DySTrack is officially published!: doi.org/10.1242/jcs.... If anyone is keen on using it feel free to reach out as we are more than happy to help and demo if need be!

DySTrack – a modular smart microscopy tool for live tracking of dynamic samples on modern commercial microscopes

Summary: DySTrack is an easy-to-use open-source tool that bridges standard microscope control software with the Python image analysis ecosystem to enable automated tracking of moving, drifting, or gro...

doi.org

Zimeng Wu@zimengwu33.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Pleased to say that Jonas Hartmann (bs-less) and I have finally released DySTrack (“diss track”) - Dynamic Sample Tracking. It’s a Python-based, modular tool that brings smart microscopy to everyday imaging on commercial systems. Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... [1/6]

Great presentation by Eva @evadevo.bsky.social in the #oceanoise26, about her PhD project codirected by C. Cañestro (UB @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social ) & R Pagès-Alsina (LaSalle) characterizing the genetic response of #Oikopleura to noise pollution 🌊🔊🚢 in the #Deuteronoise consortium

Bilaterian BMP signaling gradients suggest an ancestral anti-neural role. Study of #cnidarians shows that #BMP signalling promotes neurogenesis; its "anti-neural" function is a side effect of its role in the DV axis @paulknabl.bsky.social @genikhovich.bsky.social @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4dJHoiR

It's a wrap on the Jacques Monod Conference on Developmental regulation #CJM26 🙌 The Sars delegation @jmbrandenburg.bsky.social, @chiaracastelletti.bsky.social, @noahbruderer.bsky.social, Max Jordi Makem Pekouankouang and @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social had a great time in #SunnyRoscoff ☀️

Great #outreach talk within the #Pint26 initiative @pintofscience.es in a bar 🍺 in Barcelona about Oikopleura🔬, gene losses🧬, genome scrambling🍳, and presenting our new EIG-Concert Japan 🇯🇵 project on climate change adaptations🌊 @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @yghavi.bsky.social

A very nice piece about our latest paper published in Open Biology by @royalsocietypublishing.org It's about how venom-producing stinging cells use chromatic modifications to determine their biochemical identity: royalsociety.org/blog/2026/04...

The secret life of stinging cells: chromatin regulation in sea anemones | Royal Society

This Open Biology study uncovers how specialised stinging cells used for prey capture and defence, are regulated at a deeper level than ever before.

royalsociety.org

🚨 How do mechanical forces shape a developing organ? Our new #ScienceAdvances @science.org study, led by the amazing @cvagenapantoula.bsky.social, reveals a Piezo1-driven hydraulic mechanism, where mechanical cues control cell volume to guide cardiac formation ❤️🐟 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Piezo1-mediated mechanohydraulic control of cell volume drives cardiac morphogenesis

Mechanical forces shape the developing heart by controlling cell volume through a Piezo1-driven hydraulic mechanism.

science.org

We are glad to host @jenniferlove7.bsky.social, postdoc in @yghavi.bsky.social lab, who is going to be collecting Oikopleura samples and learning from our team the secrets of Oikopleuras’ life @geneticsub.bsky.social . Thanks Jenny for the great seminar! Looking forward for exciting collaborations!

Interested in miRNAs, early animal evolution, and RNA biology? We’re recruiting a BBSRC-funded Postdoctoral Research Associate @bristolbiosci.bsky.social #Postdoc #microRNA #RNAbiology Apply by 14 May 2026. 👉 www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find-in...

Yay! P.S it’s my footage ☺️

The Marine Biological Association@thembauk.bsky.social · 4mo ago

A young ascidian.  Sea squirts can often look like leathery sacks, fine vases, or soft crusts, siphoning water in and out of their bodies and extracting the oxygen and nutrients.

Super happy to see our new paper out in @currentbiology.bsky.social today! We found that cocaine pollution affects salmon movement and space use in the wild! Big congrats to the team for this huge effort! @michaelgbertram.bsky.social Find the paper here: tinyurl.com/cocaine-fish

New paper out in @natureportfolio.nature.com @commsearth.nature.com! A major bottleneck in coral restoration is that newly settled corals rarely survive. We show that simple engineered substrates can increase early-stage survivorship by ~4×. Link to paper: rdcu.be/femTN

Reach little fella! This barnacle cyprid larva is using its antennules to try and find a place to settle. The antennules contain chemoreceptors that ‘taste’ the substrate, and they will also secrete cement to secure them in place! 1/2 #marineplankton 🦑 #zooplankton

Congratulations @simonhenriet.bsky.social, Anthony Leon @evodevofox.bsky.social & colleagues on a new preprint 👏 In an impressive technical feat, the authors performed single-cell RNA sequencing throughout the life cycle of the larvacean Oikopleura dioica 🧬 Read the full story ➡️ tinyurl.com/3bhxsza9

Neural signals influence vertebrate #heart growth, but how? @bradleydavidson.bsky.social &co show how #tachykinin & #Wnt pathways modulate #cardiomyocyte progenitor proliferation in #Ciona, revealing the role of neural cues in organ development @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4cbr2zT

268 species and counting—Cyprus emerges as a frontline sentinel of marine #bioinvasions 🌊⚠️ Accelerating introductions, diverse pathways, and clear policy implications for the #Mediterranean. Read more: doi.org/10.1007/s105... #MarineEcology #BiologicalInvasions #Biodiversity #InvasiveSpecies 🌐🌍🧪

1/🧵My first preprint!🐛🌡️ We examine how environmental effects experienced during one life-history stage persist and modulate environmental responses in later life-history stages. With Lea Beaupere, @sheldonbirds.bsky.social, @rona-learmonth.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📣 paper alert We are happy to share our latest work on how HNF1A's involvement in GLI3 processing affects #pancreatic & intestinal #development 5 years of work is 🆕 ONLINE ahead of print 🆕 in @genesdev.bsky.social I must say I'm really proud of my team! 👏 genesdev.cshlp.org/content/earl...

Last week I saw my first ascidian (sea squirt) egg of the year. This week I observed my first larva of the year! I’m looking forward to seeing many more as the water warms up. #marineplankton 🦑

Had great fun discussing some recent work and the value of toy models in neuroscience last night! Our next workshop will be: * 16.04 * 16-20:30 * At the Crick Sign up (for free) and come along! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/understand...

Marcus Ghosh@marcusghosh.bsky.social · 6mo ago

How can we build better experiment-theory collaborations in neuroscience? We're hosting a series of 6 in-person, interactive workshops to discuss this. Come along! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/understand...

Welcome Kevin! I am sure the dive into the evolution of ctenophore neurons is gonna be adventurous!😄 This project is supported by a generous @leverhulme.ac.uk grant.

Kevin Thiessen, PhD@kevinthiessen.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Thrilled to announce that later this year, I'll be joining the lab of @mariasachkova.bsky.social @bristolbiosci.bsky.social to research the evolutionary history of neurons in #Ctenophores! I'm sad to be leaving #zebrafish but I'll still hover around the community for the next few years at least. 1/2

Looking for a #PhD project? The #DEEVA team (biom.obs-banyuls.fr/presentation...) proposes a PhD research project on the evolutionary modifications in the formation of the palps, the sensory and adhesive organ located at the anterior end of the #ascidian larvae.

The development of #salps differs from that of #ascidians in the presence of maternal cells called calymmocytes. This study of #embryogenesis in 2 salp species identifies distinct cleavage patterns & blastomere positioning, informing the study of their #evolution @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4bscc6j

First ascidian sea squirt egg of the year! If you think it’s something different, let me know! #marineplankton 🦑

Neither machine nor organ: these Platynereis worms possess cells that function like a 3D printer! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dynamic microvilli sculpt bristles at nanometric scale - Nature Communications

Bristleworms possess dedicated cells that can synthesize highly stereotypical bristles with sub-micrometric precision. Here, Ikeda and colleagues shed light on the underlying dynamics of cellular prot...

nature.com

Davies et al. assemble the genome of polychaete Capitella teleta, a model for evolutionary developmental biology, comparative genomics, conservation, and ecotoxicology, generating a 243 Mb chromosome-level genome, and publish a genome browser. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag041 #genome #evolution

Happy to announce I've launched a new service for the fly community: flyRoom, a web-based comprehensive stock manager for all your fly pushing needs. Organise all your stocks, maps all your genotypes, plan your crosses, print and scan your labels. Give it a try and let your colleagues know!

flyroom.net@flyroom.net · 5mo ago

We just launched flyRoom — modern web-based stock management for Drosophila labs. No more spreadsheets, no more messy labels, no more lost stocks. Free to start, built by researchers for researchers. www.flyroom.net

📣 JOBS!!! We're looking for new colleagues in the School of Biology @bioscienceleeds.bsky.social - two associate profs (plant sci and animal biology) and a lecturer (ecology/zoology)... jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx... jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

www.brainfacts.org/brain-anatom...

What Ants Teach Us About the Biology of Social Behavior

A group of researchers tinkered with the neuropeptides in the brains of leafcutter ants, leading them to demonstrate radically different behaviors.

brainfacts.org

Nature research paper: Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature go.nature.com/4ua5R82

Limited thermal tolerance in tropical insects and its genomic signature - Nature

A survey of tropical insect populations and thermal tolerance limits indicates that species from lowland areas have low capacity to survive increased temperatures, and that thermal tolerance is limited by fundamental properties of protein architecture.

go.nature.com