Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Jul 21

Can robots in a swarm act like the cells of an organism? Thanks to Sedeer El-Showk for the new article in @nature.com, which highlights the work of a number of research groups, including our own, on how “Robots demonstrate principles of collective intelligence”. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Jul 21

Thanks a million for that Nimesh! It was great to have you and all the students here at @barcelonacollaboratorium.com for the summer school 👍🏻

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Mar 29

🐁🐇🐒🐄🦏🐘

Miki Ebisuya @ebisuyamiki.bsky.social · Mar 29

Closing our Barcelona lab is bittersweet. These seven years were amazing—thanks to EMBL Barcelona and the fantastic lab members/collaborators, I launched my dream projects of Synthetic Dev Bio and Stem Cell Zoo. Now, we’re taking them to PoL Dresden!

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Mar 29

Miki, and all the Ebisuya lab - thank you, for all your effort, support, fun, inspiration, and your belief in EMBL Barcelona. 💪🏻 One of the founding labs, you will always be part of EMBL Barcelona - always be one of the gang! ❤️

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Reposted by James Sharpe

EMBL @embl.org · Mar 10

Find out how video games helped scientists visualise limb development.

Laura Aviñó-Esteban, PhD student at EMBL Barcelona and first author of a recently published study, explains how video games helped her solve the problem of fragmented limb dev. visualisation. 💻🧪

www.embl.org/news/science...

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Mar 7

Congratulations Kristina!! Very well deserved. All of EMBL Barcelona is proud of you 👍🏻. @embl.org

Institute of Molecular Biotechnology @imbavienna.bsky.social · Mar 5

Kristina Stapornwongkul is joining IMBA! The Stapornwongkul lab will study how the nutritional environment and metabolic processes influence embryonic development—an emerging research area with broad implications for both fundamental biology and biomedical applications. Welcome, Kristina!

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Venice Summer School in Evolutionary Systems Biology @veniceevodevo.bsky.social · Mar 5

Our teachers this year:
Rashmi Priya (@rashmi-priya.bsky.social)

Rashmi takes a systems-level approach, integrating quantitative imaging, genetics, and theory to explore how organs form and function emerges during embryogenesis.

She will talk about the role of mechanical forces in organogenesis.

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Barcelona Collaboratorium @barcelonacollaboratorium.com · Mar 4

This Thursday, Jerome Solon (CSIC-UPV/EHU) will be the next speaker at the Seminar Series!

🧫 “Closing the gap: Mechanosensing and control of tissue mechanics for epithelial sealing and tissue repair”
📅 06/03/2025 – 10:00
🗳️ Registration: t.ly/jPOlc
👨‍🏫 Host: @jamesasharpe.bsky.social

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · Feb 26

To learn more about the story behind the paper, we caught up with first author Laura Aviñó-Esteban @lauavinyo.bsky.social and corresponding author James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social, Head of EMBL Barcelona, Spain.

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

From left to right: Heura Cardona-Blaya, Laura Aviñó-Esteban and James Sharpe. Image courtesy of Carla Manzanas.

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Feb 24

Congratulations Laura Avinyo! @lauavinyo.bsky.social and Heura Cardona! First paper of your PhD 🎉. doi.org/10.1242/dev.... Beautiful quantified trajectory of how the skeletal pattern of the gene Sox9 emerges during limb development. @embl.org @barcelonacollaboratorium.com

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Feb 23

So much looking forward to this meeting in September v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz
#V4SDB2025 #DevelopmentalBiology

Visegrád Group Society for Developmental Biology Meeting 2025 – 5th to 7th September 2025

v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz

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Reposted by James Sharpe

EMBO Press @embopress.org · Dec 15

Good morning #CellBio24! Don't miss this morning's Visionary Awards session from 9-11am in ballroom 20a, where @crg.eu's Elvan Böke will receive her EMBO Gold Medal and give a talk alongside fellow @ascbiology.bsky.social award winners.
Gold Medal announcement 👇
www.embo.org/press-releas...

EMBO Gold Medal awarded to Elvan Böke – Press releases – EMBO

The scientist is recognized for her pioneering research on physiological mechanisms that enable oocytes to stay healthy over decades of dormancy

www.embo.org

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Anna Esteve Codina @annaesteveco.bsky.social · Dec 12

Spreading our work at the XII Jornades de Bioinformàtica i Genòmica de la @scb.iec.cat @tmontsay.bsky.social about our recent discovery rdcu.be/d04Gz of pervasive presence of not completly lysed cells in reference cell atlases @humancellatlas.org compromising quality & model training

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Dec 12

Thanks very much Anna! @annaesteveco.bsky.social and it was great to hear about your work on the possible worrying large biases in sc RNA-Seq data.

Anna Esteve Codina @annaesteveco.bsky.social · Dec 12

Brilliant presentation by @jamesasharpe.bsky.social at XII Jornades de Bioinformàtica i Genòmica by @scb.iec.cat about mechanistic dynamical models and #Turing patterns to go from genes to phenotypes

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Dec 2

Very nice interview with our new(-ish!) Head of Administration in Barcelona. @embl.org

www.embl.org/news/people-...

We are EMBL: Laura Marin on moving back to Barcelona, success, and the colour blue | EMBL

Laura Marin, Head of Administration at EMBL Barcelona, talks about how finding joy at work is true success, and how she feels in her new role.

www.embl.org

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Nov 27

Congratulations Prisca and all - well deserved! 🍾

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG) @crg.eu · Nov 23

Big 🧬 news this week: we have launched the first Joint Program on Evolutionary Medical Genomics. Spearheaded by @mirimiam.bsky.social, Barcelona researchers will study and exploit the vast genomic diversity of life on Earth to enhance precision medicine. Full story in @elpais.com

The dawn of a new medicine: Researchers use the theory of evolution to fight cancer

The world’s first joint research program in evolutionary medical genomics has been launched in Barcelona, under the direction of biologist Manuel Irimia

english.elpais.com

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Nov 22

You have made me jealous! :-)

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Nov 21

A perfect example of Tissue Biology and Disease Modelling (www.embl.org/research/uni...) at @embl.org Barcelona.

Tissue Biology and Disease Modelling

Scientists at EMBL Barcelona focus on Tissue Biology and Disease Modelling

www.embl.org

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James Sharpe @jamesasharpe.bsky.social · Nov 21

So exciting! Studying malaria infection in vitro! The human malaria parasite is specific to humans: you can't study the same parasite in animal models. The lab of @mariabernabeu.bsky.social build beautiful human blood vessels in vitro, & do the experiments there: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Reposted by James Sharpe

Sandy Anderson @sandyanderson.bsky.social · Nov 21

Fantastic kickoff presentation today for the inaugural symposium of the @evomg-bcn.bsky.social by @deboramarks.bsky.social from @harvardmed.bsky.social who gave the opening keynote on, Generative models for prediction and design.

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