The first preprint from my PhD is out! :thread: How does an animal choose between two completely different reproductive fates? Here’s how one planarian does it :point_down: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Life-cycle trajectory inference links temperature-gated progenitors to reproductive fate

Temperature shapes reproductive strategies across animals, yet how individuals switch between sexual and asexual reproduction remains unknown. We establish the planarian Phagocata morgani as a model f...

biorxiv.org

Double preprint! 👇 Check out our latest studies on timing, heterogeneity and collective behaviour (with a fun tiny bonus on evolution!) 1. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 2. arxiv.org/abs/2605.13234

Cellular timing heterogeneity regulates phase transitions in living matter

Rigidity transitions govern tissue organization in ways reminiscent of inert materials. Yet, living tissues are composed of active units with autonomous timing mechanisms, raising the question whether...

biorxiv.org

Lena Schindler@lena-schindler.bsky.social · last mo.

I am thrilled to share my PhD work with @nicolettapetridou.bsky.social @embl.org: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... A fun collaboration with Bernat Corominas-Murtra, Adrián Aguirre-Tamaral, @bart-smeets.bsky.social , Jef Vanghel and Tom Belpaire! Read the story in the comments below ⤵️

First pre-print from the lab, a collaborative effort led by Jess Bourn @bournsupremacy.bsky.social, a fantastic PhD in my group. We resolve a key problem in development + evolution: how do we quantify heterochrony and link temporal variation to phenotype? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Quantitative mapping of heterochrony to species-specific phenotypes

The genetic program of animal development is conserved, but its rate of execution varies across species. Heterochrony, shifts in the relative timing of developmental events, generates phenotypic varia...

biorxiv.org

Hi Cnidarian Enthusiasts! Friendly reminder that Cnidofest 2026 will take place at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, September 23-27. The abstract submission deadline is July 1 and the registration deadline is September 2. Submit and find full details at www.cnidofest.org

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...

A fossil nervous system meets modern neurobiology. We found that a living comb jelly preserves neural architecture remarkably similar to those inferred from Cambrian fossils over 500 million years old 🤩. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Glad to see this out in its final form! www.nature.com/articles/s41... What changed since the preprint? Wonderful experiments disentangling the effect of receptor binding vs tissue porosity on Nodal diffusion, plus one of the smoothest review experiences! Thanks @natcellbio.nature.com & reviewers 🙏

Tissue rigidity phase transition shapes morphogen gradients - Nature Cell Biology

Autorino et al. report a feedback loop between Nodal signalling and tissue phase transitions in zebrafish embryos. Nodal alters adhesion, triggering tissue rigidification and reduced porosity, which l...

nature.com

Nicoletta Petridou@nicolettapetridou.bsky.social · last yr.

Here our latest work on how morphogens trigger tissue phase transitions to tune their own length-scales and time-scales - An exciting collaboration with @zhvas.bsky.social @dianakhorom.bsky.social Bernat Corominas-Murtra and heroic experiments by the incredible @cami-autorino.bsky.social @embl.org

Really happy to share my PhD story about the regulation of developmental speed in the Drosophila eye 🪰😃👀, which is now published @embojournal.org: link.springer.com/article/10.1... Grateful to everyone who make this possible, particularly F. Schweisguth @pasteur.fr @devstempasteur.bsky.social

21st century dev bio at its best! I can't help but point out that not one but two Bruker microscopes (Acquifer IM, MuVi) were used for gentle&long term time lapse imaging of developing Nematostella here. No need to mount your invertebrate (cnidaria, planaria, crustaceans), we can do the time lapse!

Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · last yr.

We thought we were just studying mesoglea biogenesis…Turns out Nematostella has been hiding a sophisticated backup pressure valve! Work driven by the talented PhD student Soham Basu! @embl.org‬ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Now published. Congrats to Soham and all co-authors! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... @embl.org

Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · last yr.

We thought we were just studying mesoglea biogenesis…Turns out Nematostella has been hiding a sophisticated backup pressure valve! Work driven by the talented PhD student Soham Basu! @embl.org‬ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Congratulations Guillaume #Salbreux and collaborator @aikmi.bsky.social groups for your latest publication in @cellcellpress.bsky.social: Deciphering #mechanical determinants of morphological #evolution @genevunige.bsky.social @sciencesunige.bsky.social #UNIGE 👉 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these m...

cell.com

A press release on our latest work on shape diversity in cnidarians. @embl.org

EMBL@embl.org · 5mo ago

A sea anemone looks very different from a coral, despite belonging to the same broad biological group. A new study from EMBL researchers and their colleagues sheds new light on how diversity arises in body shapes in the animal world. www.embl.org/news/science...

Hello epithelia enthusiasts! I’m @inesfournon.bsky.social and I study epithelial mechanics in sea anemones 🪼 Did you know epithelial cell extrusion had never been described outside bilaterian animals before? Well… not anymore 👀 Read ⬇️🧵1/9

How do #sponges coordinate their bodies despite lacking neurons and true muscles? We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels. My PhD story, now on BioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #Evolution

Expansion microscopy of a loricate choanoflagellate, generated by Mylan Ansel in our lab 🤩 (yes, the lorica expands. No, we don't understand how either)

We’re looking for a new team member! 🚀 Only 3 more weeks to apply to the fantastic Vienna BioCenter PhD program

Vienna BioCenter Scientific Training@vbcscitraining.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Our Spring PhD call is OPEN! 30+ fully funded positions across diverse life science disciplines. Explore projects in Stem Cells, Development: www.vbcphd.at Apply by 9 April 2025 Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Max Perutz Labs Vienna, IMP, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology

🔥Exciting new paper from the Ikmi group @embl.org! The authors identified a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that can be used to predict species-specific shapes by combining a comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis with active surface theory #morphogenesis #cnidaria

Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Our study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org

Now online! Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these modules reprograms morphology, revealing how variation in tissue-scale mechanics underlies morphological diversity.

dlvr.it

Amazing to see this study finally out! Proud to have contributed to the active surface modelling of cnidaria morphogenesis across species and huge congrats to Richard, Nicolas, and all authors! #morphogenesis #activematter #nematicorder #evolution

Aissam Ikmi@aikmi.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Our study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org

Our study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org

Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these m...

cell.com

New Preprint! When one enhancer allele changes another's regulatory output, is that bad? We found it could be a feature — interallelic cis-regulatory dominance buffers outputs AND enables evolutionary innovation. Two for one! Led by @ottilie.bsky.social from @embl.org doi: doi.org/10.64898/202...

It's out! Happy to present ITEC, a semi supervised algorithm with an extremely low error rate that can track cells in files of any size (think Terabytes!). We used it in many organisms, including zebrafish, to study how organs form and linked it to gene expression www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... +🧪

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...

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone

Via genetic ablation of neurons, Mazloumi Gavgani et al. show that the nervous system is essential for defining axial polarity during whole-body regeneration in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.

cell.com

Only a few days left for abstract submission at the brand new EMBO|EMBL Symposium Collectivity in living systems: emergence, function and evolution. We have stellar speakers in cell, animal collectives & beyond @priscaliberali.bsky.social @icouzin.bsky.social @ricardsole.bsky.social Join us!

Our Special Issue on Lifelong Development #LifelongDevSI is now complete! Guest edited by Meri Huch and Mansi Srivastava, it contains 26 research and review-type articles. On the cover: the dorsal vasculature of an adult zebrafish's first gill arch. See Preußner et al. doi.org/10.1242/dev....

Also in #LifelongDevSI : ▪️Editorial ▪️Hypothesis on phenotypic plasticity ▪️2 interviews with our guest editors ▪️3 Reviews ▪️17 Research Articles and Reports ▪️3 Techniques and Resources Full table of content: journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...

Great having you at @embl.org, Michel! Inspiring science, great discussions, and a fantastic perspective on quantitative evo-devo.

The Milinkovitch-Tzika lab@lanevol.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Wonderful visit to @embl.org Heidelberg! Grateful to Alexandre Aulehla and @aikmi.bsky.social for the invitation and to all the group leaders, post-docs and students for the stimulating discussions. Amazing science and a great community! #EMBL #ScienceTalk #DevelopmentalBiology

Had the pleasure of working with @mohannad-dardiry.bsky.social to rethink what it means to develop for life. Many thanks to @dev-journal.bsky.social! @embl.org #LifelongDevSI

Development@dev-journal.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Phenotypic plasticity as the foundation of lifelong development In this #LifelongDevSI Hypothesis, @mohannad-dardiry.bsky.social & @aikmi.bsky.social (@embl.org) challenge the paradigm of organismal terminal differentiation doi.org/10.1242/dev....

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports... This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵