Many sea stars begin life as young fairy-like creature (called a brachiolaria) that float through the open ocean. Eventually, a small star forms within them (here in yellow). The fairy-like brachiolaria sinks under the star’s weight, and the star pops out! 🎥@the_story_of_a_biologist (on Insta)

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

It's #WorldOctopusDay! These beauties from our collection are both by French pharmacist and naturalist Jean Baptiste Vérany (1800-65). Octopus vulgaris - the common octopus, which can grow to 9kg and change colour to match its surroundings.

We are happy to see Dr @michaelemann.bsky.social visiting @mcgillscience.bsky.social to speak about his new book "Science Under Siege" with @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social Thursday, October 23, 2025 www.mcgill.ca/sustainabili...

www.ledevoir.com/actualites/s...?

McGill Physics researchers have developed a new device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them. The device offers scientists unprecedented control over how DNA behaves in real time, creating the opportunity for faster, more precise molecular analysis. mcgill.ca/x/iRJ

A species of lungfish found in South America has claimed the title of the animal with the biggest genome sequenced so far. Learn more on #WorldAnimalDay: https://scim.ag/46OMl6v

It’s Ctenophore Day! (‘Cos it’s the 4th of Oct and in the States you’d say it’s 10/04 ten-oh-four ctenophore. See? See?) So here’s a Ctenophore juvenile for #ctenophoreday ! Now the word ctenophore doesn’t make any sense to me, I’ve said it too many times. #marineplankton 🦑

Happy Ctenophore day! Its a perfect day to celebrate such a small yet beautifully diverse phyla that comes in a wide array of shapes and colors. #Ctenophoreday

"Nature et climat, deux défis avec une solution commune : la biodiversité au cœur de la résilience climatique": Les co-directeurs du CSBQ Fanie Pelletier et Andrew Gonzalez @bio-diverse.bsky.social co-signent un article dans @climatoscope360.bsky.social climatoscope.ca/nature-et-cl... 🌳🪲🌅 1/2

Jane Goodall has passed away. Remembering her Beatty Lecture at McGill in 2019. “It is bizarre how the most intellectual creature that ever walked the planet is destroying its only home” reporter.mcgill.ca/its-been-a-l...

On Friday, Oct. 24, join Interim Dean of Science Alanna Watt for coffee and conversation, followed by a discussion with McGill Profs Irene Gregory-Eaves & Jeffrey McKenzie on freshwater science in a changing climate. Free registration: mcgill.ca/x/iaR

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture. buff.ly/P8ZTl0A

New paper from our lab: The use of #microplastics as case-building material by larval caddisflies facilitates the transfer of plastic (& potentially its associated contaminants) to predatory fish.

What impact does a warming planet have on public health? How much progress are we making in our understanding of cancer? McGill experts tackle some of the most important questions of our times on Mark my words, a new podcast mcgillnews.mcgill.ca/tag/podcasts/

For this #FluorescenceFriday, a gorgeous image of an adult mouse kidney labeled with AQP2 and alpha SMA antibodies. AQP2 (green) marks the collecting duct and distal connecting segment while SMA marks the arterial tree. Courtesy of talented postdoc Sarah McLarnon.

Congratulations (and thank you) to Prof. Nicole King (@berkeleymcb.bsky.social) for her fascinating Alma Howard Lecture @biomcgill.bsky.social 🎉🤩👩‍🔬 She shared new data on the secret (sex) lives of choanoflagellates and their implications for the evolution of mating and multicellularity in animals 🦠

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

Our latest issue is out!👇 www.cell.com/current-biol... On the cover: Nautilus ≈ 🐙+🐚 (Maybe — like the Nautilus — our journal is a living fossil, believing in the interest and inspiration our readers might draw from the diversity of biological systems, questions and approaches we try to feature🙏 )

The #UruguaySub200 science team observed charismatic animals, chemosynthetic communities & the formation of a beautiful, healthy reef that sent a clear message to the scientists: when disturbed habitats are given time to recover, healthy ecosystems can and do return. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyjM...

Assistant Professor - Animal Morphogenesis The Department of Cell & Systems Biology at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position: Assistant Professor in the field of Animal Morphogenesis Start date: July 1, 2026.   jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Welcome back to #trilobitetuesday Here is another specimen of the trilobite Elrathia antiqauta. This comes from the Middle Cambrian (Drumian) Conasauga Formation in Floyd Co, Georgia.

News in the history of molecular biology. The Science History Institute in Philadelphia has acquired a huge archive of correspondence and other scientific material from the pioneers of molecular biology (Franklin, Klug, Perutz, Delbrück etc, with items from Crick and Watson, too). 1/n

Last week our field team investigated the effects of low water levels in the St Lawrence River. Shown left to right: @briellecomartin.bsky.social, @ivanakomendic.bsky.social & @tjcolvin.bsky.social Joining them was @ecoinvasions.bsky.social. The land on which they're standing should be under water.

La #biodiversité canadienne étalée sur une carte www.ledevoir.com/environnemen... Pour en savoir plus sur Blitz the Gap: blitzthegap.org @biomcgill.bsky.social @qcbs.ca

Are you tracking developments in #biodiversity monitoring and its applications? We wrote a paper on addressing the challenges: Data to Decisions: the Biodiversity Monitoring Standards Framework (BMSF). Creating a cycle of trust from field data to policy reports 🧵 ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

When chanchitos fly, it happens 2,340 meters deep in the Ocean! This is a sea pig, or chanchito, if you’re a member of the #Uruguaysub200 science team. Scotoplanes sp. is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers of the family Elpidiidae. 🎥ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

Mouse (Mus musculus) 🐭 is the powerhouse of mammalian genetics, essential for studying embryogenesis, organ development and gene function using transgenic technologies. 📸 Image by Zhong Hua also featured on the cover of Developmental Biology textbook (11th edition) #ModelMonday

How environmental RNA can give us a real-time picture of freshwater biodiversity

Meet 𝘋𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘹 🔬✨ These tiny freshwater organisms helped us study how environmental DNA & RNA (eNAs) degrade and persist in water. Even the smallest creatures can reveal big insights about biodiversity and ecosystem health. @biomcgill.bsky.social #eDNA #eRNA #Daphnia #Science

That’s a wrap on field season 2025! Check out some highlights from the 9 weeks spent on the St. Lawrence & Ottawa Rivers! 1/4

✨Nervous about development? Don’t be! 🧠 E13.5 🐁 embryo showing nerves (🩵) and endothelial cells (💙) weaving together in the developing pup 🔬 image by Nathan Burns 🧪 #FluorescenceFriday #DevBio #MouseEmbryo

This #FluorescenceFriday we’re exploring microtubules using Ankyron® clone AP40945, which binds TBCA (red), with DAPI-stained nuclei (blue). Shown in HeLa cells. Image captured with our lovely @discoverecho.bsky.social #microscope. Learn more: proimmune.com/ankyron

Nightmare fuel for corals: The Bearded Fireworm 😱🔥🪱🪸 #beardedfireworm #fireworm #nightmarefuel #corallivore #coral #coralhead #coralcitycamera #miami #portmiami #biscaynebay #coralcity

If you really listen, you can hear this parrotfish munching away peacefully! Bonaire (my video)

What you're looking at is a brand new protist species! 🤯🔬 Isn't it beautiful? This image is just a glimpse of what's to come. We can't wait to share our full findings soon, in partnership with Guifré @beaplab.bsky.social @luisjagago.bsky.social. Stay tuned! #NewSpecies #protistsonSky #diversity

We love cephalopods, warts and all! 🐙 This is a Graneledone sp., a genus of warty octopuses in the family Octopodidae found throughout the global Ocean — filmed by ROV SuBastian pilots at 1603 m during #UruguaySUB200. Read more: www.instagram.com/reel/DOMLFB2...

Excited to share a new Conversation article with @otournayre.bsky.social 🧬at @biomcgill.bsky.social We show that environmental RNA, long considered too unstable, can actually give us a snapshot of what’s alive right now in lakes and rivers. 🔗 theconversation.com/how-environm...