Beginning to understand the physiology of spermatogenesis is really fun and super fascinating. A big thank you and congrats to everyone involved in this study. It took us a while, but it was worth it. P.S.: check out the supplemental movies.

PLOS Biology@plosbiology.org · last wk.

Seminiferous tubules of the testes play an important role in #sperm production. This study by @marcspehr.bsky.social &co shows that all cell types in the mouse seminiferous epithelium display unique calcium signaling patterns that are under endocrine control. 🧪#AcademicSky plos.io/3TnAWY9

Seminiferous tubules of the testes play an important role in #sperm production. This study by @marcspehr.bsky.social &co shows that all cell types in the mouse seminiferous epithelium display unique calcium signaling patterns that are under endocrine control. 🧪#AcademicSky plos.io/3TnAWY9

I am happy to announce my PhD project on cell communication in the mouse testis has finally been published! I have really enjoyed working on this during my time at the Spehr Lab and I am very grateful to everyone who contributed to this study! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

Cell type-specific Ca2+ signals govern mouse seminiferous tubule physiology

Seminiferous tubules of the testes play an important role in sperm production, but their regulation remain unclear. This study shows that all the cell types that constitute the seminiferous epithelium...

journals.plos.org

🐸 Postdoc Position (m/f/d) in Neurobiology! The project focuses on how smell shapes feeding behavior in poison frogs and is conducted in collaboration with Prof. Jennifer Stynoski (Costa Rica). 🌎🌿 . For more information and to apply, please use the link below. www.uni-giessen.de/de/ueber-uns...

Research Associate / Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d) “Olfactory Control of Behavior in Amphibians”

uni-giessen.de

Happy to share the latest from the lab! A microbiome-generated metabolite affects male-male aggression and social dominance in mice via the main olfactory system. Gut-Nose-Behavior. www.cell.com/current-biol...

A microbiome-derived olfactory signal regulates inter-male aggression and social dominance in mice

Cichy et al. show that trimethylamine (TMA), a gut microbiome-derived metabolite, activates the receptor TAAR5 in the main olfactory system to regulate aggression and social dominance in male mice. Th...

cell.com

Send us nominations for the FKNE Mentoring Prize 2026!The award will be presented at FENS Forum 2026 in Barcelona to a scientist who has demontrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists. Deadline: 15 February 2026 2cm.es/1gh-m

📢 iBehave Seminar Series 2026! 🎙 Prof. Dr. Veronica Egger, @uniregensburg.bsky.social 🧠 “Rhythms in the olfactory bulb: From neuronal network oscillations to heartbeat interoception" 📅 Jan 12, 2026 • 10:30 Host: Gaia Tavosanis @rwth.bsky.social 💻 Zoom link via iBehave@uni-bonn.de #ibehave

PhD position in systems neuroscience! Excited to start a new DFG-funded project together with @obarnstedt.bsky.social to study olfactory–spatial coding in CA1. 🔬 Dual-colour miniscope Ca2+ imaging 🐭 Freely moving behaviour & optogenetics ⏳ Start: April 2026 | Deadline: 31.01.2026 More info below ⬇️

What if the DNA methylation enzyme DNMT1 isn’t just about DNA? Our new preprint reveals a cytosolic role for DNMT1 as a scaffold controlling neuronal morphology via DOCK7–Rac1/STMN1 signaling & mitochondrial trafficking. A paradigm shift in DNMT1 biology! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A cytosolic function of DNMT1 controls neuronal morphogenesis via microtubule regulation

Proteins traditionally confined to a single cellular compartment are increasingly recognized to exert non-canonical functions in alternative domains. The DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), classically d...

biorxiv.org

🚨 We are looking for 2 PhD students! 🧠🐸👃 Join the Manzini Lab @jlugiessen.bsky.social to explore the olfactory system in #aquatic #vertebrates. We mainly use #amphibians, combining: 🔬 Imaging 👩‍🔬 Cell biology 🐝 Behavior 👉 bit.ly/neurophd 🌍 bit.ly/manzinilab Please share! #PhD #neuroscience #job

🌍 Open Call! RWTH Aachen University invites postdocs from outside the EU to apply for the “Port to Europe” Fellowship (24 months funding, all disciplines). Start your research journey at one of Europe’s top universities! 🚀 Deadline: Oct 5, 2025. 👉https://rwth-aachen.de/go/id/botjje/lidx/1

Studie von RWTH-Professorin und ihrem Team in der Fachzeitschrift Nature Communications veröffentlicht 📃💡: Die Forschenden untersuchen die Bedeutung des Enzyms DNMT1 für die Entstehung von Schizophrenie, Autismus und Epilepsie. ➡️ Mehr Infos: www.rwth-aachen.de/go/id/bouvms...

While I’m a big fan of new technologies that help us study human biology…there’s still no replacement for animal research! See my article in Gen News. www.genengnews.com/topics/trans...

Why We Still Need Animal Research in a World of AI and Organoids

The portrayal of uncaring scientists without any thought for the animals being used in their research is far from the truth.

genengnews.com

Wir begrüßen Professorin @silkesachse.bsky.social‬ als neue Leiterin des Lehrstuhls für #Neurobiologie und #Genetik! Sie kommt aus Jena zu uns (@mpi-ce.bsky.social) und erforscht den Geruchssinn von #Insekten. ➡️ www.uni-wuerzburg.de/aktuelles/ei...

🚨 Preprint alert! 🚨 Can mice estimate the distance to an odour source? New work led by Cristina Marin and colleagues, jointly supervised by @andreas-t-schaefer.bsky.social at the @crick.ac.uk and myself. Spoiler alert: Yes, they can! Read the paper here: bit.ly/43A9tF9 Short 🧵 below

Highly recommended: youtu.be/8H34jcpEsFs?...

RFK Jr. & HHS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight

youtu.be

P.S.: If you cannot get enough of this, stop by at our poster at AChemS 2025 on Thursday morning.

Marc Spehr@marcspehr.bsky.social · last yr.

www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1... Excited to see this out (now in print). A fantastic collaboration by former student Rudolf Degen and current PhD student Victoria Switacz, who did an amazing job closing the deal on this one. Give it a read if you like, but beware - it's nerdy ephys at its best.

www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1... Excited to see this out (now in print). A fantastic collaboration by former student Rudolf Degen and current PhD student Victoria Switacz, who did an amazing job closing the deal on this one. Give it a read if you like, but beware - it's nerdy ephys at its best.

Ca2+-Activated Ion Channels Exert Opposite Effects in Different Signaling Compartments of Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons

In most mammals, conspecific chemical cues that drive innate social and sexual behavior are detected by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and processed in the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). Chemosensory st...

jneurosci.org

Olfactory neuroscientists have known for a while that their stimuli stink. A new analysis illuminates the extent of the problem. By @callimcflurry.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/olfaction/sm...

Smell studies often use unnaturally high odor concentrations, analysis reveals

It’s time to fashion olfactory neuroscience stimuli based on odor concentrations in the wild, say study investigators Elizabeth Hong and Matt Wachowiak.

thetransmitter.org

This Week in The Journal #JNeurosci | The Neural Underpinnings of Waiting; Behavioral Outcomes from Neurofibromin Deficiency www.jneurosci.org/content/45/1...

This Week in The Journal

The Neural Underpinnings of Waiting Qiang Zheng, Yujing Liu, Yue Huang, Jiaming Cao, Xuanning Wang, and Jianing Yu (see article e1820242025) Waiting is important for action control during motor ta...

jneurosci.org

Vorzeitige #Wehen und #Präeklampsie können bei einer #Schwangerschaft die #Gesundheit von Mutter und Baby gefährden. Forscher um @marcspehr.bsky.social von der @rwth.bsky.social und @physiologyiscool.bsky.social von @washumedicine.bsky.social zeigen einen zentralen Auslöser dieser Komplikationen.

Neue Ansätze zur Behandlung von Schwangerschaftskomplikationen

Forschende der RWTH Aachen haben gemeinsam mit einem Team aus St. Louis eine Studie veröffentlicht, die neue Wege für die Behandlung von Schwangerschaftskomplikationen eröffnen könnte.

dlvr.it

A scientific excursion for us, and a fun collaboration with Polina Lishko and her team. In this new study, led on our end by Lina Kenzler and Jerome Schrőer, we address a molecular mechanism that controls uterine contractions in mice and humans. Enjoy the read. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Kir7.1 is the physiological target for hormones and steroids that regulate uteroplacental function

Progesterone and progestins activate Kir7.1 to control uterine excitability, offering insights for preterm birth therapy.

science.org

📣 Science matters! #FENS and its allies unite in solidarity with the U.S. scientific community facing challenges to research, collaboration, and academic freedom. 🔬 🔗 Read the full statement: loom.ly/cn7vJR4 #sciencematters #standupforscience #sciencenotsilence #scienceforall

2024 marked the 10-year anniversary of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence. We warmly invite you to explore the 10-Year Report, showcasing its impact on science, mentoring, outreach, advocacy, and personal achievements. @fens.org @kavlifoundation.bsky.social fenskavlinetwork.org/fkne-10-year...

With the huge challenges facing scientists, I call on peer reviewers to reflect on their role as gatekeepers to trainee career development and scientific progress. You can maintain high standards for rigor while being kind and not demanding an extra year of studies for every paper revision.

I am deeply grateful for this award, which not only recognizes my work but also reflects the invaluable contributions of my team, mentors, and supporters! It inspires me to continue working with my lab to deepen our understanding of how we perceive and interpret our environment.

Informationsdienst Wissenschaft - idw@idw-online.de · 2y ago

Mammals smell faster than they breathe: Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award 2025 goes to Tobias Ackels @goetheuni.bsky.social @paulstiftung... weiterlesen

⏰ Last chance! Today is the final day to submit your #AChemS2025 abstract! Submit now: achems.org/2025/abstrac...

We are hiring! We are looking for two PhD students interested in the regulation of habit formation. Habits are useful to decrease cognitive load, but carry the risk of becoming stereotyped and hard to control - it’s hard to shake a bad habit. The fruit fly Drosophila also forms habits and we […]

🎉✨ Happy New Year ! ✨🎉 Wishing you a year filled with inspiration, discovery, & happiness! Here's to making 2025 remarkable together. #happynewyear #thanks #community @wisocologne.bsky.social @unibonn.bsky.social @dzne.science @mpinb.mpg.de @fz_juelich @rwth.bsky.social @UniklinikBonn @DLR-PT

There's a movement in neuroscience suggesting we should be pursuing bigger bets with larger teams. I think there's a case for doing a bit of this, but I think it's a bad idea to prioritise it for two reasons, and a good case for saying we should be moving in the exact opposite direction. 🧠🧪