🌱 We’re delighted to have @the-node.bsky.social supporting VGZT Season 8. A huge thank-you for their generous sponsorship and commitment to connecting and supporting the developmental biology community! #theNode #companyofBiologists #devbio #gastrulation #science

Also, new this year: MolCellDevBioJobs! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

molcelldevbiojobs 2026-27

docs.google.com

www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

XY or ZW? Geckos reveal evolution's hidden playbook

Why do humans rely on XY chromosomes to determine sex, while birds use ZW — and many reptiles use neither, letting temperature decide instead? Sex determination is remarkably diverse across the ...

eurekalert.org

Five gecko lineages began differentiating sex chromosomes within a narrow 7- to 12-million-year window around 9.6 million years ago, hinting at a climate-linked shift away from temperature-based sex determination.

XY or ZW? Gecko chromosomes reveal evolution's hidden playbook

Why do humans rely on XY chromosomes to determine sex, while birds use ZW—and many reptiles use neither, letting temperature decide instead?

phys.org

We’re recruiting a postdoc to follow up on an astonishing number of mutants with craniofacial phenotypes from our ENU mutagenesis screen. Great opportunity for someone interested in developmental genetics, craniofacial biology, mouse genetics & gene discovery. Please share!

The Nano Lab is opening in the Dept. of BioSciences, Rice University, Oct 2026! 🧠🦉 We’ll be profiling and perturbing the molecular cues that shape the human brain using single-cell functional genomics and cortical organoids.

Model organism poker chips #SDB2026 on permanent display as a memento of an awesome meeting @rrbehringer.bsky.social @socdevbio.bsky.social

1/2 chameleon & human embryos exhibit an epiblast lumen before #gastrulation initiates. However, they reach this stage via different mechanisms. Our new study @natcomms.nature.com explores early development & lumenogenesis in the veiled chameleon. #evodevo #devbio www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Epiblast lumenogenesis is not a mammalian-specific trait - Nature Communications

Weberling et al. characterise veiled chameleon pre-oviposition development from fertilisation to the initiation of gastrulation and show that pre-gastrulation lumenogenesis occurs via a purse string m...

nature.com

✨ Looking forward to hearing from Paul Trainor at #2026SDB in Las Vegas! Paul’s work at the Stowers Institute on neural crest development in mammals (sometimes fish and chameleons) has helped bring attention to understudied craniofacial conditions. 🔬 #devbio #Stowers25

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/

The lack of govt support for summer care is a relic of encouraging “traditional” single-earner families. Why would the govt subsidize summer care if moms can watch kids? As of 2024, 78% of moms w/ kids ages 6 - 17 & 68% of moms w/ kids under 6 worked outside the home. www.thepurse.co/why-isnt-sum...

Why isn’t summer camp free?

Families are paying thousands of dollars every year for summer camp. Why is it so damn expensive?

thepurse.co

I am searching for a monograph: Gislén, T., and H. Kauri. 1959. Zoogeography of the Swedish amphibians and reptiles with notes on their growth and ecology. Acta Vertebratica. Stockholm 1: 197–397. Anyone happen to have a copy of this issue of Acta Vertebratica? Probably no PDFs exist! 🧪

Got my gear in place for #2026MASDB

Super excited for #2026MASDB this Friday - my 1st 🥹. Beware: I am now in your region! Excitedly read the program that told me that @evodevopanam.bsky.social meeting is at Cornell June 15-18, 2027. Saved the date - I am SO making it this time 🫡 Might come early for Cornell reunion too 🤔. #ScienceADHD

ATTENTION. This is NOT a 2024 repost. We are hiring NOW and the deadline for applying is fast approaching.

Eric Schuettpelz@ferncurator.bsky.social · 4mo ago

NOW HIRING: Research Botanists (2). Smithsonian NMNH Botany seeks candidates with expertise in plant systematics. Those focused on lichens, marine algae, or large angiosperm families are especially encouraged to apply. For details, visit USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov/job/867546600). Deadline 26 May 2026.

Kind of surprised that this hasn't been bigger news. It's finals week for a whole lot of universities, and yet, Canvas (a learning/grading platform used by ~9,000 schools globally) is currently inaccessible because of a pay-or-have-your-data-leaked hack. www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-in...

“PAY OR LEAK”: Hackers Target Big Higher Ed Vendor

The criminal extortion group ShinyHunters breached Instructure last week. The hackers, who have also attacked individual universities, demanded the ed-tech giant pay up or face a data leak.

insidehighered.com

It's creepy how accurate this is.

Markus Eichhorn@markuseichhorn.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Bingo! Do I win a prize now?

Reptile eggs come in all shapes and sizes. Here are two bird extremes in the @griffinlabpaleo.bsky.social right now: bobwhite quail and ostrich eggs. Most gecko species also make hard-shelled eggs and are tiny by comparison, like these Hemidactylus and Sphaerodactylus eggs. #BirdEvoDevo#GeckoEvoDevo

The number of NIH competitive awards is down 50% from 2025, and down ~70% from prior years. Even if they catch up by the end of the year, only wealthy institutions can bridge these huge funding gaps.They're killing science-and violating the constitution-by weaponizing the bureaucracy

The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 5mo ago

Through March 31, the number of grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health is down by more than half compared with the same period last year, a Post analysis found. There are also fewer grants focused on women’s health, cancer and mental health, the analysis found. https://wapo.st/48dWJWX

Current grad students: Submit your research proposal by May 18th to be considered for a Graduate Research Excellence Grant! Learn more about how to craft a strong proposal on our website: www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...

I suppose it's better late than never to mention that this September I started an Assistant Professor position at Rowan University @rowancsm.bsky.social. We will be doing cool work with chameleons 🦎 to understand early development, especially left-right patterning view.rowan.edu/the-human-pu...

The puzzle of human development by Rowan University

Rowan University biologist, Natasha Shylo studies human development and asymmetry.

view.rowan.edu

Post Doc position alert! Come work with us on the evolution of cannibalism. Full job description in link below. Salary starts at $58k plus benefits. (Please help spread the word) emdz.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Sadly, the seminar got postponed 😔

Virtual Gastrulation Zoom Talks@vgzt2021.bsky.social · 6mo ago

⚠️ Update: The VGZT keynote seminar has been postponed Due to unforeseen circumstances, Cassandra Extavour’s keynote will now take place on:
 🗓️ Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you then! 👋

What parents need, is to be able to actually work when we work (affordable, reliable childcare), and actually not work when we don’t work (no meetings or seminars after five).

I am not even a cat person, and I am excited about this!

allen institute@alleninstitute.org · 6mo ago

The Orange Cat Brain Atlas is here. 🧠🐈 Today, we published the first comprehensive cellular map of the orange cat brain. The new atlas reveals a single, specialized neuron responsible for behaviors like staring at walls, knocking objects off tables, and the 3am "zoomies."

This is the equivalent of Jesus on a toast for developmental biologists 🧪

We tend not to think about lizards as exemplars of sexual dimorphism, but there are multiple examples from different clades of females having more vertebrae than males. It’s usually 1 or 2 more vertebrae in the torso. Probably so there’s more room for babies!🦎🧪 📷Podarcis bocagei by nachoperez

Looking for a starting faculty position in the Midwest? Check out this opportunity at the University of Kansas Medical Center! jobs.anatomy.org/job/assistan... #anatomy26 #science #research #education #AAA