A mother that gives everything for her child, deserves everything. This lady crossed a desert while pregnant to give her boy a chance, and it was his action that won Spain the World Cup.

Luca Migo@victinibcn.bsky.social · 3w ago

Precious moment when World Cup winner Nico Williams looks for his family in the stands to give his gold medal to his mother. 🥹

Hello World ! We have another postdoc position open in the lab! Are you a freshly minted Ph.D. with a passion for chromatin and evolution ? Come join our ERC project #EvoEpi ! Inclusive environment + cool people + great science = success details 👉 tinyurl.com/3r6zk54n Repost are always appreciated

For the neural crest nerds: we love looking into transcriptional programs in single NCC cells. However, selective ribosomal modifications refine gene expression programs at a different scale. Here is our story about modified ribosomes in neural crest fate selection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Ribosomal modifications are associated with mesenchymal fate selection in the neural crest lineage - Nature Communications

Neural crest cells differentiate into skeletogenic mesenchyme and neuro-glial lineages, thereby contributing to craniofacial formation. Here, single-cell analysis of cranial neural crest shows that sp...

nature.com

Journal impact factors were released yesterday. In our latest @dev-journal.bsky.social Editorial, @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social and I discuss how we are all architects of impact, highlighting that measuring the influence and support journals provide goes beyond a single number. doi.org/10.1242/dev....

The elephant in the room: impact factor

Summary: This Editorial offers an honest look at impact factor trends in developmental biology, explains how Development serves its community, and makes the case that sustaining developmental biology ...

doi.org

This was the best meeting I have ever attended, everything was amazing!

The Company of Biologists@biologists.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Thank you to organisers to James Hombría and Antónia Monteiro @monteirolab.bsky.social and everyone who joined us at this week's Workshop on 'Novelty, Co-option and Divergence During Gene Network Evolution' biologists.com/workshops #BiologistsWorkshops

When Ted Lasso becomes reality

Bumble bees can apparently play with balls, count, recognize faces, & perceive rhythm. A new study out today in @science.org argues they can also solve novel tasks spontaneously without explicit training, challenging the idea that such cognitive skills are exclusive to large-brained vertebrates.😲🐝🧪👇

Spontaneous problem-solving in bumble bees

Problem-solving using novel solutions without explicit training is often considered a hallmark of cognitive flexibility. We investigated whether bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) could solve a novel obj...

science.org

Wrote a short piece on Transposable Elements as catalysts of evolutionary innovation for a forthcoming special issue of @naturerevgenet.bsky.social on, duh, Evolutionary Innovation! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Transposable elements as catalysts of evolutionary innovation - Nature Reviews Genetics

In this Comment, Cedric Feschotte highlights evidence from diverse lineages showing that transposable elements are key drivers of evolutionary innovation, repeatedly introducing regulatory and coding ...

nature.com

☕ @joshifrenster.bsky.social @amartinezarias.bsky.social & co utilize mosaic mouse #gastruloids as a model of cell fitness & competition, identifying a temporal window between primed pluripotency and early gastrulation during which #CellCompetition occurs in mammalian #embryogenesis. bit.ly/4cBmfGK

Mosaic gastruloids reveal a temporal restriction for developmental cell competition - Nature Cell Biology

Frenster et al. utilize mosaic mouse gastruloids as a model of cell fitness and competition, identifying a temporal window between primed pluripotency and early gastrulation during which cell competit...

bit.ly

Well. This will provoke some discussion. Given that MRC was actively recruiting new board members 6 months ago, boards which all have now been abolished, I am worried about the amount of thought that has gone into this new approach, that marks a sea-change in funding. So many questions...

Willem van Schaik@wvschaik.bsky.social · 5mo ago

MRC curiosity-driven research reopens with new approach www.ukri.org/news/mrc-cur... MRC applicant-led funding opportunities reopen 7 Apr, experimental medicine opportunities opening 30 Apr Complete change in selection of project: no boards, shortlisted applicants -> in-person panel interview.

Job alert: open position for a Professor or Associate Professor of Computational Genomics in Health and Disease at University College London. Based in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment of UCL, and UGI, and funded by the UCL Health Strategy. www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/... 🧪

Another update from #UKRI CEO on #UKsciencefunding #UKRI www.ukri.org/news/ukri-ce... No new information and fails to address/explain the severe funding rate cuts taking place at MRC for the round currently under review (Sept2025). That's 2025/26 budget so should *not* be affected by SR.

UKRI CEO updates the research community on areas of uncertainty

Following an open letter of 1 February, Sir Ian Chapman responds to feedback and provides an update.

ukri.org

This week, two of our PhD students successfully passed their PhD VIVA! Congratulations Dr. Zoe Mitchell and Dr. Martina Demurtas! We are so proud of you both!

We are in EMBO J. See DNA and non-octameric nucleosome-like particles in situ link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Direct visualization and tracing of chromatin folding in the Drosophila embryo - The EMBO Journal

Chromatin organization, through the assembly of DNA with histones and the folding of nucleosome chains, regulates DNA accessibility for transcription, DNA replication and repair. Although models deriv...

link.springer.com

My goodness 😞

CNN@cnn.com · 6mo ago

James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame playing Dawson Leery on the 1990s-era hit teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” has died. He was 48. https://cnn.it/3ZwnNfk

So now we have it- not only the reduction from 12-13 to 3 grants from each board recommended for funding but the budget for applicant-led research to be reduced from £200 million to £113 million per year. This is appalling, Especially given all that is happening with medical research in the US.

Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Medical Research Council ‘will fund fewer applicant-led grants’. Confirmation from deputy leader comes as council restructures investments, with calls on hold until summer. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

Genomic clues to the origin of eukaryotic cells www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Genomic clues to the origin of eukaryotic cells

How did eukaryotic cells with complex architecture evolve from simpler prokaryotic cells? DNA analyses offer possible answers.

nature.com

I watched much of Ian Chapman's (Head of @ukri.org) appearance this morning at @ukparliament.parliament.uk Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.. A few points and new information that bioscientists may find interesting... A 🧵

Leaks everywhere and finally we get an official statement, one that somehow manages to say a lot while; No timelines. No clarity. No acknowledgement of impact on ECRs whose careers depend UKRI funding. “Later this year” isn’t a plan. And the sector deserves better than reassurance without detail.

UK Research and Innovation@ukri.org · 6mo ago

Today, we're sharing an open letter from our Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, outlining changes to UKRI investment approach, and addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC. Read his letter here: www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

I worry this is going to kill a lot of careers. Mine being one of them. But beyond the selfish...there's going to be a whole generation of scientists who are not going to be able to support their careers, this is going to affect UK research in a big way...

UK Research and Innovation@ukri.org · 6mo ago

Today, we're sharing an open letter from our Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, outlining changes to UKRI investment approach, and addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC. Read his letter here: www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

1 budget for 26-30 is rising 🎉 2 quota for basic research stable 🙂 BUT 3 we're slashing success rate for currently assessed grants 🫠 4 next call hopefully in Apri 2027 (with £s for lucky few going out months later, suppose) 💀 How does this make us more competitive? www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community

UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

ukri.org

Today, we're sharing an open letter from our Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, outlining changes to UKRI investment approach, and addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC. Read his letter here: www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

Open letter from Ian Chapman to research and innovation community

UKRI Chief Executive outlines changes to UKRI investment approach, addressing concerns about research funding and the financial position of STFC.

ukri.org

This UKRI situation is batshit insane.

Kirsty Grainger @kirstygrainger.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Some initial reactions to the 'published on a Sunday afternoon' letter from the CEO of UKRI. 🧵 www.ukri.org/news/open-le...

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.

Check out our new findings showing BRD4's role in preventing the premature activation of developmental transcription factors via #Polycomb, providing new mechanistic insights into the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorder #CdLS #NDDs, #chromatinopathies www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

New NIH funding strategy has been formalized. I really do hope scientists understand what this means for the future of science (funding) - it's not subtle. www.niaid.nih.gov/about/unifie...

NIH Unified Funding Strategy

Objective peer review, and HHS- and NIH- specific priorities, and a standardized, transparent process for incorporating NIAID-specific priorities will guide funding selections.

niaid.nih.gov

New goal for life: being able to play this (well not this good) even if it takes 20 years of practice www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj1x...

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, 3rd Mvt. (Marnie Laird - Brooklyn Classical)

YouTube video by Brooklyn Classical

youtube.com

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

youtu.be

UKRI pauses several funding calls amid priorities shake-up www.researchprofessional.com/news-article...