During #brain development, axons grow along precise pathways. Scientists have now discovered that tissue stiffness & chemical signalling interact with each other. 👉 mpzpm.mpg.de/news/news-de... @fau.de @embl.org @franzelab.bsky.social #research #neuroscience

🥳🥳🥳 Pretty fab start to 2026!!

Presenting our latest results!! Glad to have been part of the team! Huge thanks to everyone especially @evapillai.bsky.social @niklasgampl.bsky.social and @franzelab.bsky.social !!! #xenopus #mechanobiology

🚨Two fully-funded #PhD positions🚨 Join @slcuplants.bsky.social to help us explore intriguing fundamental plant development questions in a supportive, friendly institute with fantastic supervisors & exceptional support services 🌿🧬🔬 Find out more www.slcu.cam.ac.uk/PhD Pls share #plantscijobs 1/3🧵

When a larval zebrafish twitches its tail, the vascular endothelium lights up with a calcium signal, mediated by Piezo1. We used to think mechanosensing in endothelial cells was about sensing blood flow, but at least in this case it's about sensing body motion.

Happy to have been part of such an amazing team of scientists! If you are curious about how stiffness regulates neuronal maturation, give this a read. #xenopus #mechanobiology

An excellent opportunity to do your PhD in a fantastic lab with an incredible mentor!

Zelda's Link: The role of gene activity-switching transcription factor Zelda in controlling tissue regeneration 📷 Anish Bose et al‪ @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social lab @uofillinois.bsky.social in @science.org ScienceAdvances ➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2025... with John Ankers

Huge congratulations!!!

Thanks,DionnHargreaves LabWoolner @dev-journal.bsky.social for highlighting our preprint! Curious how mechanical and chemical signaling guides axons or how frogs are excellent for this question? @franzelab.bsky.social @evapillai.bsky.social🐸🧠 check it out #xenopus #Devbio #mechanobiology

So excited that our latest work is out! We have been working to understand how damaged tissue exits regeneration and returns to normal gene expression, and found a major role for the pioneer transcription factor Zelda in flies. Kudos to @anishbose.bsky.social @keatonschuster.bsky.social et al!

Experimental embryology postdoc available in my lab at the @biology.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk working on the evolution of vertebral counts. Reach out if you’re passionate about EvoDevo, enjoy lab work and microscopy and are into or could get into cichlid fishes. Deadline on the 16th June. Please share!

For an update on a set of recent preprints using gastruloids to investigate the interplay between morphogenesis, gene expression and physical parameters, on the robustness of patterning: journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

🤩🤩 Check out this selection of amazing images on the Node! #devbio thenode.biologists.com/grs-developm...

Want to engage with the #mechanobiology community? Why not join this group? Just drop me a DM and I´ll add you. go.bsky.app/G5cQqYT

High impact, small size. We welcome papers that address findings from a single set of experiments, or that are substantial enough to stand alone in 1,500 words or fewer. Find out more 👇

“Our comprehensive atlas serves as a valuable resource to the cardiovascular and regeneration scientific communities and their ongoing efforts to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying vertebrate heart regeneration.” New work from Ying Su Lab 🇨🇳 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“Together, our results establish this optogenetic toolkit as a potent experimental platform to rapidly, directly, and adjustably activate FGF, BMP, and Nodal signaling in zebrafish embryos.” New work from @leanneiannucci.bsky.social & @katwrog.bsky.social 🔥

Are material phase transitions more than simple regulators of tissue deformability? Check our latest work uncovering that rigidity transitions can trigger cell polarity! Congratulations to @laura-rustarazo.bsky.social , @crisp-c.bsky.social and Adrián for leading this work!

Nervous system of a five-day-old zebrafish larva. Credit to Dr. Nathan Martin of @plavickilab.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

Proteins that allow water to move in and out of cells help shape the development of new blood vessels. buff.ly/Sl19tgH

Hyaluronic acid deposition & a soft ECM promote digit regeneration in mice. 🐁 @jontytownson.bsky.social covers the first #preprint from the @storerlab.bsky.social delving into the importance of the ECM in wound regeneration in mice. #preLight ⬇️ 👀 prelights.biologists.com/highlights/h...

Check out these feather buds on the chicken embryo's wing! Our latest study @plosbiology.org reveals that temporary inhibition of sonic hedgehog signalling transforms feathers into simple, protofeather-like structures—similar to those of their dinosaur ancestors🔬🦖🧪 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Researchers at the Crick have found that pregnancy in mice leads to the irreversible growth of their small intestine. www.crick.ac.uk/news/2025-03...

Prof. Tomohisa Toda erhält den Joseph-Altman-Ward 🏆 Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Toda untersucht den Alterungsprozess des menschlichen Gehirns anhand von langlebigen zellulären Komponenten. Der Preis ist mit 10.000 US-Dollar dotiert. 👇 Mehr erfahren: www.fau.de/2025/03/news...

Issue 5 is complete! On the cover: A 3D reconstruction from a light-sheet fluorescent microscopy image stack depicts parallel networks of vessels (PECAM1+, CD31, magenta) and nerves (PRPH+, yellow) in a human heart at 10.0 post-conceptional weeks. See De Bono et al. doi.org/10.1242/dev....

3D reconstruction of a 3-day-old #zebrafish heart beating. Credit to Michael Weber (prev. @mpi-cbg.de). #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

Recent work from our lab: Niepukolie Nipu shows that methylene blue, at recommended concentrations used in embryo medium, affects metabolism and behaviour in larvae. These findings point to an overlooked confound relevant to larval zebrafish use in (eco)toxicity testing and the zebrafish community.

Happy to share our review on methodology for measuring and manipulating mechanical forces with specific focus on developmental biology! Congrats to authors @clemvilleneuve.bsky.social @mccreery.bsky.social and hats off to the community for developing awesome tools www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The next set of Gulmohar talks is here! We have Kirti Gupta from @rashmi-priya.bsky.social lab at @crick.ac.uk and @nehaghosh.bsky.social from Treisman lab at NYU School of Medicine. 🗓️March 11 ⏰6 PM IST If you haven't signed up to be a participant before, use this link: forms.gle/gGnZbd6w9yTi...

Frog!

Our latest extraordinary biologist is Sarah Bray, Chair of our Board of Directors. To learn more about Sarah's role and relationship with @biologists.bsky.social, read this interview in @dev-journal.bsky.social: bit.ly/3CEibaX. #100biologists @uniofcam.bsky.social

Mannose controls mesoderm specification and symmetry breaking in mouse gastruloids: Developmental Cell www.cell.com/developmenta...