Excited to share our new preprint led by Fred and me in collaboration with the archaeal community! We found that the molecular foundation of histone-based chromatin has pre-eukaryotic roots in Asgard archaea. (1/4) #ArchaeaSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Super excited that the first preprint from the lab is out! Led by an amazing student, Gaurav @gvaidya.bsky.social, jointly supervised with @mwdorr.bsky.social.

Annual killifish continue to surprise us: they make neutrophils before almost every other cell type, even before gastrulation. Neutrophils usually arise from the lateral plate mesoderm (forming in cyan), but in killifish they are already patrolling around the embryo in gold. tinyurl.com/killiphil

I'm old enough to remember QED's authors said it's just providing an author with internal feedback, and emphatically isn't trying to mimic human review. Now it's compared to human review or journal selectivity and used to rank (other people's) work. The authors seem to ignore the black box aspect1/3

First pre-print from the lab, a collaborative effort led by Jess Bourn @bournsupremacy.bsky.social, a fantastic PhD in my group. We resolve a key problem in development + evolution: how do we quantify heterochrony and link temporal variation to phenotype? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

If the genome is not a blueprint, what is it? My attempt to unravel this particularly knotty question, in @quantamagazine.bsky.social www.quantamagazine.org/why-the-huma...

Do you work with scRNAseq data in non-model organisms that have less-than-stellar gene annotations? ✨ 🧬 You might be interested in GeneExt, a nifty little tool by @zolotarg.bsky.social in @arnausebe.bsky.social's lab, published in #Bioinformatics earlier this year. #singlecell #transcriptomics

Congratulations to @kremnyovs.bsky.social, @tclebedeva.bsky.social and @hejnol.bsky.social - this is a fantastic paper. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Very happy to have been part of this collaboration.

Our paper "Gene ancestries reveal diverse microbial associations during eukaryogenesis.” is finally out in Nature. Eukaryogenesis was likely a gradual process shaped by multiple microbial partners and virus-mediated gene transfer, rather than a single binary symbiosis. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

sPYce is now published in Nature Ecology and Evolution! sPYce is a method to integrate single-cell regulatory data across species, without requiring whole-genome alignments between species. More below ⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Long-term aggregation induced by bacteria in the filasteran Ministeria, with increased mating frequency inside aggregates. Truly remarkable observations by JP Gerdt, @multicellgenome.bsky.social and team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Our latest: Minimal essential requirements for neural tube self-organisation How does a single cell give rise to a tissue with the right cell types in the right proportions? We deconstruct and rebuild a self-organising tissue from first principles A thread🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

"Humbled to receive this recognition. This belongs as much to my team, my family, & to my home, Palestine: the people, the place, the joyful stubbornness to enjoy life." Cheers buddy @gautamdey.bsky.social Thx to my mentors @sophiemartinlab.bsky.social, @paveltomancak.bsky.social, & Pierre Gönczy.

A big preprint from my group! Muller Elements are considered to be conserved in flies. We tested it by reconstructing the ancestral dipteran karyotype using 340 chromosomal genomes and suprise suprise, they're not... Led by @juliagries.bsky.social and Sam Ebdon. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇

We are looking for a new colleague to join us in Galway. The position is in Biochemistry and if research focus lines up we hope the successful person will join us in the Centre for Chromosome biology (chromosome.ie). Reach out if you are interested in applying! tinyurl.com/2jy4rj3r

A fossil nervous system meets modern neurobiology. We found that a living comb jelly preserves neural architecture remarkably similar to those inferred from Cambrian fossils over 500 million years old 🤩. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Capolavoro 🎨 alert 🚨! What is the role of gene body methylation in invertebrates? Despite extensive speculation linking it to plasticity and environmental responses, its mechanistic effects and heritability remain unclear. Our take out in @natecoevo.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/

Here’s the last major paper from the PhD of @paulknabl.bsky.social. We were trying to understand what BMP signaling does in the sea anemone Nematostella when it is not patterning its second body axis. Check out Part 1 in BMC Biol. 2025; and here's is our Part 2 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

🚨 We discovered a new mode of Hox gene regulation in annelids! 🪱 A distal enhancer acts as a "global control region", lifting Hox genes from Polycomb repression. This is reminiscent of Hox gene control in vertebrates, but the two modes likely evolved convergently. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We are recruiting 2 PhD students @ the University of Bologna to study neuron evolution in mosquitoes and non-bilaterian animals using single-cell genomics, evo-devo and computational biology. Plus, Bologna is hard to beat scientifically and gastronomically. More info: www.unibo.it/en/study/phd...

One of my dream projects, ever since joining here in Basel, out now in @nature.com : single-cells 🤝 eco-morphological proxies rdcu.be/fiyso How cells and tissues adapt to dietary niches... Thanks and congrats to Antoine, Walter, and all the other co-authors for this great collaboration!! 🙏🥳

We have a few spots left on our amazing #ScalableGenomics course. Perfect for anyone doing #genomics of many or difficult genomes, ideal for #PhD students, #postdocs or anyone else who would like to get hands-on experience. Register in the link below! tinyurl.com/scalableGeno... RT appreciated!

Thrilled to present our comparative study on the evolution of zygotic genome activation (ZGA)!! 🥚🧬 Amazing PhD work of @campobes.bsky.social together with @fedemantica.bsky.social and many collaborators! @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu. Thread below 1/15 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We launched a new Group Leader vacancy in our Center for AI & Computational Biology - VIB.AI @vibai.bsky.social - with a Professorship at Ghent University. Join us with your most creative AI+Biology research plan! Apply before 31st May vib.ai/en/group-lea...

I wrote an essay. It’s about gain-of-function mutations. And penguins. Also ion channels, chihuahuas, the film Alien, recycled cardboard, and the Apollonian mind. Oh, and muffins. Thanks to the editors of #GENETICS @genetics-gsa.bsky.social for letting me take some stylistic liberties. 1/2

Our latest publication is now out at Genome Biology! link.springer.com/article/10.1... We uncover a unique association between a H3K27me3 reader complex and active transcription. A thread with our key findings: (1/8) #TEsky #Polycomb #transcription #smallRNAs

Our work on chromatin evolution in brown algae is now published in @natecoevo.nature.com! We show that developmentally complex brown algae evolved without epigenetic silencing pathways long thought universal, underscoring why non-model lineages are important to study. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Want to know how histone marks regulate your favorite gene? Go single molecule with ChromSMF: integrated measure of chromatin accessibility and histone marks + DNA methylation, TF footprints and genotype for free! Very proud of @mpalamin.bsky.social ! @embl.org

Find our latest Perspective article in Nature Genetics on "The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements" at www.nature.com/articles/s41..., with implications for the future of research on the cause of human disease.

Our Lab is searching a postdoc for an exciting ERC-funded project that will start this summer. Apply if you’re passionate about multi-omics, cutting-edge computational approaches, and exploring biological questions across the animal 🪼 🪱 🐞 🦎 🦋 🕷️ tree of life www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/open-positio...

Final version @nature.com of our paper describing unconventional multicellular development in a choanoflagellate inhabiting an extreme environment. A ton of new data since the first @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint (which we've kept updating). A brief 🧵 (carried over from the old place)

Diving into evolutionary biology! What is the origin of the most abundant class of insect transcription factors, ZAD-ZnFs? We suggest that they evolved from ancestral insulator-binding proteins that control 3D genome topology. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Our internal organs are evolutionary marvels. New technologies are transforming our understanding of the evolution of vertebrate organs. You can find more by reading here: rdcu.be/e5EgU #EvoBio #EvoDevo 🐟🦎🐢🦇🐊🦜

🤩💪 Out now! 3D regulatory hubs in sex determination With @mamartirenom.bsky.social & Capel labs, led by @imotagom.bsky.social & @jrotwitguez.bsky.social 1️⃣ METALoci – explore #3DGenome 🧬 2️⃣ Non-coding region controlling Fgf9 🧩 3️⃣ Meis genes = new key players 🌟 👉 rdcu.be/e5sm2 1/n Bluetorial 👇

I am happy to share the unfinished but nevertheless fascinating autobiography of the late Thomas Cavalier-Smith, written in 2020, shortly before Tom passed away in 2021. I thank Ema Cavalier-Smith for sharing the text with me. I recently finished curating […] [Original post on biologists.social]

One of the biggest questions in biology is how complex cells evolved about 2 billion years ago. Here's my new story on how scientists are solving the mystery of eukaryotes like us. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qMbo22

Thrilled to announce that I’ve just opened my research lab at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to my mentor Roi Avraham (and lab members!) for the incredible training and support that made this possible.

The day is finally here!! On behalf of all the co-organizers the Comparative Genomics of Unicellular Eukaryotes website is open. comparativegenomics2026.com Invited speakers will be added to the website in the coming weeks. Watch this (well, that^) space!

Please share🙏: Our lab opens 2 PhD positions to investigate fungi's evolution: #Barcelona Wet lab in Biochemistry/Structural Biology of cryo-tolerant fungi www.upf.edu/documents/d/... Computational in Physical Chemistry of cellular processes under extrem environments www.upf.edu/documents/d/...

📣 Please spread: we’re hiring a Lab Manager! It is a critical position in our new lab. As our lab moves to Barcelona and joins the @crg.eu, we’re looking for a Lab Manager to help build the lab and set the lab atmosphere. 🔗 Apply here 👉 recruitment.crg.eu/content/jobs...

Need a bit of escapism? Not exactly Lord of the Rings, but in similar vein: doi.org/10.1038/s443...

TF-MINDI is out! A new method to learn cis-regulatory codes through rich embeddings of TF binding sites. TF-MINDI decomposes motif neighbourhoods, and works downstream of any sequence-to-function deep learning model. We deeply study the enhancer code in human neural development, check out the thread

Thrilled to share that I’ve been awarded a FIS-3 Advanced Grant (ERC-inspired) to study the evolution of neurogenic GRNs. Recruiting soon: 4 postdocs + 3 PhDs Press release in Italian — to decolonise scientific language 😄 magazine.unibo.it/it/articoli/... Email me if interested in joining the lab

Our latest: Independent origins of spicules reconcile paleontological and molecular evidence of sponge evolutionary history, led by @meleonora-rossi.bsky.social with help from friends @bristolpalaeo.bsky.social including @anariesgo.bsky.social @evopalaeo.bsky.social Davide Pisani and many others

I am very happy (and a bit scared) to present to you what we have been working on over the last 4 years. This manuscript is exactly what I dreamt of when I started the lab and I could not be happier and prouder of the outcome!

Our eLetter github.com/caseywdunn/s... responding to a recent Science paper was just posted. The paper found more genes with consistent support for sponge-sister than ctenophore-sister. We found several technical issues that, when corrected, reverse the conclusions and recover ctenophore-sister.

Our work on the evolution of the regulatory genome of echinoderms is now out in @natecoevo.nature.com. Led by my former PhD Marta Magri, Danila Voronov & Saoirse Foley. Great collaboration of Arnone, Hinman & Maeso labs, started long time ago with our missed José Luis Gomez-Skarmeta: rdcu.be/eXX8l

Open Senior Bioinformatician position at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me. 📅 Apply by January 18 🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco... Please share with anyone who might be interested!

Looking to start your lab in generative biology / AI? Come join us at the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Sanger is core-funded so you can generate data at scale to train the next generation of models and understanding. Design/Engineering/Chemistry/Proteins/Pathways! pls RT tinyurl.com/GenGenFaculty

🚨🚨🚨 We're looking for a research tech to work on alt splicing, pancreatic islets and diabetes. The goal is to set a high-throughput platform to investigate the role of alternative exons in beta cell biology! Interested in joining our lab at @melisupf.bsky.social? 👇 www.upf.edu/documents/d/...