Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Suel-Kee Kim @suelkeekim.bsky.social · 29d

Excited to share our recent study on human-specific features of the cerebellum and the unexpected, novel role of zona pellucida protein 2 (ZP2) in synapse development. Grateful to the Sestan lab and all our collaborators for their outstanding contributions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Human-specific features of the cerebellum and ZP2-regulated synapse development

Understanding the unique features of the human brain compared to non-human primates has long intrigued humankind. The cerebellum refines motor coordination and cognitive functions, contributing to the...

www.biorxiv.org

2 5 19

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Hospital del Mar Research Institute @researchmar.bsky.social · Jul 25

Researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Yale University have demonstrated how the action of certain #genes on precursor cells of #brain formation can cause alterations linked to cortical malformations but also to the origin of neuropsychiatric diseases

1 1 3

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Hospital del Mar Research Institute @researchmar.bsky.social · Jul 25

Linking alterations in precursor cells of brain 🧠 formation with the origin of #neuropsychiatricdiseases

#bioinformàtica #neuropsiquiatria #salutmental #autisme #Alzheimer #TalentMAR @santperelab.bsky.social @yaleneuro.bsky.social @hospitaldelmar.bsky.social

www.researchmar.net/news/742/lin...

1 6 8

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · Jul 10

Special thanks to the many contributors, especially those deeply involved from the beginning: @carlocolantuoni.bsky.social and @suelkeekim.bsky.social, and to also key collaborators and wonderful scientists Alex Jourdon and Shaojie Ma.

2

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · Jul 10

Excited to share our latest work, spearheaded by my brilliant student Xoel Mato and co-led by Nicola Micali. After years of sweat, intense weekly meetings, and meticulous discussion of every panel, we learned a lot from each other. Grateful for the journey!

@researchmar.bsky.social
rdcu.be/evCaU

Early developmental origins of cortical disorders modeled in human neural stem cells

Nature Communications - The implications of early telencephalic development in cortical disorders remain elusive. Here, the authors define risk gene dynamics and perturbation effects in neural stem...

rdcu.be

1 5 10

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Navjot Kaur @babyamygdala.bsky.social · May 22

Excited to showcase as a co-first author our latest work "Adaptive Evolution of Gene Regulatory Networks in Mammalian Neocortical Neurons "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.20.652233v1

2 5

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · May 14

Mice grow bigger brains when given this stretch of human DNA www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Mice grow bigger brains when given this stretch of human DNA

Finding adds to the bigger picture of how humans developed such large brains.

www.nature.com

3

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · May 14

Last week we attended the #ECCN2025 meeting in Alacant. It was an impressive succession of mind-blowing talks—exhilarating and exhausting. You couldn’t let your guard down for a second!

Here are Paula Mayo and Josema Ruiz presenting their posters.

@grib-barcelona.bsky.social

1 2

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona @prbb.org · Apr 25

🦠Although infection by the #EpsteinBarrVirus is necessary to develop #MultipleSclerosis, only 0.3% of those infected develop it. A new European project with the participation of 3 PRBB centres aims to understand why and the underlying mechanism.

More 👇
ellipse.prbb.org/ebv-ms-unvei...

EBV-MS: Unveiling the relationship between Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis - El·lipse

A 5-year Horizon Europe-funded project aims to uncover the role of the EBV virus in the onset and progression of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) disease .

ellipse.prbb.org

1 4 7

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · Apr 17

www.uib.no/en/ebvms/177...

Epstein-Barr Virus and Its Role in Multiple Sclerosis: A Growing Area of Research

In recent years, scientific evidence linking the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to the development of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has grown significantly. EBV, a common herpesvirus that infects most people at s...

www.uib.no

Gabriel Santpere @santperelab.bsky.social · Apr 6

Our piece on the beautiful work by Cui et al. on the impact of human accelerated regions on neurons is out now!
@grib-barcelona.bsky.social
@researchmar.bsky.social
@cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The impact of human accelerated regions on neuronal development

Human accelerated regions (HARs) are the fastest-evolving sequences in the human genome since the divergence from chimpanzees. Some of these regions a…

www.sciencedirect.com

5 5

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Quim Testar @quimtestar.bsky.social · Mar 21

He rigut.

2 15 48

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Cedric Boeckx @cedricboeckx.bsky.social · Jan 15

Great study from Nenad Sestan’s lab and collaborators (led by @babyamygdala.bsky.social) on the specification of claustro-amygdalar and ‘palaeocortical’ neurons and circuits — with a key role for TFAP2D dosage, now out in @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Specification of claustro-amygdalar and palaeocortical neurons and circuits - Nature

A conserved gene regulatory network involving SOX4, SOX11 and TFAP2D shapes the development of excitatory neurons in ventrolateral pallium and their connectivity with the prefrontal cortex.

www.nature.com

3 8

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Emily R. Trunnell, Ph.D. @ertrunnell.bsky.social · Jan 6

Read the full paper from Dennis Joshy, Gabriel Santpere, & Soojin V. Yi of @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social & @researchmar.bsky.social in @pnas.org: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 4/8

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

1 2 1

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Prof Sam Illingworth @samillingworth.com · Jan 5

🧬 Human Brain Evolution

New research reveals rapid, cell-type-specific regulatory evolution in human brains compared to primates, highlighting specialised changes in brain cells that shaped human cognition and behaviour.

🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#Neuroscience #Evolution #SciComm 🧪

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

6 15 88

Reposted by Gabriel Santpere

Chris Stringer @chrisbstringer.bsky.social · Dec 18

Accelerated cell-type-specific regulatory evolution of the human brain | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

Accelerated cell-type-specific regulatory evolution of the human brain | PNAS

The molecular basis of human brain evolution is a key piece in understanding the evolution of human-specific cognitive and behavioral traits. Compa...

www.pnas.org

4 9