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.

Hasta las narices del sistema español de ciencia y tecnologia! Fed up with the Spanish system of Science and Technology. I will happily leave it quite soon. 😤

Finally, saw the Vault in Svalvard.

I am grateful to have been promoted to the highest rank as Research Professor (ICREA) following my récent 5-year evaluation-a meaningful milestone at the end of my academic path. 🥂🥂

Tromso at midnight, from my terrase🌝.

Flowering season at the Arctic Botanical Garden. Tromsø .Beautiful spectacle of colors.

#RNAsky #ncRNA #microRNA

Do you want to unravel the function of fluorescent cells in marine organisms? Join the Annunziata lab @szn.it for a PhD project exploring embryonic origins, function and biotechnological potential of fluorescent cell type in sea cucumbers! To apply: www.szn.it/.../ph-d-pro...

Probably the nordernmost reader you got @maxjtelford.bsky.social (Tromso) 😉

Interested in Developmental biology? Imaging? Marine invertebrate body plans? Then this three year postdoc in my group @sotonbiosciences.bsky.social is for you! Join our team to decypher how signalling molecules shape skeletal phenotype in juvenile sea urchins. jobs.soton.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

Looking for a post-doc? In the frame of the #MSCA-PF 2025 program at @sorbonne-universite.fr , the #DEEVA team (biom.obs-banyuls.fr/presentation...) from @biom-banyuls.bsky.social and @obs-banyuls.fr in #WindyBanyuls proposes a research project (www.sorbonne-universite.fr/sites/defaul...).

Got to see a copy of the doctoral thesis of zoologist, polar explorer and international politician: Fridtjof Nansen. He did his research in Bergen, on the lamprey’s nervous system, and arrived to conclusions (on neuronal connections) similar to Ramón y Cajal.(Polar Museum, Tromso)

Very nice seminar by sabbatical guest @pedromartinezserra.bsky.social on the amazing Symsagittifera acoels!

MirRNA friday meeting with the boss @frommlab.bsky.social

Good night

Got them! Done.

Arriving to work, at -7 degrees 🥶My first week in Tromso.

Tromso, new house (for a while). -6 degrees to start 🥶

Tackling sensory discrimination in one acoel, with @simon-sprecher.bsky.social and many more friends: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Reviewers leaving for vacation after rejecting your paper

Official notice from my employer: you will retire on August, 13th, 2027 😱😱 (only 2 years to go….☹️)

MirGeneDB 3.0 is published. Great teamwork and substantial improvement of database, Taxon sampling and we took over nomenclature of novel genes and families, too academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...