Congrats to Oliver Bower, @inaharasimov.bsky.social and everyone involved on the publication of our latest findings! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New paper out in @cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social. We uncover unexpected complexity in how metabolism changes when the embryo implants or when stem cells exit naive pluripotency, revealing a central role for dynamic TCA cycle rewiring in cell fate decisions. www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...

TCA cycle rewiring underpins histone acetylation sourcing and cell-fate transitions during exit from naive pluripotency

Using carbon tracing and functional experiments, Kafkia, Pladevall-Morera, et al. show that TCA cycle rewiring underlies mouse embryo implantation and the exit from naive pluripotency. In this context...

cell.com

How do pairs of DNA loci - such as enhancers and promoters - find each other inside the nucleus? 🤔 Most models assume the random forces driving locus motion are independent in space New preprint by @janniharju.bsky.social: this assumption fails in living cells 🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... This is clever, very clever

Single intramuscular injection of self-amplifying RNA of Nppa to treat myocardial infarction

Self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) enables sustained protein expression from a single administration. In this study, we developed an intramuscular saRNA-lipid nanoparticle (saNppa-LNP) therapy encoding natri...

science.org

New preprint from the lab! We dig into the regulatory roles of TEs in the mouse placenta, with some surprising findings. Led by the awesome @smamante.bsky.social. Particular kudos to him for navigating the many twists and turns of the project.

Exciting News! 🚀 Registration Open! | Loke CTR Annual Meeting 2026 🎉 📅 16-17 July 2026 📍 St John’s College, Cambridge | 💻 Hybrid conference (in-person & online) 🔬 Epigenetics of embryogenesis and placentation 📌 To find out more and to register www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/ctrconferenc...

This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics... From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How? Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers

The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...

biorxiv.org

When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)

Applications close tomorrow!! Fully funded 4-year PhD studentships in reproductive and placental biology. Last chance to apply go to trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-studentships

Sad to hear of the death of John Gurdon this morning, aged 92.

Thrilled to share that our Group Leader Prof. Azim Surani, together with Prof. Davor Solter, has been awarded the 2026 Paul Ehrlich & Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 🎉 for discovering genomic imprinting—a breakthrough that reshaped genetics and launched modern epigenetics.

#1 Centromeres are epigenetic loci defined by CENP-A, positioned in unmethylated DNA flanked by highly methylated regions. Our work, published in @natgenet.nature.com in collaboration with @naltemose.bsky.social investigates the role of DNAme at human centromeres www.nature.com/articles/s41...

DNA methylation influences human centromere positioning and function - Nature Genetics

Genome-wide and targeted perturbation of DNA methylation at centromeres affects CENP-A positioning and centromere structure, resulting in aneuploidy and reduced cell viability.

nature.com

[please retweet] I’m #hiring! The Millman Lab is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to lead an exciting new project focused on vascularized #stemcell-derived islets for #diabetes disease modeling and cell replacement therapy. Email me your CV and cover letter.

A very nice paper in the developmental programming field, linking childhood eczema to maternal stress during pregnancy. rdcu.be/eCKOI

Maternal stress triggers early-life eczema through fetal mast cell programming

Nature - Prenatal stress triggers molecular dysregulations in fetal neuroimmune circuits, leading to altered mast cell and sensory neuron function, which predisposes offspring to develop eczema in...

rdcu.be

Glad to see this review out. Epigenetic Changes Associated With Obesity-related Metabolic Comorbidities url: academic.oup.com/jes/article/...

Epigenetic Changes Associated With Obesity-related Metabolic Comorbidities

Abstract. Obesity arises from a complex interaction of genetic, hormonal, dietary, and behavioral factors that drive chronic energy imbalance, excessive fa

academic.oup.com

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 I am excited to share our new work on epigenetic enhancer priming in early mammalian development genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... Fantastic collaboration with Wolf Reik’s team, with key contributions from many others, led by the excellent Chris Todd. Short 🧵

Epigenetic priming of mammalian embryonic enhancer elements coordinates developmental gene networks - Genome Biology

Background Embryonic development requires the accurate spatiotemporal execution of cell lineage-specific gene expression programs, which are controlled by transcriptional enhancers. Developmental enha...

genomebiology.biomedcentral.com

How do enhancer-gene contacts relate to transcription activation? In mouse embryonic stem cells, a combo of STED, oligoFISH & RNA FISH shows that 3% of Dppa3 alleles transcribe. For these, enhancers and promoters come closer (panel E). Stumberger ... Leonhardt & Harz www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

1/n Very excited to share our recent paper published on @ScienceAdvances where we dissect the gene regulatory landscape guiding mouse sex determination! science.org/doi/10.1126/... A huge well done to @IsabelleStevant.genomic.social.ap.brid.gy, Meshi and Elisheva who spearhead this project!

The gene regulatory landscape driving mouse gonadal supporting cell differentiation

Multiomics analysis revealed the regulatory elements and transcription factors responsible for gonadal sex determination.

science.org

Also, check out the News & Views summarizing our findings, written by Youjia Guo & @themodzlab.bsky.social 🤩🤩 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A retrotransposon caught red-handed in a curious case of missing digits - Nature Genetics

A newly uncovered mechanism shows how a single transposable element of retroviral origin can adopt the expression pattern of a neighboring gene. This leads to the production of viral-like particles th...

nature.com

Juliane Glaser@julianeg.bsky.social · last yr.

Finally out! 🥳 Our paper showing how a transposable element (TE) insertion can cause developmental phenotypes is now published @natgenet.nature.com 🧬🦠🐁 Below is a brief description of the major findings. Check the full version of the paper for more details: www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02248-5

Are you passionate about data and do you enjoy coding in Stata? Come and work with me at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Cambridge! Please share with anyone who might be interested, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/51739/

Very cool paper connecting nutrition, epigenetics and developmental biology. rdcu.be/eptl7

Maternal iron deficiency causes male-to-female sex reversal in mouse embryos

Nature - Iron-deficient conditions in pregnant mice can cause XY mouse embryos to develop female rather than male genitalia, revealing that iron metabolism has a role in determining male sex in mice.

rdcu.be

Happy to see this paper from David Grattan’s lab (@prolactinguy.bsky.social). And glad to have made a small contribution. Loss of choroid plexus‐derived insulin‐like growth factor 2 (IGF2) leads to hyposmia, while retaining post‐partum mood resilience in mice. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

<em>Journal of Neuroendocrinology</em> | BSN Journal | Wiley Online Library

During the post-partum period, new mothers are vulnerable to mood disorders. In adults, impairments in neurogenesis commonly associate with anxiety and depressive behaviors. Insulin-like growth facto....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

We're excited to publish our latest study led by Bryony Leeke @bryonyleeke.bsky.social and Wazeer Varsally, now out in @nature.com 🍾This study focusses on the epigenome of marsupial embryos 🦘 mapping DNA methylation in embryo development to specific embryo events www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧵

Divergent DNA methylation dynamics in marsupial and eutherian embryos - Nature

A study reports on the DNA methylation dynamics during embryogenesis in marsupials, showing that these differ from those occurring during embryogenesis in eutherian mammals.

nature.com

🎉 Huge congratulations to Prof. Kathy Niakan on receiving the 2025 Mary Lyon Medal! @niakanlab.bsky.social's Mary Lyon Medal lecture is on the genetic approaches to study early lineage specification in human embryos. #Epigenetics2025

Thrilled to share new work led by @jieyang437.bsky.social in the lab published today in @Nature. We find that Aspirin prevents metastasis by releasing T cells from immune suppression by platelet TXA2. @Cambridge_Uni @CRUKCamCentre rdcu.be/eci1U

Wondering whether your cancer risk might start before you are born? Our latest work published in #Nature Cancer suggests it does, through regulation by Trim28 and #epigenetic silencing. Congratulations to @ilariapanzeri.bsky.social for spearheading! Read it here: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

TRIM28-dependent developmental heterogeneity determines cancer susceptibility through distinct epigenetic states - Nature Cancer

Panzeri et al. use a Trim28+/D9 mouse model with intrinsic developmental heterogeneity to show that ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ developmental morphs exhibit different timing, type and severity of cancer, link...

nature.com

We thrilled to see our latest study led by @jeremie-subrini.bsky.social now out in @science.org 🔬 What are the specific functions of each Y-chromosome gene in fertility ? We generated and studied 13 Y-gene KO mouse models to find out! 🧬 www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Small but mighty: multiple Y chromosome contributions to mouse spermatogenesis @lab-turner.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Systematic identification of Y-chromosome gene functions in mouse spermatogenesis

The mammalian Y chromosome is essential for male fertility, but which Y genes regulate spermatogenesis is unresolved. We addressed this by generating 13 Y-deletant mouse models. In Eif2s3y, Uty, and Z...

science.org

We are hiring! 3-year BBSRC-funded postdoc position available. TEs, epigenetics, pregnancy: if you love one or more of these keywords, apply through the link below. Please spread the word.