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James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · 1d

Very sad news, John Gurdon has died.

A developmental biologist's developmental biologist, Nobel prize winner

His work is the foundation of much of today's dev & stem cell bio.

An inspiration to many, including me. Always asking questions & wanting the answers

www.magd.cam.ac.uk/news/profess...

Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS (1933-2025) | Magdalene College

Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

www.magd.cam.ac.uk

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Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 3d

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports...

This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵

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Patrick Steinmetz @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social · 13d

@malinkjosavik.bsky.social was fantastic giving her first talk at a conference!

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 13d

Fantastic presentation by @malinkjosavik.bsky.social at the Tutzing basal metazoan workshop 👏 She shared her work on starvation and metabolism in Nematostella, conducted in collaboration between the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab and the Dept of Biomedicine @unibergen.bsky.social ✨

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Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 13d

Fantastic presentation by @malinkjosavik.bsky.social at the Tutzing basal metazoan workshop 👏 She shared her work on starvation and metabolism in Nematostella, conducted in collaboration between the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab and the Dept of Biomedicine @unibergen.bsky.social ✨

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 20d

How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. (My story of some surprising evo-devo!) nyti.ms/42Cg8xH

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Aurelie Hintermann @aurhin.bsky.social · 21d

Are digits modified fins, or evolutionary innovations? Read how we tackled this old question from a new angle🧪
A story with @chasebolt.bsky.social, @homeobox.bsky.social and myself, coordinated by @denisduboule.bsky.social from @college-de-france.fr and published in @nature.com today!
#InHoxWeTrust

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Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 29d

New short paper from our lab @currentbiology.bsky.social, in which we discover of a new mode of cell motility for choanoflagellates: flagellar gliding. www.cell.com/current-biol... - A 🧵

Flagellar gliding in choanoflagellates

Freire-Delgado and Brunet discover a new mode of cell motility in choanoflagellates, the closest relatives of animals. Under mild confinement, choanoflagellate move over surfaces without cell deformat...

www.cell.com

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Craig Kaplan @triggerloop.bsky.social · Sep 3

Look at this crazy thing!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature

In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...

www.nature.com

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Luisa Cochella @lcochella.bsky.social · Sep 3

Our work on the function of miR-51/miR-100 is out! miR-100 is widely conserved across eumetazoans but its function has been mysterious. Emilio Santillán found in worms it regulates signaling and extracellular matrix genes, some of which seem to be conserved targets! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

An ancient and essential miRNA family controls cellular interaction pathways in C. elegans

A microRNA that arose at the origin of eumetazoans regulates cell adhesion and signaling in C. elegans through conserved targets.

www.science.org

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ulrichtechnau.bsky.social @ulrichtechnau.bsky.social · Aug 29

Finally, the excellent postdoc work of Emmanuel Haillot is out, where he dissected the integration of Wnt, MAPK and Notch signaling in defining mesoderm and endoderm identities in the diploblast Nematostella. Strikingly similar to sea urchins. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Gaspar Jekely @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 28

At long last, the version of record of our paper on the #platynereis #connectome

"Whole-body connectome of a segmented annelid larva" is out.

Explore the rich online presentation with all the videos, figures and source data here:

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.97964

@eLife
@biology […]

Original post on biologists.social

biologists.social

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Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 26

Congratulations Dr. Fournon Berodia @inesfournon.bsky.social 🎉🤩 We are very proud of Inés for successfully defending her PhD thesis conducted in the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab. Thank you to opponents @ragkousik.bsky.social & @levayerr.bsky.social for insightful discussions 👏

Inés Fournon Berodia presents in front of an audience. She is wearing a black blazer and a white shirt. The slide on the screen has a black background, and reads "Hallmarks of epithelial cell extrusion". Below the title, a schematic of an epithelium, and the following text in bullet points: "Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)", "Facilitate extrusion" and "Protect surrounding cells"

Ines Fournon Berodia smiles widely, holding in place on her head a customized graduation hat.

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Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 7

New preprint from the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab 🤩 @annaferraioli.bsky.social & colleagues created a 3D model of the ctenophore apical organ, revealing cell-type diversity and exciting new insights into the evolution of central nervous systems 🧠🧪 Congratulations to the team! 👏

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · Aug 7

Ctenophores possess a unique aboral organ that acts as a multisensory center, controlling complex behaviors. We’ve now created a ctenophore model integrated with our 3D volume EM data. Puts it into perspective.

Check out our recent work here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#ctenophores #volumeEM

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Nature @nature.com · Aug 15

Nature research paper: The genomic origin of the unique chaetognath body plan

go.nature.com/3HAsyyV

The genomic origin of the unique chaetognath body plan - Nature

Genomic, single-cell transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses show that chaetognaths, following extensive gene loss in the gnathiferan lineage, relied on newly evolved genes and lineage-specific tandem duplications, not caused by a whole-genome duplication event, to shape their distinctive body plan.

go.nature.com

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Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Jul 17

Researchers from @imev-mer.fr recently visited us for a workshop supported by the French-Norwegian mobility program Åsgard 🌊 Between seminars, lab demos and discussions, new ideas and plans for long-term collaborations emerged 🤩 Read more about this exciting partnership below ⤵️

Åsgard workshop sparks new collaborations at the Michael Sars Centre

Researchers from the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche and the Michael Sars Centre received support from the French-Norwegian mobility program Åsgard. Through seminars and discussions, participants l...

tinyurl.com

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Julius Brennecke @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social · Jul 16

Pls. share widely

Calling all transposon fans & lovers of genetic innovation

MOBILE GENOME welcomes you in Heidelberg, Nov. 4–7 2025

→ Vibrant & friendly community
→ Cutting-edge talks from mechanisms to physiology
→ Plenty of surprises (TEs never stop innovating)

submit abstract by July 29

EMBL Events @events.embl.org · Jun 18

⏰ Abstract deadline for 'The mobile genome' is 29 July!

👉 https://s.embl.org/mge25-01-bl

Join us 4–7 Nov 2025 at EMBL Heidelberg (or online) to explore the impact of TEs across biology. 🧬🔍

⭐🧑🏼‍🔬 24 talks + 15 flash talks from posters – don't miss out!

#EMBOMobileGenome

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 7

'Vacations.'

The word is 'vacations.'

FAST COMPANY Article:

While retirement typically occurs, after
completing a career and saving and investing for it, a new trend is emerging among Gen Z career professionals
called "micro-retirement." Micro-
retirements involve taking a one to two- week break from work every 12 to 18 months.
Gen Z is using micro-retirement to avoid burnout, find greater fulfillment in their work, and enhance their overall well-being. However, it's not just Gen-Z:

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · Jul 7

#MetabolismMondays
Meet @kstapornwongkul.bsky.social, #newPI at @imbavienna.bsky.social @vbcscitraining.bsky.social, alumni from @viktri08.bsky.social @embl.org - discussing metabolism of embryonic development using #gastruloids.
#theNodeCorrespondents #ecr @the-node.bsky.social #DevBio #stemcell

Metabolic Origins: Steering of early developmental fate #MetabolismMondays - the Node

All the world's a metabolic dance, early career scientists are leading the way! Emerging perspectives in metabolism Dr Kristina StapornwongkulX:

thenode.biologists.com

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the Node @the-node.bsky.social · Jul 7

Latest #MetabolismMondays interview has just dropped 👀

Find out more about #newPI @kstapornwongkul.bsky.social and her research 👇

Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · Jul 7

#MetabolismMondays
Meet @kstapornwongkul.bsky.social, #newPI at @imbavienna.bsky.social @vbcscitraining.bsky.social, alumni from @viktri08.bsky.social @embl.org - discussing metabolism of embryonic development using #gastruloids.
#theNodeCorrespondents #ecr @the-node.bsky.social #DevBio #stemcell

Metabolic Origins: Steering of early developmental fate #MetabolismMondays - the Node

All the world's a metabolic dance, early career scientists are leading the way! Emerging perspectives in metabolism Dr Kristina StapornwongkulX:

thenode.biologists.com

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Nathalie Reuter @nathaliereuter.bsky.social · Jul 7

Open PhD position in my group: protein bioinformatics and protein-lipid interactions. Competences required: experience with protein bioinformatics, good programing skills, machine learning, interest for beautiful protein structures! Deadline: Aug 1st 2025. Official info => tinyurl.com/LTPbioinfo

PhD Research Fellow in protein bioinformatics  (282926) | University of Bergen

Job title: PhD Research Fellow in protein bioinformatics  (282926), Employer: University of Bergen, Deadline: Tuesday, July 15, 2025

tinyurl.com

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Patrick Steinmetz @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social · Jul 5

Likely a dice snake (Natrix tessellata)

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Xavier Grau-Bové 🌾 @xgrau.bsky.social · Jul 4

A single-cell ATACseq atlas of our favourite sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis! By @aelek.bsky.social @martaig.bsky.social

UMAP 2D projections of single-cell ATAC atlases of a Nematostella gastrula (left) and an adult specimen (right)

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bioRxiv Genomics @biorxiv-genomic.bsky.social · Jul 3

Decoding cnidarian cell type gene regulation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.01.662323v1

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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · Jul 2

Foundations: please step up and take over the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). This is an absolutely essential scanned archive of all of the old journals and books from the 1500s to about 1920. Has been indispensable for my research.
about.biodiversitylibrary.org/call-for-sup...

Call for Support: – About BHL

about.biodiversitylibrary.org

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Kei Jokura @kei-jokura.bsky.social · Jun 29

Our latest preprint is out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How do #ctenophores control their sense of balance "without a brain"?

We used connectomics to uncover the neural network behind their gravity sensing!

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