A Chance Discovery Reveals an Unexpected Twist in One of Biology's Oldest Molecular Machines - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Sometimes, groundbreaking discoveries begin with what looks like a failed experiment. Researchers in the lab of MCB Professor Nicholas Bellono have discovered that octopuses possess a unique structura...

mcb.harvard.edu

MCB Junior Fellow Wins Two Prestigious Evolutionary Science Awards— First Dual Honor in 25 Years - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Wendy Valencia-Montoya, a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows affiliated with the lab of MCB Professor Nick Bellono, has been awarded two of the most coveted […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Rebecka Sepela Receives NIH K99 Award to Investigate How Microbes Shape Animal Sensing - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Rebecka Sepela, a postdoctoral researcher in Nicholas Bellono’s MCB lab, has received an NIH Pathway to Independence (K99/R00) Award to study how animals derive information from their external […]

mcb.harvard.edu

A molecular quirk unique to octopuses makes them better at building proteins

Certain shallow-water species carry a mutation that reduces translation errors and prevents toxic protein buildup

science.org

Pew Announces 21 New Biomedical Scholars

The Pew Charitable Trusts today announced the 21 researchers joining the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. These early-career scientists will receive four years of funding to explore cu...

pew.org

MCB Postdoctoral Researchers Matthew Capek and Ruoyu Chen Awarded Jane Coffin Childs Fellowships - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Two MCB postdoctoral researchers, Matthew Capek and Ruoyu (Roy) Chen, have been awarded prestigious fellowships from the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research, one of the nation’s […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Rebecka Sepela Wins Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Award in Neuroscience to Study How Microbes Shape Octopus Social Life - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Rebecka Sepela, a postdoctoral fellow in the MCB lab of Nick Bellono, has won a 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award in Neuroscience from The Warren Alpert […]

mcb.harvard.edu

The secrets of the sex lives of octopuses, revealed

New research reveals how octopuses essentially have a tongue, an arm, a penis and a sperm cell all rolled into one appendage.

wapo.st

Male octopus has ‘sex arm’ that can mate in the dark

Scientists found that the male’s hectocotylus, the specialized arm for mating, is lined with receptors that can sense hormones from the female.

nationalgeographic.com

Sex at arm’s length? Male octopuses use specialised arm to mate, scientists find

Sensory organ in male cephalopod, known as hectocotylus, able to detect female hormone progesterone, even if male cannot see partner Sex might seem an intimate act, but scientists have shed fresh light on how octopuses manage it at arm’s length. Male octopuses use a specialised arm called the hectocotylus to place a package of sperm inside the female’s reproductive system. Continue reading...

theguardian.com

Study Reveals Octopus Mating Arm Doubles as a Chemical Sensor - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

A new study (PDF) from the MCB lab of Nicholas Bellono reveals an unexpected sensory mechanism underlying octopus reproduction—showing that a specialized arm used for mating is also […]

mcb.harvard.edu

THIS SATURDAY: Science Spotlights at the Harvard Museum of Natural History to Feature MCB’s Rebecka Sepela - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

The Harvard Museum of Natural History will host a special Science Spotlights in-person event on Saturday, April 4, from 2:00–3:30 pm, featuring emerging scientists across Harvard, including MCB’s […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Evolutionary Clues Reveal How a Key Hearing Protein Adapted for Function - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

A new study in Current Biology (PDF) sheds light on how a critical protein underlying hearing evolved to perform its specialized role in vertebrate sensory systems—offering a rare […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Evolutionary tuning of an auditory transduction channel

Integrating evolutionary analysis, structural modeling, and electrophysiology, Akyuz et al. show that TMC1 and TMC2 arose by gene duplication and evolved specialized extracellular regions. In TMC1, an...

cell.com

Wendy Valencia Montoya Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award for Groundbreaking Thesis on the Evolution of Sensory Worlds - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Wendy Valencia Montoya has been named a recipient of the prestigious 2026 Harold M. Weintraub Award in recognition of her doctoral thesis, an ambitious and interdisciplinary body of […]

mcb.harvard.edu

Ryan Nett Awarded 2025–27 George W. Merck Fellowship - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Ryan Nett, MCB assistant professor, has been named a recipient of the 2025–27 George W. Merck Fellowship. Awarded annually to outstanding tenure-track faculty, the prestigious two-year fellowship prov...

mcb.harvard.edu

Two MCB-Affiliated Postdoctoral Fellows Awarded Harvard Brain Initiative Fellowships - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

Two postdoctoral researchers affiliated with MCB have been awarded highly competitive Postdoctoral Pioneer Fellowships from the Harvard Brain Initiative (HBI), recognizing innovative projects that spa...

mcb.harvard.edu

Infrared radiation is an invitation to pollinating insects

A new study shows that infrared radiation is a pollination signal, one far older than the vivid colors that later became dominant among flowering plants.

news.harvard.edu

Forget flowers: These ancient plants attract pollinators by getting hot

While many modern plants use colorful flowers to attract pollinators, ancient palm-like plants called cycads lure them by heating up and glowing in the infrared.

n.pr