Tom Collett’s new book “Insects and How They Navigate Their World” is out and seemingly the pdf is free 👀 (for me anyway) link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Insects and How They Navigate Their World

Discover how insects navigate using vision, memory and cues from nature. A clear, engaging look at ants, bees, and the remarkable abilities of tiny brains.

link.springer.com

I'm excited to share a new paper from our lab showing how redox regulation of Ahcy, an enzyme involved in one-carbon metabolism allows rapid gene expression changes to protect Drosophila photoreceptors against retinal degeneration caused by light stress. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

Very happy to share our new review on visual computation in the cephalopod brain, with @vangeliqueallen.bsky.social, out now! We discuss exciting recent advances in understanding how the radically different brain of cephalopods processes the visual scene. 🐙🔬👀 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Finally back home today after a fantastic few weeks in Europe presenting my PhD research at #ECCB2026 and #ISBE2026! Had an absolute blast and met some incredible scientists working on a broad range of subjects. Huge thanks to the organisers @eccb26leiden.bsky.social and @isbe2026.bsky.social!

It is official: The @moraneyecenter.bsky.social has named @blockintheback.bsky.social as the Vice Chair for Vision Research and Research Director. I could not be more happy for my former institution as they are in the best hands with Kristen. healthcare.utah.edu/moran/news/2...

Moran Eye Center Names Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research

The John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah has named Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research. In this leadership role, she will help guide the strategic direction of the Moran...

healthcare.utah.edu

Final version out! Now with amazing illustrations from the very talented Lily Soucy :) www.cell.com/current-biol...

Nicholas Bellono@nbellono.bsky.social · 4w ago

How did octopuses evolve novel traits? Rishav Mitra, Richard Han, Trey Scott, et al serendipitously discover a unique ribosome adaptation that increases the accuracy of protein synthesis and evolved alongside their elaborate nervous systems vs deep sea relatives. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

We all need a little nudge sometimes when it comes to writing. The Node is hosting a great writing challenge to help beat that dreaded writing procrastination. I cannot wait to read the community's entries and there is a chance to win £200!

Focused Writing Session Animation

ALT: Focused Writing Session Animation

static.klipy.com

the Node@the-node.bsky.social · 6d ago

Win £200 for your post on the Node This is your opportunity to publish your piece at last for a chance to win £200. We are hosting an exciting writing challenge to help motivate you to share your piece with the Node’s community of biologists by 4 September. thenode.biologists.com/win-200-for-...

How do parasites reprogram brains so your host becomes a zombie? If you are still at #ICN2026 tomorrow Friday, come to my talk at 3:30 pm (room 2306/2309) #strepsiptera #zombiewasp

Worker bees air-condition their hive on hot days by fanning their wings and spreading water on the brood, but now Jon Harrison &co @ Arizona State University have discovered that the hive itself, the wax & honey stores absorb large amounts of heat to keep the insects cool doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Happy to share that this paper led by @caberger.bsky.social with @stoilovamarina.bsky.social @rebeccavarney.bsky.social @pcart.bsky.social Sam Abrams and Maria Pia is published -- Unexpectedly predictable molecular evolution with diverse ecologies 🧪 🧬 🌊 #Molevol #EvoBio www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Todd Oakley@ostratodd.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We started by studying gene reuse in eyes over deep time -- but were astonished to find adaptive molecular convergence to be rampant and not directly related to important traits, including eyes. Led by PD Cory Berger www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Another highlight was the art show that added another dimension to the conference. Would love to see this as a part of more large conferences.

So honored to receive the @socdevbio.bsky.social SciCom award and to share my work with the wonderful people in this community! This #2026SDB conference was a celebration of biodiversity 🧵

Excited to share a new preprint from the lab, by @andrewmatheson.bsky.social and team, where we dive into the superpower of newts: plasticity! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Like many good projects, this started with a serendipitous observation... 🧵1/5

Highly recommend checking this out for intricate work on fly visual learning and memory!

Shubham Rathore Ph.D. MSc.@shubhamtr.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you’re at #ICN2026 come drop by my poster (#84) on Tuesday!

I saw a bunch of aphids on a tree today, all gathered on one specific sprig. When I stopped to check it out, I also saw little black ants tending to them. I had heard about ants keeping aphid herds on nature shows and such, but ive never actually SEEN it. So I drew this haha 😅 #ants #aphids #sciart

The first 22 hours of #zebrafish development in under one minute. Credit to @zebrafish007.bsky.social in #WeinsteinLab at NIH. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

Curious about sharks? The evolution and adaptation of vertebrate visual circuits? 🦈 🐟 🐤 🐁 👁️ I'll be speaking at ICN2026 @neuroethology.org on Friday, or just find me to chat! Special thanks to @anna-stoeckl.bsky.social and Gregor Belušič for the wonderful session within yet another wonderful ICN!

Can't stop thinking about this; transmissible cancers are so crazy, extremely rare (tassie devils, dogs, some clams), but I wonder why? It seems like it should be very common. It's advantageous for the cancer to escape the dead-end host. And yet... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Brown bullhead catfish melanoma represents a novel transmissible cancer - Nature

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of tumour and matched non-tumour host tissues of the brown bullhead catfish reveals a type of naturally occurring transmissible cancer.

nature.com

Great work by PhD student Patricio Ferrer Murguia. His paper reporting the twist mutant in Nematostella is out: doi.org/10.1242/dev.... twist is required to form secondary tentacles, via localized FGFR and mTOR signaling. Later, mutants form stunning epithelial neoplasia with tentacle identity.

At SDB and into Evo‑Devo, eyes or optics? Come to my talk to see how @shubhamtr.bsky.social and I uncover how some insect larvae have evolved eyes that are morphological novelties! Graduate Research Network Symposium, 10:15 AM - 7/23, Celebrity Ballroom 3. #SDB2026

"Elvis worms" are armor-plated polychaete worms that look like they're covered in iridescent sequins with shiny gold tassels. In fact, one species is named 'Peinaleopolynoe elvisi'. But they live in the deepest, darkest places in the ocean, so the interesting question is 'WHY SO SPARKLY?!'.🧪

Dr Rachel Hale Marine Biologist @seafloorscience.bsky.social · 2w ago

Sticking to worms. Peinaleopolynoe orphanae from the deep sea, an Elvis worm, named for their glittery jumpsuits.

Happy #CtenophoreCtuesday! For your moment of zen, enjoy this video capturing the development of nine different species (including a very special Mnemiopsis leidyi). Can you guess the others without peeking? Spoilers in ALT & 🧵. Credit to @tessamontague.bsky.social & Zuzka Vavrušová. #evodevo 🌊🦑 1/3

In an article published today, we show that ancient feeding-related neuropeptides have been repurposed to control brood care in clonal raider ants. Photo: Bart Zijlstra, UNIL /1

A mid-flight scratch, then an effortless roll to face the pursuing raven. Apex predator aura. Drop a follow if you love this

Beyond proud of @atal-pande.bsky.social, whose first PhD chapter is out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Atal shows that spiders that use their vision to hunt have convergently evolved similar eye arrangements, which imply lots of resampling of frontal space www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Hunting ecology predicts eye arrangements in the modular visual system of spiders

Vision is one of the most important senses used by animals and contributes to fundamental behaviors, including foraging, navigation, and mate detectio…

sciencedirect.com

REJOICE FOR BEST COMPETITION OF THE YEAR NOMINATE YOUR BUGS www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Nominate your invertebrate of the year

We’re asking people from around the world to nominate their favourite spineless species for our third Invertebrate of the Year competition

theguardian.com

The formatted paper is now out in MBE - describing OPTICS software to predict color sensitivy based on opsin sequence alone: academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Todd Oakley@ostratodd.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🧵 New paper! We’re excited to release OPTICS: software that immediately predicts color sensitivity from any opsin protein sequence. In other words: give OPTICS any opsin sequence, and it predicts the wavelength of light the pigment is most sensitive to 🌈👁️ academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Very much agree with the idea that control of scientific infrastructures should not be ceded to commercial organisations and their proprietary models. There's a huge democratic deficit in the preprint space that can only be rectified by real community control over which actors to work with.

Ran Blekhman@blekhman.bsky.social · last mo.

I wanted to like QED's new 1% preprint ranking. I really did. But the more I looked at the data, the more uncomfortable it made me. Here is my full peer review. open.substack.com/pub/blekhman...

A spider living in the rainforests of Queensland, Australia, builds a snare trap reminiscent of a Roman-era ballista weapon that it uses to catapult green tree ants into a web 30 centimetres above

New-to-science spider builds trap that flings ants into the air

A spider living in the rainforests of Queensland, Australia, builds a snare trap reminiscent of a Roman-era ballista weapon that it uses to catapult green tree ants into a web 30 centimetres above

newscientist.com

8 hours. That’s all fish need to heal wounds 🐟⏱️ Why are they so fast compared to humans? I break down the science of rapid regeneration in a microscopy story 🔬 Watch here: youtu.be/Mt9f61adaP0 #FluorescenceFriday #Microscopy