Reposted by Allison KannBarbara Mellone 🇺🇦 @centromellone.bsky.social · 05/10/2026An other example of the value and beauty of fundamental biology research: we don’t always know what kind of future applications will be made possible by a basic discovery. This work in a single-celled alga open the doors to optigenetics 💡🧬 14817
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Are you trying to find a postdoc? Are you interested in the evolution of nervous systems and want to work on a cool worm? Here's your chance! 030
Reposted by Allison KannVikram Chandra @vchandra.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I am excited to announce that I will start the Brain Origins Lab at the Crick in March 2027! Using acoels as a model system, the lab will study how animal brains evolve, and how innovations in brain organisation enable new computational abilities and the evolution of complex behaviour. 1111326
Reposted by Allison KannKate Cavanaugh @katecavanaugh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026🧵 What if one reason fertility declines with age isn’t just genetic-but mechanical? Thrilled to share our new paper in @NatureCellBio : Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/11nature.comElevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females - Nature Cell BiologyCavanaugh et al. show that embryos from aged mice have increased contractility and tissue viscosity on embryonic day 4.5, which leads to poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanica... 1214746
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 21/08/2026A new pharynx for #FluorescenceFriday. ✨ Hofstenia miamia are able to completely regenerate their pharynx after amputation, building new muscle (🟠, transgenic line) that surrounds an internal ciliated tube (🔵, b-tubulin). 0387
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026There is so much interesting biology to learn by studying diverse species. Science is an incremental and collective process, and I'm really excited to both learn from and contribute new knowledge about these fun little animals. 13/13. 000
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026I want to end with a massive thank you to the reviewers for being critical in a very fair and helpful way. The paper is much better now than it was when I submitted it. I also want to thank @ebardot.bsky.social and Nature Communications for continuing to champion work in emerging systems. 12/13 210
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026This work has prompted way more questions than it answers, and there’s still so much we don’t know. For example, what are the molecular cues or regulators of these processes? What’s going on with cell adhesion and migration? ECM remodeling? All open questions I hope to answer in the future. 11/13 100
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Ultimately, we found that there doesn't seem to be a correlation between types of closure + downstream regeneration. Instead, the mode of closure depends on which epithelial layers are damaged. The two layers seem to have different intrinsic properties - but there is still a lot to explore! 10/13 110
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026For anyone who is interested, there is a LOT more data in the paper, including: functionally perturbing muscle contraction and actomyosin contractility, testing the role of stem cells in this closure process, and quantifying differences in proliferation across injury types. 9/13 110
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026These bridges are just the first step; they're followed by a homotypic re-epithelialization of each tissue layer. The entire fragment rounds up, ultimately restoring the tubular anatomy of the animal (but now half the width of the original!). 8/13 110
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026These bridges always formed in a sequential manner and resolved after ~20 hrs, ultimately bringing the two epithelial layers in close proximity. This process was not unique to the sagittal amputation; transverse cuts through the pharynx (damaging both epithelia) showed the same structures. 7/13 110
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026We saw that the early steps of wound closure looked very different from the transverse cuts. Long, actin-rich protrusions emerged from both epithelial layers over the first 10 hours post-injury, extending over the wound edge and meeting in the middle to form heterotypic bridges. 6/13 100
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Next, I wanted to give the worms a more challenging task: closing a sagittal wound. This type of injury not only splits the entire animal in half longitudinally, but it also wounds two types of epithelia: the outer epidermis and the lining of the pharynx. This is where things got interesting. 5/13 100
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026I found that actin dyes labeled the epidermis and began by cutting the worms in half transversely. These wounds gradually constricted to cover the wound. We saw only an early, transient difference in closure speed between heads and tails - despite very different types of regeneration. 4/13 100
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026These were harder questions to answer than I anticipated! I worked with mice for my PhD, and although there are many benefits to studying a new model, there are a lot of challenges as well. One of those included finding a way to label cell membranes... something I definitely took for granted. 🫣 3/13 100
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026When I started my postdoc, I wanted to know how wound repair works in this animal. Do all injuries heal the same way? Do large injuries use different processes than smaller wounds? Is wound repair at all correlated with the downstream regenerative challenge each fragment undertakes? 2/13 110
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Part 1 of my postdoc work is officially published! 🥳 Hofstenia miamia has emerged as a new model system because of its ability to accomplish whole-body regeneration - but that also means that animals must be able to heal any type of wound. How do they do this? 🧵 1/13 www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comA flexible repertoire of wound closure strategies precedes whole-body regeneration - Nature CommunicationsAnimals capable of whole-body regeneration can heal virtually any wound. Here they show that Hofstenia miamia accomplishes this feat through variable morphogenetic strategies that depend on which epit... 1196
Reposted by Allison Kanncallista yee @csybio.bsky.social · 06/08/2026hiiii everyone! my department @zoology.ubc.ca is hiring an assistant professor in cell and developmental biology! deadline is october 1! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32408 // please share!!!!!academicjobsonline.orgUniversity of British Columbia, Department of Zoology Job #AJO32408, Assistant Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CA 16598
Reposted by Allison KannMichael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 28/05/2026President of MIT not mincing words today in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/s... 447188346434
Reposted by Allison KannMekayla Storer @storerlab.bsky.social · 10/04/2026Proud to share this work with @kevinchalut.bsky.social and Byron Mui. Why do some injuries scar while others regenerate? Using digit tip models, we show the ECM is a key driver. HA-rich ECM promotes regeneration, and boosting it can shift healing away from fibrosis. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.org 43415
Reposted by Allison KannJane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research @jcchildsfund.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Jane Coffin Childs Fellow Dr. Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social is working at the forefront of regeneration research. We as humans aren’t great at regenerating, or healing our tissues and organs after major injuries. However, there are many amazing creatures in nature ... 1/ 161
Reposted by Allison KannClaire Ang @claireang.bsky.social · 12/03/2026Excited to share my new preprint from the McKinley lab, where we explored regenerative mechanisms across menstruation and pregnancy! We thought specialized glands would regenerate everything. We were wrong. But the real mechanism turned out to be way cooler :) 🧪🧵 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.org 35117
Reposted by Allison KannMichael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 29/01/2026New paper out in @bmc.springernature.com 🤩👏 A routine 5-ethynyl uridine (EU) RNA labeling experiment in a sea anemone turned into detective work for @malinkjosavik.bsky.social, @ktgarschall.bsky.social & @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social 🕵️♀️uib.noA widely used RNA assay labels the wrong molecules in several model organismsAfter a routine experiment raised suspicions, Steinmetz group researchers joined forces with collaborators to highlight the limitations of a commonly used RNA labeling product. 2219
Reposted by Allison KannPatrick Goymer @patrickgoymer.bsky.social · 27/01/2026On the importance of preprints, regardless of whether you are Team Sponge or Team Jelly: 'King says that she wishes she had posted the study as a preprint so that the errors could have been caught sooner.' www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comWhat were the first animals? The fierce sponge–jelly battle that just won’t endFor almost two decades, scientists have debated whether sponges or comb jellies are the first animal lineage. Now some are calling for a more harmonious approach. 13116
Reposted by Allison KannMaik Bischoff @maikbischoff.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Morphogenesis & Organogenesis! Part 1 (full) in the comments 👇 Comment if you'd like to be added (regardless of age or career stage!) Please post your own biology-related starter packs using #BioStarterPacks 🧬🔬🪰🐟🐁🌱 193521
Reposted by Allison KannNat Clarke @natclarke.bsky.social · 19/12/2025Felt a little festive at the microscope this morning for #FluorescenceFriday 🎄 Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️ Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei Happy holidays! 11574133
Reposted by Allison Kannthe beggars out of here getter @milesklee.bsky.social · 17/12/2025Academics and technologists are sounding the alarm about a growing crisis in scholarship as we know it: AI-generated citations of nonexistent papers that have infested real journals. Despite being fake, the sources are widely assumed to be authentic the more they appear in published literature.rollingstone.comAI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real JournalsAcademic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself. 471247640
Reposted by Allison KannArtologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 12/12/2025#ArtAdventCalendar Gel Electrophoresis in Green and Blue, watercolor, 2023 #sciart 313833
Reposted by Allison KannJames N. Sleigh @jamessleigh.bsky.social · 12/12/2025My team are running the Peripheral Nerve Society's Instagram account this week: www.instagram.com/pnsociety1 If you like images of the nervous system, please check it out! #FluorescenceFriday @uclqsneuromuscular.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social 04111
Reposted by Allison KannSFB 1348 @sfb1348.bsky.social · 08/12/2025From #amoeba to humans: new paper @natcomms.nature.com by the Grashoff group @sfb1348.bsky.social reveals evolutionary origin of animal cell adhesion and force transmission. Talin protein plays central role. See rdcu.be/eTFJR @uni-muenster.de 086
Reposted by Allison KannAnna Czarkwiani @aniaczark.bsky.social · 05/12/2025Can't believe my postdoc paper is finally out. Christmas came early this year, holy moly 🎄 Molecular basis for de novo thymus regeneration in a vertebrate, the axolotl | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.orgMolecular basis for de novo thymus regeneration in a vertebrate, the axolotlThe molecular, cellular, and functional restoration of the axolotl thymus after de novo regeneration is described. 45523
Reposted by Allison KannVirtual Gastrulation Zoom Talks @vgzt2021.bsky.social · 14/11/2025Join us for next week’s exciting VGZT session! 🎉 🗓️ Thursday, November 20th ⏰ 9:30 PST / 12:30 EST / 17:30 UTC / 17:30 GMT / 18:30 CET Our speakers are 👉 Allison Kann (@apkann.bsky.social) 👉 Joana da Silva (on X: @joanamsilva14) See you there 👋 078
Reposted by Allison KannMDI Biological Laboratory @mdibl.org · 10/11/2025This image by MDI Bio Lab's Travis Carney is a #drosophila larval brain. Neural stem cells and neurons are marked, including axons that project into the brain. The flare in the center of each lobe is part of a learning and memory center in flies. ZEISS Microscopy #microscopymonday 🧪 🤝 075
Reposted by Allison KannLucien Hinderling @lhinderling.bsky.social · 16/07/2025PAPER OUT ✨ What if you could use your microscope as a 3D printer? Prototype microfluidics in-house, <5$ in material costs per chip. From idea to experiment within a day. Now published in Lab-on-a-Chip (open-access): doi.org/10.1039/D5LC...doi.orgTeach your microscope how to print: low-cost and rapid-iteration microfabrication for biologyThe application of traditional microfabrication techniques to biological research is hindered by their reliance on clean rooms, expensive or toxic materials, and slow iteration cycles. We present an a... 49122
Reposted by Allison KannEric Hall @erichall.bsky.social · 24/10/2025As spooky season is upon us 🎃, we have cells that look like spider webs for #FluorescenceFriday 🧪🔬 16810
Reposted by Allison KannRikki Garner @rikkigarner.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Happy to share that this work is now published in @biophysj.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1016/j.bp... 1256
Reposted by Allison KannMichalis Averof @michalis-averof.bsky.social · 23/10/2025How can we see the cells that make up a living organism? Membrane-localising tags can drive fluorescent proteins to the cell's outer membrane, making their outlines visible. But the tags don't work well in all organisms. How do you find one for your species of interest? 🧵 Check our latest preprintbiorxiv.orgA toolkit for testing membrane-localising tags across speciesTransgenic markers and tools have revolutionised how we study cells and developing organisms. Some of the elements needed to construct those tools are universally applicable (e.g. fluorescent proteins... 58741
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 10/10/2025One of the coolest projects I've seen in years - huge congrats to Çağrı and the McKinley team! 161
Reposted by Allison KannNat Clarke @natclarke.bsky.social · 08/10/2025🚨 My lab is hiring at all levels! Interested in animal origins & evolutionary cell biology? I'm recruiting a postdoc, PhD students & a research assistant to study the molecular evolution of cell adhesion using marine invertebrates + comparative genomics. 🔗: clarkelab.com/join/ Please repost! 19168
Reposted by Allison KannRachael Ott @rachaelott.bsky.social · 03/10/2025For #FluorescenceFriday, RhoA (blue) and the actin cytoskeleton (magenta) are shown in a set of primary microglia 🔬 #Neuroscience #Microscopy 48316
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Absolutely gorgeous work from Kate - I loved reading the full paper! 020
Reposted by Allison KannArnau Sebé-Pedrós @arnausebe.bsky.social · 24/09/2025Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 4229107
Reposted by Allison KannAaron Griffing @aaronhgriffing.bsky.social · 05/09/2025New preprint from some of my postdoc work on lungs! Co-led with Kaleb Hill, we studied smooth muscle and epithelial development in lizard lungs. Stay tuned for more! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 22210
Allison Kann @apkann.bsky.social · 29/08/2025Today's #FluorescenceFriday is featuring the peripheral muscle of Hofstenia miamia 💪 06710
Reposted by Allison KannWallace Marshall @wallaceucsf.bsky.social · 19/08/2025Cells can form patterns within themselves just like embryos do. How? Connie Yan's new preprint shows how the anterior-posterior cytoskeleton pattern in Stentor is dictated by regionalized scaffolding proteins www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 314235
Reposted by Allison KannJournal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 15/08/2025Why would anyone want to be a scientist? Check out our new Essay from Martin Schwartz: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... 28146
Reposted by Allison KannFerdinand Marlétaz @ferdix.bsky.social · 13/08/2025After nearly twenty years in the making, our attempt at understanding what makes the chaetognath phylum so unique has finally been published! www.nature.com/articles/s41... with #LauraPiovani @dariagavr.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social @chemamd.bsky.social and others /1nature.comThe genomic origin of the unique chaetognath body plan - NatureGenomic, single-cell transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses show that chaetognaths, following extensive gene loss in the gnathiferan lineage, relied on newly evolved genes and lineage-specific tandem ... 711949