Here we are. Old friends in Vienna. Echinoderms in the background. The science for tomorrow 🤫 (with Alison Cole and Roger Revilla)

0/ 💡💡💡Had one of those slightly weird moments reading something today. Two seemingly very different research traditions—starting from opposite directions—appear to be converging on almost the same conclusion about one of biology’s biggest questions: How do genomes generate phenotypes? 👇🧵

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...

Like my previous stay in Tromsø, these last three months have been a real pleasure.There was lots of work (thanks to @frommlab.bsky.social 😅), but most of it had a happy ending. What more could you ask for? I will miss the Museum, Tromsø, and the Arctic.It is time to say goodbye to the micro-Palace

#RIP Pierre Chambon (1931-2026) 1963 PARP 1970 RNA Pol II 1975 Nucleosome 1977 Split genes 1980 Promoter 1983 enhancer 1986 Nuclear receptor

#RIP Pierre Chambon (1931-2026) via @alainberetz.bsky.social one of the last giants in biology: PARP, nuclear receptors, RNA Pol II, nucleosome, promoters, split genes

Finally, in print!! Thorough. @biologiaub.bsky.social and @icreacommunity.bsky.social "Exploring the Genotype-to-Phenotype Map Using Quantifiable Patterns in Metazoan Genomic and Morphological Data" | The American Naturalist: Vol 207, No 5 www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....

"We find that while TAD boundaries pair more frequently than non-boundary regions, these interactions are infrequent and are uncorrelated with transcriptional activity of genes within the TAD" elifesciences.org/articles/110...

There are plans that, once approved, suddenly become a bit overwhelming. We started working on a book (with Volker Hartenstein; UCLA) on the "Neurobiology of Invertebrates", which will incorporate historical developments and the changing classificatory schemes in which most clades have been included

🔥 New Paper out 🔥 How do genomes give rise to the diversity of life we see around us? #EvolutionaryBiology #Genomics #EvoDevo #microRNA #Evolution #SystemsBiology www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....

Take-home: evolution of animal form is about how gene regulatory systems are organized and deployed—not gene number. Great collaboration with Kevin J. Peterson, Alexander Clarke, @zolotarg.bsky.social, Bradley Deline & @pedromartinezserra.bsky.social. Thanks to Trond Mohn Research Foundation & UiT.

Still about 2 weeks to apply (April 7) for the joint Master program on "Evolutionary Genomics and Systems Biology" in Vienna. studieren.univie.ac.at/en/admission... Cool program with hands-on experience taught by leading scientists in PopGen, EvoDevo, Evolutionary Systems Biology. Spread it!

Hard to concentrate on microRNAs in these conditions.😀

Back to the (freezing) microRNA World

Nice to meet @arnonelab.bsky.social at home. ‘ Caltechers’ dinner and fun!

Today marks the 25th anniversary of ICREA. It's a fantastic initiative that has enabled many of us to return to Catalonia from positions abroad. I’m proud to have returned to the University of Barcelona thanks to their support!

Jult published today, Feburary 1st 2026!! Check (if you are able) Volume 1; Chapter 4. A comprehensive look at the origin of bilaterian brains. (Volker Hartenstein, Simon G. Sprecher and Pedro Martinez). Of course, the rest is also brilliant! 😉. www.sciencedirect.com/referencewor...

Here is my presentation from today at COS on: "The sorry state of scientific publishing and how we could move to an open and resilient infrastructure" https://jekelylab.github.io/COS_goes_FOSS_publishing.html#/title-slide #publishing #foss #openscience #opensource

Thoughts? www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Excellent tunicate collection trip in Padova. Total success

🤔

Trying to sort out a vexing issue: What a Gene Regulatory Network Is — and What It Is Not ! thenode.biologists.com/what-a-gene-...

Coming in February!! A monstrous 4-book series covering neural systems in animals, featuring a very long chapter on the origin of NS in metazoans by Volker Hartenstein, @simon-sprecher.bsky.social , and myself. Details very soon—for an incredible bargain price!! 😜😅 shop.elsevier.com/books/evolut...

"We also find that approximately half of researchers never publish in a venue with an impact factor above 15, which, under journal-level evaluation regimes, may exclude them from consideration for opportunities. Many of these researchers publish equally influential work"

Playing with the family and Chatgpt...

A quién conozco en España que sabe de/está en contacto con gente von acceso a clinical trials? Tengo una pregunta muy concreta. Gracias!

"Our results enable us to reject mitochondrion-early scenarios of eukaryogenesis, instead supporting a complexified-archaean, late-mitochondrion sequence for the assembly of eukaryote characteristics" www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Reading papers over the weekend, I realised how often the term gene network is misused. Please refrain from using it unless you have clear, functional evidence of causal interactions between transcription factors. Otherwise, what you have are (at best) correlations. Just saying....

🗣️ We had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Pere Martínez today, speaking on “From mice to echinoderms and acoel flatworms: a life’s trajectory between EvoDevo and Neuroscience", during our Genetics Seminar Series

The course is aimed at all levels of researchers with projects and interest in microRNAs and free of charge. Signup here: www.mn.uio.no/bils/english... #check also all the other great courses!! 2/2

Vull agrair al Vicerectorat de Recerca de la @ub.edu 'ajuda econòmica a aquells a qui l’Agencia Española de Investigación ens ha deixat tirats. Fer recerca sense continuïtat de finançament já es fa prou difícil.

Coming soon — the most comprehensive (and challenging) analysis yet of how all elements of the regulatory genome correlate with animal complexity and morphological disparity. With #KevinPeterson, @frommlab.bsky.social, and other luminaries. A link to the paper. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Yesterday, we lost a giant of twentieth century genetics, Antonio Garcia Bellido. His legacy will remain deeply rooted in the history of biology. Rest in peace.

Now that I am about to end my research career I want to acknowledge @ageinves.bsky.social (plus the responsible committees) for their continuous support through these 25 years, after my return to Spain. Obviously, this is just pure sarcasm! 😂😂

Checking some books at home Í found this one. Glorious.

In an era obsessed with assessments, has any funding agency or review board ever used “productivity” (defined as the ratio of output to funding) instead of “total output” to evaluate scientists? To me, that seems the most reasonable approach.

Two days teaching to Fribourg Master students @unifr.bsky.social

Le voy dando vueltas a medida que obtengo información individual. Sospecho que el personal asociado a proyectos siempre va a las mismas personas y a determinados centros . Me da que el compadreo español no cesa….

Great to attend the meeting of ‘Davidsonians’. Quite a few generations of grad students and postdocs. Just a fraction of the 300+ that went through his lab.

Home, sweet home…..

Here we go…. Meeting in tribute to our ‘boss’ EH Davidson.

September starts with a new challenge (stay at the level! 😀 ). Friends and students gathering for an intense science weekend. Back to Pasadena (home sweet home).

Our last baby. Acoels don’t just have brains, they also use them! @simon-sprecher.bsky.social #Nikita Komarov and #Xavier Bailly journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

With the best ‘morphological’ company in Concepcion (Chile)

Here we go…🛫

Honored to have been selected as an Associated Member of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples. Grateful for the recognition and excited to continue contributing to the scientific community. A lot of great colleages and friends there!

Hey blueskiers! We are looking for examples of "microRNAs" that you came across in your studies that seemed weird or behaving unexpectedly.

Very sad to leave the Arctic Museum of Tromsø. This sabbatical has been unforgettable. I was incredibly fortunate to have Bastian Fromm @frommlab.bsky.social, such a fabulous teacher, host and friend during my stay. It’s hard to say goodbye to such a special place.