How ancient are the building blocks of animal sensory systems? Key components of animal sensory systems evolved before animals. We find that choanoflagellates possess diverse & spatially segregated TRP channels, pointing to ancient origins of sensory specialization. doi.org/10.64898/202...

It is easy to think that sea squirts only display simple behaviors and do not significantly interact with their environment 🌊 New research lead by @olegtolstenkov.bsky.social, Sissel Norland and @mchatzigeorgiou.bsky.social proves this assumption wrong 👏⤵

1/5 A fascinating new #ctenophore preprint 🧵 Ferraioli et al. uncover a “ladder-like” neural architecture in the living comb jelly Mnemiopsis and connect it to preserved neuroanatomical traces in Cambrian fossils. But the real importance isn’t the anatomy. It’s what the anatomy implies.

Super excited to see this story out ✨ ‪ Ctenophores are full of surprises 🪜🤩

Happy #CtenophoreDay (10/4)! Last month, my picture of a cteno illustrated the cover of the latest paper of @annaferraioli.bsky.social & @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab on the Aboral Organ of Mnemiopsis. Zoom in on the centre of the image to see a white dot: the AO www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Our new book chapter on the culture of gelatinous plankton is out! Written with Miguel Candelas Pérez and @joanjsoto.bsky.social. Check out the book by using this link or contacting me: ecosur.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle... Many thanks to the editor María A. Mendoza Becerril.

Congratulations to all the authors 👏 A special mention goes to @alexandrejan.bsky.social for a gorgeous cover image! @leodigel.bsky.social @jeffcolgren.bsky.social @carinelegoff.bsky.social @joanjsoto.bsky.social @maikekittelmann.bsky.social @aaas.org 4/4

New article from the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social group highlighted on the cover of Science Advances 🤩👏 The work, led by @annaferraioli.bsky.social, describes in unprecedented details the structure of the comb jelly's aboral organ (AO) 🧵 1/4

Honored to illustrate the work of @annaferraioli.bsky.social and the team of @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social featured in Science Advances. Check it out!

I’m beyond excited to see our work published in Science Advances! 🎉 Deeply grateful to everyone involved — and especially to @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social for the great mentorship ✨ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Excited to see this story out as a preprint ✨

Thrilled to see our review article "The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins" highlighted on the cover of Nature Reviews Neuroscience 🤩. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @msarscentre.bsky.social 🧠✨🧬🌊🪼🧽

💡How does nutrition regulate cell cycle in stem cells? Check out our new paper from @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab & @msarscentre.bsky.social, out now in @plosbiology.org (plos.io/48J2o6P) #SeaAnemone #Nematostella #StemCell #CellCycle #Quiescence #TORsignalling 1/12

Thrilled to share the preprint from my PhD! 🥳 Where I characterised epithelial cell extrusion in a sea anemone 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Big thanks to my supervisor @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social and coauthors @noahbruderer.bsky.social @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social at🇳🇴 @msarscentre.bsky.social ⬇️🧵

Some more shenanigans on the Ctenophora Porifera debate from @rcply.bsky.social academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Our paper on the role of neurons in Nematostella head regeneration is now out at @currentbiology.bsky.social Big thank you to all collaborators, it was a pleasure! Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Drawing together findings from several projects over many years, we make a case that neural cell types in the Clytia larva have two embryological origins: i-cells and ectodermal. bioRxiv 2025.11.17.688882; doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny. #ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Very happy to see our paper published online natcomms.nature.com. Thank you to @wellcometrust.bsky.social for funding this work during my time with @robklose.bsky.social and David Booth! Thanks also to collaborators @garcialabms.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social and the other authors!

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

Happy Ctenophore Day! These glowing ocean drifters look like jellyfish but aren’t! They’re comb jellies, shimmering creatures that light up the sea with rows of beating cilia 💙🌈 Which species can you identify? 👀 Most are raised in @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab #CtenophoreDay #CombJelly #Ctenophore

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! 👏

Ctenophores possess a unique aboral organ that acts as a multisensory center, controlling complex behaviors. We’ve now created a ctenophore model integrated with our 3D volume EM data. Puts it into perspective. Check out our recent work here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ctenophores #volumeEM

Marine biodiversity: Gone with the wind? Our dispatch out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social New research shows that wind and currents act as invisible barriers, reshaping our view of ocean connectivity. 🌊🪼 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lYLj3QW8S... @iramaegele.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

Excited to share our new work on the 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ! We explored its remarkable cellular diversity and integration with the syncytial nerve net, uncovering connectivity and insights into the evolution of sensory complexes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Neural Connectome of the Ctenophore Statocyst 🤩. @kei-jokura.bsky.social, @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy team identify a new syncytial nerve net in older animals & differences in innervation patterns. Great collaboration & co-submission to bioRxiv. Exciting times! doi.org/10.1101/2025...

So glad to see this work on single cell of squid visual system finally published in @natecoevo.nature.com , a long adventure from Okinawa to London !

Do you want to understand how developmental programs are encoded in animal genomes? Join our lab at the @szndohrn.bsky.social for a PhD project to unravel the developmental dynamics in sea urchins during the metamorphosis from larva to juvenile. Deadline JUNE 14th! www.szn.it/index.php/it...

"Aboral cell types of Clytia and coral larvae have shared features and link taurine to the regulation of settlement" Kudos to Julia Ramon-Mateu and Anna Ferraioli @biodev-vlfr.bsky.social, and thanks to our collaborators for their coral larva expertise www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New entry into the sponge/ctenophore debate.... Have the chromosome fusions separating ctenophores from all other animals been given too much weight? Beautifully clearly written paper covering complex arguments from @rcply.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Check out our latest work on the evolution of animal genome regulation out today in @nature.com. Nicely summarized below by @ianakim.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41... This is a major output from our ERC-StG project Evocellmap @erc.europa.eu at @crg.eu

It was an honor to take part in the celebration of 200 years of knowledge at @universitetsmuseet.bsky.social, together with colleagues from across @unibergen.bsky.social departments 🎉🎂 The Burkhardt group showcased comb jellies in the Museum's majestic whale hall ✨ @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social

It's publication day of my first book: The Tree of Life. The tree of life is a time machine that can take us back 4 billion years to meet our most distant ancestor. It is the magic that lets us tell the origin stories, beginning with this ancient relative, of everything from mushrooms to man.

imMERsion-Sciences is online ! A virtual dive into the heart of Sorbonne University marine stations & their scientific platforms without mask or snorkel ! By #mohamedkhamla @imev-mer.fr With the support of @embrc-france.bsky.social @alexmcdougall.bsky.social #nathalieturque immersion-sciences.org

My group is hiring a new Postdoc to work on gene regulation and chromatin in Nematostella. Please RT! For more information see here: gahanlab.com tinyurl.com/34xke35d

Anna Ferraioli @annaferraioli.bsky.social, postdoc in the group of @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social, presented her work characterizing the ctenophore aboral organ at #EMBLAIOneHealth @events.embl.org 🤩👏

We are excited to announce that registration for the Michael Sars Symposium 2025 is now open! 🤩 Join us on June 6th at Media City Bergen for a day of exceptional talks 🧪 #MSS2025 ✨Learn more and register here: tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz

Thrilled to see #choanoflagellates on the cover of Science Advances🤩. Our latest work "Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals" out now. Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 👏 @jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

🍾Our small #UExM adventure is only starting! #ProtistsOnSky We are happy to announce that the Moore Foundation will be funding our efforts in creating an Expansion Microscopy atlas of #Microbial #Eukaryotes with @gautamdey.bsky.social @UNIGE @embl.org LINK: www.unige.ch/sciences/chi... 1/4

Thrilled to share this new work resulting from a great collaboration of my lab with the labs of Ignacio Maeso and Veronica Hinman, started with the dear José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta many years ago. Take a look! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our ctenophores say hi to Bluesky 👋🏼

Say hi 👋 to @ruthstyfhals.bsky.social, @annaferraioli.bsky.social, @paulamiramon.bsky.social, @aishwarya12ravi.bsky.social, @iramaegele.bsky.social, @alexandrejan.bsky.social, @robertosantoro.bsky.social from our lab @msarscentre.bsky.social. Exciting science on #choanoflagellates #ctenophores 🌊🔬🧪🧫