Very insightful talk by Dean Gunn Mangerud, who shared the latest updates and upcoming projects at our faculty @scienceandtechuib.bsky.social 👏 We are grateful for this opportunity to have an open dialogue, and look forward to new exciting challenges @unibergen.bsky.social!

In 2025, we celebrate #200years of knowledge at the University of Bergen! An occasion to honor the scientists who came before us and whose legacy we carry on today 🧪🔬 “This story goes from Michael Sars, the vicar and marine zoologist, to Michael Sars, the Centre.” - Prof. Anders Goksøyr ⤵️ 1/2

First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E @jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

Awesome to welcome and host @enricodanielloszn.bsky.social for a seminar and (short) visit at @msarscentre.bsky.social in #SunnyBergen, which - sometimes - is only a state of mind. 😉☀️🇳🇴

Friday seminar treat with a talk by Prof. De Tomaso on the reproductive and regenerative prowesses of colonial ascidians at @msarscentre.bsky.social in #SunnyBergen

Could not be more happy/proud/relieved to finally see this longstanding study published. Bluetorial to follow. @msarscentre.bsky.social Cell cycle-driven transcriptome maturation confers multilineage competence to cardiopharyngeal progenitors | The EMBO Journal www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Tiny sea cucumbers, big mysteries! 🪱 Out sampling for my MSCA project SensHolo at the @msarscentre.bsky.social, at the University of Bergen, 🇳🇴— exploring how these mini echinoderms sense their world. Plus a few bonus echinoderms! 🌊✨

We had a full room today for a talk by Nicolas Minc @minclab.bsky.social from @ijmonod.bsky.social 👏 He presented his team's latest work on the mechanics of cell division, including how they use magnetic tweezers to rotate mitotic spindles 💥 Thank you for joining us!

Very excited that our lab, together with @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab at the @msarscentre.bsky.social, got certified as MY GREEN LAB (mygreenlab.org) which helped us to take major steps towards a greener working environment. Very thankful to all labmembers involved in this huge team effort!

It was fantastic welcoming back Chema Martin @chemamd.bsky.social from @qmulsbbs.bsky.social at the Centre today 👏 He shared with us his latest work on spiralian larvae evolution, with fascinating insights on the timing of gene expression during development. Thank you for visiting us!

Congratulations to Michael Sars Centre alumna @oceanetourniere.bsky.social for this amazing achievement! A very inspiring path, both as a scientist and as an advocate for women in science 👏

We are on a journey to adopt greener practices at the Centre, and our efforts were recently recognized with TWO labs obtaining the highest-level certification from My Green Lab 🌱🤩 This work was driven by engineers @margauxfailla.bsky.social, @evanordmann.bsky.social & @paulamiramon.bsky.social 👏🧵

Incredible pictures by @alexandrejan.bsky.social, ctenophore whisperer in the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab 😍 Happy belated ctenophore day! 🌈

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part II). A full bucket of ctenophores for Ctenophore day - time to shimmer🌈🌊✨ Please watch till end: Mnemiopsis & Pleurobrachia included. Alexandre @alexandrejan.bsky.social filmed and caught this ctenophore at the same time @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part I). The fjords around Bergen are full with Mnemiopsis right now. Movie by the amazing @alexandrejan.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

Comb jelly season has started in Bergen, Norway! 🌈🍂🧪

Fantastic presentation by @malinkjosavik.bsky.social at the Tutzing basal metazoan workshop 👏 She shared her work on starvation and metabolism in Nematostella, conducted in collaboration between the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab and the Dept of Biomedicine @unibergen.bsky.social ✨

Explaining sea squirt development to the public? Challenge accepted! Our team had a great time at the #forskningsdagene science fair over the weekend. We met visitors of all ages who shared our excitement for science, and went back to the lab inspired and energized 🤩✨

Huge congratulations to postdoc Guillaume Poncelet @guillaumeponcelet.bsky.social who was awarded a UiB Early Idea innovation grant 🤩🎉 Inspired by his work in the @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab, he will be developing a new product derived from naturally occurring compounds 🔬 Read more below ⤵️

Congratulations @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social, @rnadoctor.bsky.social & team for a new publication in @plosbiology.org 👏🧪 Their work shows a conserved pathway for neuromuscular junction development between tunicates and vertebrates 🧠 Read the article below ⤵️

Our lab is 2.5 years into #ERC funding✨ Grateful for the support that enabled us to uncover the syncytial nerve net in a ctenophore - a discovery reshaping our understanding of nervous system evolution. Stay tuned for more exciting discoveries to come @erc.europa.eu www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DAE...

"A reminder of why I fell in love with biology in the first place" 🔬✨ This summer, PhD candidate Max Jordi Makem Pekouankouang from the @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab participated in the Embryology course at @mblscience.bsky.social. He shares how this experience enriched his approach to science ⤵️

Congratulations Dr. Fournon Berodia @inesfournon.bsky.social 🎉🤩 We are very proud of Inés for successfully defending her PhD thesis conducted in the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab. Thank you to opponents @ragkousik.bsky.social & @levayerr.bsky.social for insightful discussions 👏

We were happy today to co-host a seminar by Sr. Scientist John Stegeman from @whoi.edu 👏 From vertebrates to giant viruses, we learned a lot about the fascinating evolution of the cytochrome P450 family. Thank you for a great talk!

🌊🧪 Big day at #chemecol2025! I presented my talk: “Chemical cues & larval behaviour in the tunicate Ciona intestinalis 🪸✨ I had the pleasure of chairing the Aquatic Chemical Ecology session — featuring amazing talks on annelids, cnidarians, oysters, and red algae. 🌿🦪🪼🪱

Congratulations @appygenetics.bsky.social on a new preprint 🤩 🧪 Read the whole paper below ⤵️

New preprint from the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab 🤩 @annaferraioli.bsky.social & colleagues created a 3D model of the ctenophore apical organ, revealing cell-type diversity and exciting new insights into the evolution of central nervous systems 🧠🧪 Congratulations to the team! 👏

A new dispatch by @iramaegele.bsky.social and @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 👏 They took a closer look at a fascinating study on siphonophore biodiversity led by @shchurch.bsky.social & @caseydunn.bsky.social 🪼🧪⤵️

Researchers from @imev-mer.fr recently visited us for a workshop supported by the French-Norwegian mobility program Åsgard 🌊 Between seminars, lab demos and discussions, new ideas and plans for long-term collaborations emerged 🤩 Read more about this exciting partnership below ⤵️

New preprint from the Burkhardt lab 🎉 Beautiful work led by @annaferraioli.bsky.social revealing the structure of the ctenophore aboral organ in incredible detail. Congratulations to the team! 👏

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Michael Sars Visitors Program! ✨🧪 To spark new connections, we are opening our doors to visiting researchers who wish to conduct a project in #SunnyBergen. Applications are open, help us spread the word!

It was an honor to attend a lecture by Christian Sardet @cellsandplankton.bsky.social today 👏 Christian took us on a journey through the history of science and art over the past 200 years, and showed some of his own work documenting beautiful planktonic organisms 🦠 Thank you for a fantastic talk!

The 4th edition of the Michael Sars Symposium was a success 🤩 A big thank you to our fantastic speakers, engaged audience and organizing team ✨ Have a look below for a throwback to the #MSS2025 highlights! 📸⤵️

This year's Nordic Microscopy Society meeting was hosted by @unibergen.bsky.social 👏 Group leader @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social shared his team's work using expansion and 3D electron microscopy to study nervous systems. Congratulations on a great talk! 🔬🧠

Our last session focused on Receptor Evolution 🙌 Yuhong Wang presented her latest findings on glutamate receptors, while Ryan Hibbs @ucsandiego.bsky.social shared insights on inhibitory signals in the human brain. A wonderful conclusion to #MSS2025!

The first #MSS2025 afternoon session was all about enzyme evolution 👏 @paolalaurino.bsky.social - live from @oistedu.bsky.social, Ida Helene Steen @cdeepsea.bsky.social and Ioannis Riziotis @ebi.embl.org shared their latest work, using very different approaches to this fascinating topic 🤩

What a fantastic morning at #MSS2025 🤩 After an opening by BIO Dept. head @unibergen.bsky.social Ståle Ellingsen, three amazing talks by @lowelab.bsky.social, Georgia Rapti @embl.org and Camila Esguerra @ncmbm.bsky.social on System Evolution 👏

#MSS2025 Michael Sars Symposium 2025 start, with the organizers Tim Lynagh and Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social from @msarscentre.bsky.social

#MSS2025 kicks-off tomorrow morning 🤩 Last but not least in this speaker lineup reveal, our very own Yuhong Wang will share her work on the evolution of ionotropic glutamate receptors in bilaterians. We are looking forward to her talk 👏

Introducing a contender for Most Elegant Animal in the Ocean: the Appendicularian! In Oct. 2023, Terra Hiebert and collaborators Anne Thompson and Carey Sweeney @bluewaterlab.bsky.social went to the @msarscentre.bsky.social in Bergen, Norway to study appendicularian feeding selectivity.

We were very lucky today to host a career seminar by Karin Kühnel, Editor-in-Chief at Structure @cellpress.bsky.social 🤩 She shared her career path and insights about her work in an inspiring talk, plus some insider tips on the publishing process. Thank you so much, see you at #MSS2025 👏

Less than a week before we kick-off #MSS2025 🤩 On Friday, Ioannis Riziotis will present his work on enzyme convergent evolution conducted at @ebi.embl.org 👏 We are looking forward to a day of exciting talks!!

Wonderful article by students from the 2024 Embryolgy Course, including @ruthstyfhals.bsky.social from our laboratory 🤩 @msarscentre.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social @mblscience.bsky.social

Our collaboration with Paris Aquarium is going strong 👏🌊 Together with aquarist @alexandrejan.bsky.social, the Paris team went on a quest for jellyfish in the fjords and brought a new ctenophore species for the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab. An exciting and eventful visit! Read more ⤵️

Registration for #MSS2025 closes in 2 days 🚨Join us for an exciting talk by Paola Laurino @paolalaurino.bsky.social from @oistedu.bsky.social, who will present her latest work using chemical approaches and protein engineering to study protein evolution 👏 ➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz

Congratulations on a great festival, bridging science and the public in #SunnyBergen 👏🧪

We are excited to present Jingwei Xu @xujwet.bsky.social from @ethz.ch for #MSS2025 🤩 His work focuses on the evolutionary origins of cytoskeletons, using advanced microscopy techniques to reveal the cell biology of Asgard archaea 🦠 Only one week left to sign up! ➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz

💡 Submit your abstract here: 👉 scienceevents.eventsair.com/isce-apace-2...

📣 Phd fellowship opportunity! A fantastic project at @szndohrn.bsky.social with Enrico D'Aniello and @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social 👏 Apply before June 14! 🔗 tinyurl.com/29u343t9

During #MSS2025, Ross Waller from @cambiochem.bsky.social will present his team’s efforts to elucidate algal proteomes and better understand their propensity to parasitism 🌿 Registration is open until May 28 👏➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz