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Scott Nichols

@scottnichols.bsky.social

1.8K followers 2.3K following 43 posts

Associate Professor of Biology @ University of Denver. Sponges, evolution, cell biology.

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Dec 18

Happy to announce our latest paper! A fresh look at the sponge Aggregation Factor, a glycoprotein complex involved in self-recognition and adhesion. Previously thought to be sponge-specific, we report compelling structural links with proteins found in all animals! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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

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Nat Clarke @natclarke.bsky.social · 9h

🚨 My lab is hiring at all levels!

Interested in animal origins & evolutionary cell biology?

I'm recruiting a postdoc, PhD students & a research assistant to study the molecular evolution of cell adhesion using marine invertebrates + comparative genomics.

🔗: clarkelab.com/join/

Please repost!

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Steve Haddock @stevehaddock.bsky.social · Aug 28

Our science photo book The Radiant Sea is out Sept 2nd!!
30 years of research, 10 years of "we should", and a year of collating pix and writing.
Sönke and I show (mostly for the first time) images of how organisms produce, use, and interact with light in the sea. #bioluminescence #fluorescence 🦑🧪🌊

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Mike the Mad Biologist and Tsar of All the Antifas @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social · Aug 29

Jared Polis wants Coloradans to get sick.

Kyle Clark @kylec.bsky.social · Aug 29

NEW: RFK Jr's purge of CDC leadership isn't shaking Democratic Gov Jared Polis' enthusiastic support of Kennedy to lead America's health policy. Today, Polis praised his collaboration with Kennedy, saying "We hope to work on making America healthier." #copolitics

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Aug 29

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Raphaël Clément @raphclement.bsky.social · Aug 27

Mechanosensation and fast reorientation of ciliary structures: Marvin's work on the surprising locomotion capabilities of Trichoplax, an animal without neurons!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Extinct blog @extinctblog.bsky.social · Aug 25

Soooo. I have a new paper on the origin and spread of the expression "Cambrian explosion," with some fun mid-twentieth century paleo, as well as some remarks on post-Wonderful Life shenanigans. Also, Darwin, Lyell, Simpson, Preston Cloud, TC Chamberlin and more!
www.extinctblog.org/palaeonews/2...

Max's new Cambrian paper — Extinct

Since I just posted my new paper on the historical challenge of classifying the Ediacaran biota , let me shamelessly promote another new paper, this one on the origin of the expression “Cambrian expl...

www.extinctblog.org

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Aug 11

It’s an anti-vinculin antibody, f-actin stained with phalloidin, DNA stained with Hoechst

Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Aug 8

Cell adhesions (magenta) at the leading edge of a sponge epithelium at the interface with the coverslip substrate.

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Tera Levin @teralevin.bsky.social · Aug 5

I'm excited to announce our new biorxiv preprint, wherein we investigate the evolution of the weirdest genetic locus I've ever seen! Behold the tgr genes of the social amoeba, which mediate self/non-self discrimination during facultative multicellularity 🐅 🧵 1/
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Hypermutable hotspot enables the rapid evolution of self/non-self recognition genes in Dictyostelium

Cells require highly polymorphic receptors to perform accurate self/non-self recognition. In the amoeba Dicytostelium discoideum, polymorphic TgrB1 & TgrC1 proteins are used to bind sister cells and e...

www.biorxiv.org

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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · Jul 30

Extra kudos and thanks to all the staff at NIH and NSF and other federal funding agencies for working extra hard in very small windows of opportunity to get grants reviewed and funds released before the attention-addled federal policies change again (on an hourly basis).

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Bhamla Lab @ Georgia Tech @bhamlalab.bsky.social · Jul 30

Hiring 4 postdocs — organismal biophysics, soft robotics, frugal Raman diagnostics, or your own bold idea.

3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.

PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics

Recruitment poster for the Bhamla Lab. Top shows Georgia Tech and CU Boulder logos. Main headline: “Hiring Multiple Postdoctoral Researchers: Organismal Biomechanics, Soft Robotics, and Raman Diagnostics.” Left column lists four roles—Organismal Biology, Bioinspired Engineering, Raman Diagnostics, and a Curiosity‑Based slot—plus note of 3‑year funding from DARPA, NSF, NIH, and Schmidt. Right side features a vintage collage of a Victorian‑era scientist with robotic arm, insects, and globe, and a circular “Physics of Life” diagram linking biology, physics, engineering, and mathematics. Tan background, Bhamla Lab crest at top.

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Jul 30

Nice to see that you’re coming to Colorado! We should reconnect when you’re here!

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Dr. Brooke Weigel @brookeweigel.bsky.social · Jul 29

✨Dream job alert!✨ Come join our Oceans Department at Stanford University! We are hiring an Assistant Professor. This faculty search focuses on 3 major areas: Oceans & global change, Ocean technologies & solutions, or Human dimensions of oceans 🌊
facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...

Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Assistant Professor in Oceans

facultypositions.stanford.edu

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Marine Biological Laboratory @mblscience.bsky.social · Jul 28

We're thrilled to announce the largest private gift in our 137-year history: a $25 million unrestricted donation from MBL Whitman Scientist Mark Terasaki.

His extraordinary generosity will bolster our renowned research and education programs. 🔬

Learn more: bit.ly/452WL1m

MBL Announces Largest Ever Gift for Its Renowned Biological Education and Research Programs | Marine Biological Laboratory

Cell Biology Researcher Mark Terasaki’s $25 Million Unrestricted Gift Will Support Operations and Infrastructure Contact: Samantha Cummis [email protected]; 973.800.4119

bit.ly

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Citizen Cohn / Jonathan Cohn @citizencohn.bsky.social · Jul 28

“A nuclear bomb dropped on cancer research”

Must-read @donmoyn.bsky.social about a new Trump administration attack on NIH funding donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...

Alert: The Trump administration is quietly slashing new NIH grant awards, and it's not via the budget

NIH’s sudden move to multiyear grant funding is forcing shocking cuts in the number of grants funded. This is an effective budget cut. It's bad, folks.

donmoynihan.substack.com

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Nature @nature.com · Jul 23

These members of the NIH Council of Councils are voicing serious concerns about NIH grant terminations, restructure, and budget cuts

go.nature.com/46Vr8t2

Protect the integrity of the US National Institutes of Health

Letter to the Editor

go.nature.com

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Jul 16

Please help get the word out - We are hiring at all levels (graduate students, technicians, and postdocs)! If you are interested in sponges, cell biology, evolution, immunity, and symbiosis, please don’t hesitate to contact me to learn more.

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Jul 19

Not the very best picture, but the first Toucan I’ve ever seen.

Reposted by Scott Nichols

Katherine Xue @ksxue.bsky.social · Jul 17

The Xue lab at UC Irvine is looking for a staff scientist to support our work investigating how microbes interact and evolve in the gut microbiome! Open to a wide range of previous experience levels, see ad for more.
recruit.ap.uci.edu/JPF09601

Junior, Assistant, or Associate Specialist – Xue Lab

University of California, Irvine is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ap.uci.edu

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Jul 16

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Khoa @khoavuumn.bsky.social · Jul 14

Using time series graphs to make causal claims be like

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Dan Sloan @sloanevolab.bsky.social · Jul 14

Please share! Our lab is recruiting a PhD student to join us starting fall 2026. Our group is broadly interested in plant molecular evolution and comparative genomics. More info about our lab and grad programs at Colorado St. is available on our lab website.

sites.google.com/site/danielb...

Sloan Lab

Welcome! Our research focuses on the evolutionary process at the molecular level. In particular, we investigate how a mixture of natural selection and non-adaptive forces create and maintain the amazi...

sites.google.com

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Dr. Lauren E. Fuess @laurenfuess.bsky.social · Jul 11

Celebrating this Friday evening!!

After 7 long months I can finally share that I have received an NSF CAREER award to study the link between bleaching and disease in cnidarians!!

Stay tuned for more info about postdoc and graduate student positions!

Screenshot of NSF proposal status page. It has four columns, one with the partial title (CAREER: Characterizing the mechanisms linking bleaching and recovery to), one with the “Awarded” status, one with the status date (today) and one with the submission date (nearly a year ago).

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Scott Nichols @scottnichols.bsky.social · Jun 6

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Dr Alessio Veneziano @aveneziano.bsky.social · Jun 5

US #science 🧪 is being wrecked and its leaders are ignoring it as it is just a 4yr phase, instead of using their power to fight back. History remembers the 12 profs who stood against the italian fascist regime, not the hundreds who took its oath. (1/2)

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

US science is being wrecked, and its leadership is fighting the last war

Facing an extreme budget, the National Academies hosted an event that ignored it.

arstechnica.com

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