Nature research paper: A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells go.nature.com/4f0pqJt

A secreted endosymbiont protein essential for colonizing host cells - Nature

SyeA was present in the Buchnera ancestor, is secreted into the host cytoplasm, is homologous to secreted effectors of bacterial pathogens and is essential for Buchnera transmission.

go.nature.com

i am honored and grateful to be selected as a 2026 Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow !! much exciting research to come

Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research@jcchildsfund.bsky.social · last mo.

We are thrilled to announce our 2026 Jane Coffin Childs Fellows! These thirty-two outstanding scientists are performing cutting-edge research to advance our understanding of human diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, autoimmunity, pathogenic infections, and more. 1/3

Here is a banger! Our new paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social is out! We have used museomics to sequence a 45yr old specimen of Drosophila enhydrobia, a rare and most unusual fly whose larvae are aquatic(!) and predatory(!). Very cool, big success. authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

how does life thrive at sub-freezing temperatures? check out our study on the amazing and elusive snowfly … using comparative genomics we uncover mechanisms that endow the snowfly with the ability to tolerate extreme cold - from antifreeze, to ROS tolerance, to thermogenesis! tinyurl.com/mr2a24ty

Coordinated molecular and physiological adaptations enable activity at sub-freezing temperatures in the snow fly Chionea alexandriana

Snow flies (Chionea) are small, wingless insects active on snow even at sub-freezing temperatures. Capek et al. combine comparative genomics with experiments to show that endogenous heat production, e...

tinyurl.com

On the first day of Christmas (in about 2014), @duckswabber.bsky.social gave to me - a partridge in a pear tree. Happy Christmas everyone!

Most Nature papers are published in Current Biology

Cell Press@cellpress.bsky.social · 10mo ago

DNA from Napoleon’s 1812 army identifies the pathogens likely responsible for the army’s demise during their Russian retreat. www.cell.com/current-biol... Nicolás Rascovan & colleagues @currentbiology.bsky.social

Although highly topical, kleptoparasitism does not get nearly the attention it deserves! Here, a plant exploits the kleptoparasitic behavior of a fly that likes to snatch ants killed by spiders. 🕷️🐜🪰🌿 So the thief itself gets taken advantage of. Nice going, plants! www.cell.com/current-biol...

Olfactory floral mimicry of injured ants mediates the attraction of kleptoparasitic fly pollinators

Mochizuki reports a plant that lures pollinating flies by imitating the scent of ants injured by predators. This study reveals the first known case of ant mimicry in flowers and uncovers previously un...

cell.com

New review on how changes in cell type composition in and outside the brain contribute to the evolution of behavior. 🧪 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lihM,LqAZ...

Corey Allard et al asks how “solar-powered” slugs maintain stolen chloroplasts from their diet for photosynthesis and starvation resistance. @cellpress.bsky.social, @harvardmcb.bsky.social, @harvardmed.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Flybase lost all of the NIH support overnight - it is a disaster for the community. Please consider donating. I just did! www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

Happy to see this out now: Olfactory projection neuron rewiring in the brain of an ecological specialist: Cell Reports www.cell.com/cell-reports... In a team effort with @bentonlab.bsky.social 's lab we establish new genetic tools in #drosophila sechellia and compare single central brain neurons.

Olfactory projection neuron rewiring in the brain of an ecological specialist

Dürr et al. develop advanced genetic tools in the host specialist D. sechellia to study its olfactory system neuroanatomy. They show via single-cell labeling, tracing, and quantitative comparison of o...

cell.com

Now out in #ProcB 🧪 Ancestral complexity and constrained diversification of the ant olfactory system 🐜 Expertly led by Simon Marty and Antoine Couto, funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk and @agencerecherche.bsky.social 🙏🏻 #socialinsects @bristolbiosci.bsky.social @cnrs.fr

Stephen Montgomery@ebablab.bsky.social · 2y ago

new from our project with Patrizia d’Ettore and Jean-Christoph Sandoz’s labs, led by Simon Marty & Antoine Couto, with Neven Brard and Erika Dawson - comparing the olfactory pathway across ants, from sensillae to specialised antennal lobe structures 🐜 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A colossal squid — the largest invertebrate in the world — has been photographed alive in its habitat for the first time. And it's just a baby. www.newscientist.com/article/2476...

First ever confirmed image of a colossal squid in the deep ocean

The colossal squid is the largest invertebrate on the planet, but it is also surprisingly elusive. An image of a 30-centimetre-long juvenile is our first glimpse of the animal in its natural habitat

newscientist.com

In our latest paper, we describe how the passing-stripe hunting display of the broadclub cuttlefish camouflages the hunting predator during the final moments of the attack. Read more here www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @drmartinjhow.bsky.social @jtroscianko.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social

I know there's a 𝒍𝒐𝒕 going on right now, but I couldn’t be prouder to share this long-incubated labor of love: the complete connectome of the male 𝐷𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑎 optic lobe 🧠🪰 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Connectome-driven neural inventory of a complete visual system - Nature

A connectome of the right optic lobe from a male fruitfly is presented together with an extensive collection of genetic drivers matched to a comprehensive neuron-type catalogue.

nature.com

Neural circuits that link genetic variation to #behavior: This study of mate choice behavior in Heliconius cydno #butterflies shows that alterations to the peripheral nervous system, driven by genetic & gene expression differences, can alter essential behaviors 🧪 @plosbiology.org plos.io/4iHQDRd

wild

Nature@nature.com · last yr.

Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during mating to avoid being eaten by their partners https://go.nature.com/3FqtOU4

🤘✨

Nature@nature.com · last yr.

Nature research paper: Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila https://go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

🎉 so excited to share my first first-author paper is out in @Nature.com, from my PhD work in the Gallio Lab! we uncover the neurobiological mechanisms that drive the evolution of temperature preference behavior in flies of the genus Drosophila 👇 go.nature.com/4i1VQn9

Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila - Nature

A study using flies of the genus Drosophila adapted to life in diverse thermal environments shows how evolution has shaped temperature preference by acting on both molecular heat receptors and th...

go.nature.com