Postdoc opening: My lab at NYU Langone Health is looking for a new postdoctoral fellow with wet-lab experience for an exciting project.
Doug Menke
@dbmenke.bsky.social
Developmental geneticist working with reptiles. Comparative genomics & lizard gene editing.
Most animal species pack sperm DNA with protamines instead of histones. Protamines are essential for male fertility. They are among the fastest-evolving genes in animals. That makes little sense. We think we know why, in a new paper led by @ching-hochang.bsky.social. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Rapid protamine evolution suppresses meiotic drive in Drosophila
Many animal species replace histones with protamines during spermatogenesis. Although essential for sperm function, protamines evolve rapidly for reasons that remain unknown. Using in vivo gene replac...
science.org
Now that we have moved coasts, I am thrilled to share that the ChromEvo (Raman) lab is officially open at UMass Boston 🎉 We ask how CHROMatin EVOlution leads to functional innovation and we are hiring at multiple levels. Read on and share with folks who maybe interested chromevoramanlab.github.io
Johns Hopkins Biology is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in computational genetics and genomics. Applications due Nov. 8th: apply.interfolio.com/194924 In my experience, this has been an incredibly supportive environment to build a lab. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
The UGA Genetics Department is hiring! Please help spread the word. We have an opening for an Associate Professor/Professor in Genetics, Synthetic Biology, and Biological Engineering. See ad for details – and join us here in Athens, GA!
Happy to share results of the @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social phase 1, providing reference genomes covering 21 bat families. New insights into bat phylogeny, ancestral genome reconstruction, European origin & ancestral echolocation. Great work by a team of 100+ colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reference genomes and fossils revise bat family phylogeny and biogeography - Nature
An updated phylogeny of bats is presented, based on new genome assemblies and many ancient fossils and including all known bat families.
nature.com
So very, very happy to see this out @plosbiology.org : Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations. Beautiful work by two very clever and talented coauthors, Yuying Lin and @vdbijl.bsky.social . journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... 1/
Ancient inversion polymorphisms associate with sexually selected traits across natural guppy populations
Genomic inversions spanning many genes can persist for millions of years. This study of Trinidadian guppy populations reveals how both ecological conditions and mate choice help maintain this hidden l...
journals.plos.org
Our collaborative paper on snake coiling is now out in the latest issue of @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on the cover! 🎉 Delighted to see our work highlighted this way. You can read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1ni9h3QW8S... @helsinki-biotech.bsky.social @helsinki.fi
Today's installment in the NIH institute director shitshow... A new director for the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). www.nih.gov/news-events/... As far as I can tell, he has three publications and has never received NIH funding. 1/2
Dr. Jonathan Burke selected as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Dr. Burke will start his role on Sept. 20, 2026.
nih.gov
Banger of a new RasgonLab study by Drs. Najmeh Nejat and Travis van Warmerdam on a new arthropod germline CRISPR delivery system. Knock-out AND knock-in by ORAL delivery! No more injections! Germline Engineering by Viral transduction (GEValT)
GEValT@gevaltcrispr.bsky.social · 4w agoMeet GEValT! Germline Engineering by Viral transduction! No more injections www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Meet GEValT! Germline Engineering by Viral transduction! No more injections www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Infectious transgenesis in arthropods
In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the development of in vivo germline genetic editing technologies in arthropods, first pioneered by the Receptor-Mediated Ovary Transduction of Cargo ...
biorxiv.org
Come be my colleague!! 🎉 We’re hiring an Assistant Professor in Developmental Biology at UCSD! If you’re doing exciting work in development or regeneration, come join us!! Please spread the word and apply! apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04591
Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology
University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!
apol-recruit.ucsd.edu
🧬🔬 Why are enhancers transcribed and how does that impact gene regulation? I’m really excited to share our new paper in @science.org showing that noncoding RNAs control the timing of gene activation in embryos. With Mike Levine #ScienceResearch @columbiamed.bsky.social A few highlights below... 🧵👇
Noncoding transcription controls the developmental dynamics of long-range gene regulation
The genomic regions regulating gene expression are often themselves transcribed into a variety of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). However, the regulatory roles of this noncoding transcription remain largely ...
science.org
Thrilled to have my first thesis chapter published in @currentbiology.bsky.social! We combine genomics, gene editing, and performance experiments to reveal the genetic basis and functional consequences of hurricane-induced trait shifts in island lizards! Check it out: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Genomic targets of hurricane-induced selection on clinging performance in an island lizard
Vaughn et al. show that hurricanes drive parallel genomic selection signatures in island anoles. One candidate locus (hs6st1) is associated with rear toe length. CRISPR disruption reduces hindfoot ele...
cell.com
I’m looking forward to attending #2026SDB! I’ll be presenting some exciting new discoveries related to lizard sex determination.
Society for Developmental Biology@socdevbio.bsky.social · 5mo ago🦴✨ Invited speaker Douglas B. Menke joins us at #2026SDB in Las Vegas! 🎰 His lab explores how vertebrate limb morphology evolves through changes in gene regulation 🧬🐭 with current work focused on Tbx4 enhancer elements that shape hindlimb development and evolution across species. 🐾✨ #evodevo
Gene editing in shrimp by ReMOT Control! "Targeted maternal delivery of Cas9 ribonucleoproteins enables gene editing in shrimp offspring" www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Shrempin Time: Dancing Shrimps on Beach
ALT: Shrempin Time: Dancing Shrimps on Beach
static.klipy.com
Public health research at world-class institutions like the NIH is an important public good. Rep. Suzan DelBene, Rep. Lori Trahan and I are leading 122 of our colleagues to oppose the Trump Administration’s efforts to give partisan political appointees final say over health research grants.
Raskin moves to stop ‘disastrous’ threat against medical research
Rep. Jamie Raskin seeks to stop the Trump administration from putting political appointees in charge of federal health grants.
thebanner.com
"Curiosity-driven research is really the seed corn for the major breakthroughs and applications. But it’s also important in its own right, because discovery and the expansion of knowledge are virtues in themselves." Thanks @neilshubin.bsky.social (gift article) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/s...
Neil Shubin on Trusted Science in a ‘Deeply Partisan Age’
nytimes.com
I suppose it's better late than never to mention that this September I started an Assistant Professor position at Rowan University @rowancsm.bsky.social. We will be doing cool work with chameleons 🦎 to understand early development, especially left-right patterning view.rowan.edu/the-human-pu...
The puzzle of human development by Rowan University
Rowan University biologist, Natasha Shylo studies human development and asymmetry.
view.rowan.edu
PREPRINT ALERT !!! Excited to share our #reptile #embryo cryopreservation method optimised on peri-gastrulation veiled chameleon embryos! This lays the foundation for functional studies & reptile #conservation efforts! #devbio #squamates #evodevo www.biorxiv.org/content/bior...
If you know a graduating undergraduate looking for the chance to spend 1-2 years in a lab before graduate school, we're hiring! Our lab explores morphogenesis, defining how the cell adhesion & cytoskeletal machinery work together to allow cells to change shape & move tarheels.live/peiferlab/ 1/n RT
A new issue of CSH Protocols is out! @cshlpress.bsky.social The cover image highlights the work by Sabin, @dbmenke.bsky.social, et al. who describe a surgical approach for oocyte injection and CRISPR–Cas9 mutagenesis in Anolis Lizards. ⬇️Links below
Congratulations to Michael Wen and Andrew Gillis on this exciting paper out today! Shared competence forms the basis of gill arch and paired fin serial homology | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Shared competence forms the basis of gill arch and paired fin serial homology | PNAS
The origin of paired fins is an unresolved controversy in vertebrate evolutionary biology. Karl Gegenbaur famously proposed that paired fins evolve...
pnas.org
Thrilled to be featured on the cover of @devdynamics.bsky.social highlighting our 2 anole studies published: anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... & anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Thanks so much @thomsanger.bsky.social for hosting me when I took this image!
Now out: The new ENCODE registry of candidate cis-regulatory elements (🐭/👶) Major consortium effort, led by @moorejille.bsky.social - stay tuned for her "meme-torial" www.nature.com/articles/s41... @berkeleylab.lbl.gov @biosci.lbl.gov
Jill Moore@moorejille.bsky.social · 9mo agoOur paper on the newest version of the Registry of candidate cis-Regulatory Elements (cCREs) is out 🧬 Huge thanks to the many collaborators, experimentalists, analysts and software developers who made this work possible — truly a team effort! A "meme-torial" of the science is coming soon 👀
Hivemind: has anyone had a response from #NCBI about submissions started prior to the government shutdown?
As you celebrate the holidays, here are 10 things to know about the dramatic changes to how NSF does business. This story looks at merit review. The second part will explain the significance of NSF's new structure. www.science.org/content/arti...
Five things to know about NSF’s new rules on merit review
Fewer outsiders, less feedback, and an uncertain fate for a new science board report
science.org
Not that long ago, in vivo mouse enhancer design was a dream. Today, it's a reality! Using transfer deep learning to design de novo synthetic embryonic enhancers active in the heart, limb, and CNS. Great collab with @alex-stark.bsky.social lab! @ucibiosci.bsky.social @impvienna.bsky.social
Alex Stark@alex-stark.bsky.social · 10mo agoOur preprint "Predictive design of tissue-specific mammalian enhancers that function in vivo in the mouse embryo" is on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... . Amazing collaboration by @shenzhichen1999.bsky.social, Vincent Loubiere (@impvienna.bsky.social,@viennabiocenter.bsky.social),... (1/2)
We have a bunch of new job ads out @arcadiascience.com. If you haven’t checked them out, take a look! www.arcadiascience.com/careers
Careers | Arcadia Science
Evolve with Arcadia.
arcadiascience.com