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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

This collaborative project was conducted across the following institutes. @stowersinstitute.bsky.social @mdanderson.bsk.social @oxfordwomenshealth.bsky.social @cambiochem.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @cam.ac.uk

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

Thank you coauthors @shylonatasha.bsky.social @zgrif26.bsky.social @thomsanger.bsky.social @hollfelderlab.bsky.social @swilliamslabox.bsky.social @aussiebiologist.bsky.social @rrbehringer.bsky.social

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

Through confocal imaging we describe basement membrane deposition in the ovary during folliculogenesis. We can report a double basement membrane deposited on either side of the granulosa cell layer surrounding the follicles.

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

Exploring the sub-cellular architecture of the germinal bed & stage II follicles, we could analyse the granulosa (g) and theca (th) cell layers surrounding stage II follicles. Primordial follicles (pf) start exhibiting enlarged nuclei and cytoplasm!

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

Oogenesis takes place in 10 stages. It starts in the oogonial nest - a mitotic stem cell niche within the germinal bed - which then undergo meiosis to form primordial follicles
We identified oogonia and primordial follicles using section H&E staining paired with confocal DAPI/WGA staining!

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · 15d

@a-weberling.bsky.social & I characterize oogenesis from initiation in the germinal bed to ovulatory follicles for the first time in the brown anole, a powerful reptile model for evo-devo & functional genetics!
Full preprint here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Aaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · Aug 14

Sphaerodactylus geckos loom large in my mind (but sit small on my hand)

an adult miniaturized gecko, Sphaerodactylus macrolepis, sitting on top of my thumb

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

eric lai @lucksmith.bsky.social · Aug 14

i was told a US donor site to support FlyBase will be live shortly, which we should all broadcast to everyone we can. however, there is a delay (red tape) to be able to provide invoices to bill grants, but its in process. 🪰

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · Aug 14

@a-weberling.bsky.social , @shylonatasha.bsky.social et al. continue to provided stunning images and insight into early reptilian development with this new paper on chameleon embryogenesis 🦎🥚. Check it out!

Antonia Weberling @a-weberling.bsky.social · Aug 11

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Preprint Alert
Ever thought that humans & chameleons look alike?
We follow chameleon development from fertilisation to oviposition & uncover the process through which they form an epiblast lumen that exhibits striking similarity to human embryos
#devbio #evodevo

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Bonnie Kircher @holyanole.bsky.social · Jun 21

Very cool work on embryo-yolk signaling in zebrafish!!

Antonia Weberling @a-weberling.bsky.social · Jun 20

The preprint of my dear friend Svetlana Jovanic showing that
"cell behaviour during gastrulation is robust to the deficiency of yolk topology & signalling originating from the yolk syncytial layer."
is now online!
Super interesting read! #zebrafish #embroids #DevBio

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Crystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · Feb 18

Yet another heartbreaking and short sighted decision. The folks at NSF are so supportive of the scientific community. Their funding is what has allowed my lab to grow and succeed. These cuts are so destructive.

Jonathan Lambert @jonlambert.bsky.social · Feb 18

NEW: NSF confirmed that they fired 168 employees today, out of their staff of ~1,500 feds.

This includes some people who'd finished their 1-year probationary periods, which were extended to 2-years last month without explanation. More to come.

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Constantin Pape @cppape.bsky.social · Feb 12

After a long journey, Segment Anything for Microscopy is now published in Nature Methods! We significantly improve SAM for interactive and automatic segmentation in light and electron microscopy and build a user-friendly tool.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Improvements in LM (top) and EM (bottom) of our micro-sam model (finetuned) compared to the default SAM model.

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Richard Behringer @rrbehringer.bsky.social · Feb 1

Here is the 2025 embryo alphabet from alligator to zebrafish. Developmental biology is stunning & leads to important discoveries for human medicine.
@socdevbio.bsky.social

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Crystal Rogers, PhD @rogerslabucd.bsky.social · Feb 3

This is a fantastic program! You can apply as a mentor to work with a student who will travel to your lab, or you can apply as a mentor to work with one of your current students. I highly recommend it! I have done both and it’s been so rewarding. ❤️

Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · Feb 3

We are extending the #ChooseDevelopment application deadline to Wednesday, February 5, 11:59 PM ET. Undergrads from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, first-generation college students, veterans & students with a disability are eligible. bit.ly/3FwHqYp #devbio

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Eric Boodman @ericboodman.bsky.social · Feb 2

NSF froze payments to researchers.

State AGs said it was unconstitutional for exec branch to pause congressionally mandated funds.

Judge issued restraining order.

Payments resumed.

But some inconsistencies in what the NSF has said (thread):
www.statnews.com/2025/02/02/n...

National Science Foundation restores payments after five-day pause, but worries over science funding persist

The NSF said on Sunday that its payment system was back on line, after it froze out researchers and sparked financial worries.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Dr. Earyn McGee @afroherper.bsky.social · Feb 1

Hi, I'm Earyn, and I'm a lizard scientist! I created a game to teach people about lizards and increase the representation of Black women as herpetologists. #findthatlizard is a Where's Waldo-esque game where there is a lizard camouflaged in its environment. Your challenge is to find it. Will you? 🦎

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

👻Sewall Fright🎃 @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Feb 1

The dismantling of American Science continues. The Organismal Response to Climate Change grant call has been cancelled. The NSF Director is a disgrace

Email text:
[EXT] Grants.gov
Opportunities Update
External Email
The following grant opportunities were created, updated, or deleted on Grants.gov:
NSF
National Science Foundation
25-504 - Organismal Response to
Climate Change
Deletion Comments: Opportunity deleted

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

👻Sewall Fright🎃 @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jan 30

Still frozen out. We’re getting word that people getting Universities to reach out to NSF over this & broader freeze may put pressure on them & help resolve this. If folks could start contacting their uni admin with complaints to forward to NSF (hopefully you know who to contact) it’d help a lot

👻Sewall Fright🎃 @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jan 29

To expand on this, right now ~200 postdoc fellows directly funded by NSF are locked out of their salary &research funds right before the first of the month. No doubt other NSF funded grads &postdocs are affected as well. All requests for funds put in before the freeze are slowly being cancelled

👻Sewall Fright🎃 @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jan 29

As of now, NSF does not appear to be changing course at all given the temporary restraining order or the rescission of the memo. I can't help but feel that the NSF director is failing us and his handling of this is indefensible. new.nsf.gov/executive-or...

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · Jan 29

The Society for Developmental Biology has released a statement on the Unprecedented Disruptions to Biomedical Research in the United States.

Scientific research is a driving force behind human progress. It fuels medical breakthroughs, spurs technological innovations and drives economic growth. Federal funding of research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is absolutely critical for ensuring that the U.S. maintains its global leadership in science and technology.
The unprecedented freeze on the review and issuance of federal research grants is already negatively impacting research and could have significant ripple effects. Ongoing studies may lose momentum if grant renewals or supplement requests are delayed, slowing scientific progress on research the NIH has already invested in. Researchers affiliated with the Society for Developmental Biology carry out critical research on birth defects, which kill twice as many children as cancer does. Slowed progress will delay the development of new therapies and diagnostics, and thus have real public health implications. In 2019, the total estimated cost of birth defect–associated hospitalizations was $22.2 billion.
Scientific research is also critical to the U.S. economy more broadly. In 2023 alone NIH funded research not only directly supported 412 thousand jobs, but its overall economic impact rippled out to all sectors of the economy driving more than $92.89 billion in economic activity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It is estimated that every dollar of NIH funding generates $2.46 dollars of economic activity.
Finally, federal research funding not only drives impactful research discoveries but also supports the training of the scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future. University laboratories, funded by federal grants, serve as essential training grounds for the next generation of researchers even as they push the boundaries of knowledge. This training prepares young scientists for leadership roles in both academia and industry, helping to ensure that the scientific workforce r…

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Bethany Williams @blw9786.bsky.social · Jan 28

As a NSF PRFB postdoc it would be nice to know if I can pay rent next month (crazy, right). In the meantime, for no reason whatsoever, here are a few ‘wasteful’ things I’ve done as a postdoc: been a science pen pal, helped run a booth at a science center, mentored a high school lab intern.

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Stephanie Pangas, PhD @spangas.bsky.social · Jan 28

…the sentence at the end, “to the extent permissible by law, cancel awards already awarded that are in conflict with Administration priorities”.

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Jan 28

Yesterday President Trump announced a pause on all federal grant disbursals. While it is a bit vague on details, it appears to include research grants. This would be devastating to American science. If you have not had a chance, call your Senators & Reps 🧪
www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/p...

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

John Wallingford @jbwallingford.bsky.social · Jan 25

Someone in 1st Century India got human embryonic limb development perfectly right. The progressive emergence of parts, even the timing, exactly right. Today, I'll start a new thing about the ancient origins developmental biology, the science of embryos. 🧵1/15 #TheLongBibliography
#DevBiol
#SciHist

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Jane Liebschutz, MD MPH (she/her) @liebschutz.bsky.social · Jan 22

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · Jan 22

I just reached out to my senators about the NIH situation. If you need to find out how much impact NIH has in your state in terms of dollars in and their economic impact here's a link: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research

Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.

www.unitedformedicalresearch.org

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Reposted by Bonnie Kircher

Natasha Shylo @shylonatasha.bsky.social · Jan 7

Amazing talk by @zgrif26.bsky.social about orange pigmentation and ovaries and what connects them. #SICB2025

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