbert, Manning, Bennett and Papalopulu labs. Congrats to all!

Our new paper describes how SunTag imaging of mRNA translation can be used to study ribosome pausing in development. We also adapt the system to study translation of a secreted protein. Work done in collaboration with @mrattray.bsky.social and @markashe.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Looks like we have a new couple moving in

Lots of frogs hanging around our pond. Hopefully there will be some frog spawn soon 🐸

Calling all developmental biologists in the north of England, there's an interesting meeting coming up

Is there more to defining the eve stripes in the Drosophila embryo than just transcriptional regulation? We provide evidence that spatially regulated mRNA decay is also important.