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

A fantastic #scicom initiative driven in Bergen by @inesfournon.bsky.social, PhD candidate in the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab 👏 Wherever you are in the world, there is a Pint of Science Festival near you next week. Don't miss out! 🧠 #pint25 @pintsworld.bsky.social

We are very proud to share that the Centre's Appendicularian facility and head engineer/Oikopleura whisperer Anne Aasjord @aaasjord.bsky.social from @appygenetics.bsky.social are featured in a 🧪 documentary produced by @warholmfilm.bsky.social in collaboration with NORCE 🤩👏

We are happy to introduce another speaker on our #MSS2025 line-up! ✨ Camila Esguerra from @ncmbm.bsky.social will discuss her recent projects using the powerful zebrafish model to elucidate disease mechanisms, in toxicology research and more 🐟 Register to hear her talk ➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz

It was a great pleasure to share our work on annelid regeneration at @msarscentre.bsky.social last week and to discuss with the great students and PI. The visits of animal facilities was a blast ! Thank you @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social for the invitation at #sunnyBergen !

🧪Getting out of the comfort zone at the Keystone Metabolism conference. With @ktgarschall.bsky.social from @msarscentre.bsky.social at @keystonesymposia.bsky.social

Why do some animals regenerate, and others don't? Eve Gazave's team @stemdevevo.bsky.social at @ijmonod.bsky.social aims to answer this fundamental question, using the worm Platynereis 👩‍🔬 We were thrilled to hear about Eve's research today and to showcase our worm culture. Thank you for your visit!

Congratulations @ianakim.bsky.social, @arnausebe.bsky.social, @mamartirenom.bsky.social and collaborators in the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab and beyond 👏 With a special acknowledgement to the Arnaus ✨

One month to go until #MSS2025 🙌 Chris Lowe @lowelab.bsky.social is on our exciting speaker lineup. He will present his latest work on the developmental patterning of the echinoderm adult body plan, and how it informs basic principles in #evodevo. Don't miss out! ➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz

What better time to celebrate #InverteFest than during plankton season! Check out some of the wonders we found last week while sampling in the Norwegian fjords 🔬🌊 How many species can you identify? @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

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

🔬 Coming up this May! Three outstanding speakers are taking part in our seminar series: @ewanbirney.bsky.social, @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social, and @afarkkila.bsky.social . 🗓️ Check out all the details 👉 www.med.uio.no/ncmbm/englis... @uio.no @nordicembl.bsky.social

Of Tor and Tide #MetabolismMondays Meet @eudaldpascual.bsky.social from @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social & @msarscentre.bsky.social, using sea anemones and #planaria to study #metabolism and #cellfate! #theNodeCorrespondents #devbio #cellbio @biologists.bsky.social @the-node.bsky.social

Congratulations to the 'Sars Jelly Legs' for an amazing effort at the Bergen City Marathon relay!! 🪼👏 Team spirit at its best in beautiful #SunnyBergen weather 🤩

How does temperature impact development? 🌡️ Michael Dorrity @mwdorr.bsky.social from @embl.org shared his integrated approach to revealing the relationship between temperature stress and developmental rate in fishes 🐟🐠 Thank you for a great talk and discussions! 👏

📣 New article out in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social 🤩 Zonglai Liang and colleagues from the @mchatzigeorgiou.bsky.social group reveal a dual role for Anoctamins in sensory perception & metamorphosis in #Ciona larvae 🧪 Take a peek behind the scenes ⤵️

We are looking forward to welcoming @embl.org group leader Georgia Rapti to #MSS2025 🤩 Join us to learn how her team uses C. elegans to study the embryonic emergence of neural circuit architecture in vivo ➡️ tinyurl.com/yc4jxdvz