iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Eva Pillai

Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Archaeaophiles! Last chance to sign up as a virtual attendee for MBoA2026. It’s cheap and you will have access to all the talks include our archaea@50 celebration with a special guest: meetings.embo.org/event/26-arc...

meetings.embo.org

Molecular Biology of Archaea: Life Through the Prism of Archaea

In 1977, Woese and colleagues revealed Archaea as a distinct domain of life. Building on this insight, the discovery of Asgard archaea has strengthened the view that many hallmarks of eukaryotic cell…

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Aissam Ikmi @aikmi.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Our study on shape diversity in cnidarians is now published. The final version includes extensive new data that substantially extend the original bioRxiv preprint. Congrats to everyone who contributed to this work! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @embl.org

cell.com

Deciphering mechanical determinants of morphological evolution

A comparative analysis of cnidarian larval morphogenesis combined with active surface theory identifies a set of mesoscale mechanical modules that predict species-specific shapes. Manipulating these m...

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Noa Ottilie Borst @ottilie.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Excited to share my first preprint from my PhD w/ @justinmcrocker.bsky.social. We show that cell type-specific regulatory dominance promotes robustness and evolutionary innovation through interallelic transcriptional hubs, potentially expanding the mutational paths available to diploids. (1/18)

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Gautam Dey @gautamdey.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Thank you @mollyherring.bsky.social for the stunning showcase 😍 Like what you see? Come ExM with us! Let’s flood the internet with microbial marvels 🦠 #ProtistsOnSky #MicroEvoSky 🧪🔬🌍 @dudinlab.bsky.social @centriolelab.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @embl.org @erc.europa.eu @embo.org

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

#LivingArchitectures is a glorious convergence of science and art. @manuelthery.bsky.social and the #CytoMorphoLab turn the Orsay into a living canvas - its walls and ceilings pulsating with life. Cytoskeletal asters bloom. Cells stream, pause and surge. Magnifique!

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

🥳🥳🥳 Pretty fab start to 2026!!

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Maik Bischoff @maikbischoff.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

So excited to share this as a new junior PI: My brand-new lab website! 🎉🪰🌀 www.bischofflab.com Please pass it on to young, motivated researchers looking for PhD positions 😊 And for the #FluorescenceFriday community: don’t miss the SciArt Gallery! #CellBio #DevBio #PhDjob #PhDposition #Science

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Jana Helsen @helsenjana.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

How do new centromeres evolve while staying compatible with the division machinery? Discover it in our new Nature paper! We show centromeres transition gradually via a mix of drift, selection, and sex, reaching new states that still work with the kinetochore. 👉 doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09779-1

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

EMBL DB unit @embldbunit.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

In this week's DB unit seminar @embl.org, Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social , a postdoc in the Arendt, Diz-Muñoz @diz-lab.bsky.social and Brunet groups @thibautbrunet.bsky.social , shared insights on the role of cell surface mechanics in multicellularity, using choanoflagellates as a model organism

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🧬Jacob L Steenwyk @jlsteenwyk.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

NEW pub in @science.org 🥳 Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life? For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided. We provide new evidence suggesting that... 🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Tanmay Bharat @tbharat-lab.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

An Asgard archaeon with internal membrane compartments Brilliant study led by @fmacleod.bsky.social and Andriko von Kügelgen. Tight collaboration with @buzzbaum.bsky.social and lab. Congrats to all authors! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Florian Wollweber @florianwollweber.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Asgard archaea are full of surprises, this time we found (tiny) microtubules (snapshots of microtubule evolution?!) - Check out our new paper on the cytoskeleton of Lokiarchaeum ossiferum: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Omaya Dudin 𓂆 ¦🍉¦🦠¦🔬¦ @dudinlab.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

🚨Our collaboration with @centriolelab.bsky.social & @gautamdey.bsky.social is out today in @cp-cell.bsky.social We show that #Expansion #Microscopy is a broad-spectrum modality for Euks, enabling 3D phenotypic maps rooted to phylogeny. #ProtistsOnSky #SciComm #SciSky www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

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Flora Vincent @floravincent.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Exciting day for the lab: our 1rst paper is officially out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🥳 Wonderful collaboration wt @gautamdey.bsky.social showing how Cryo-ExM achieves consistent immunostaining in diverse diatoms, from the lab and the natural environment 1/n #ProtistsOnSky tinyurl.com/2zxaund7

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Latest from ours: www.cell.com/cell-reports... This is two stories in one: a case study/cautionary tale on developing genetic tools in new organisms, and the first hint at a gene regulatory network for choanoflagellate multicellular development (which turn out to involve a Hippo/YAP/ECM loop!) A 🧵

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Deeply saddened by Sir John Gurdon’s passing. A pioneer in developmental biology and Nobel laureate with endless curiosity and humility (I’ll never forget the day he asked me -then a student- to teach him a protocol in the institute bearing his name!). Elegant science, fabulous hair… truly a legend!

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Aafke Gros @aafkegros.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Automatic filament tracing in 3D data is now only a few clicks (or one macro) away! In the amazing #BigTrace FIJI plugin by @ekatrukha.bsky.social 🤩 My workflow will be to autotrace and then manually correct the autotraces, reducing the time for our tracing significantly!

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Idoia Quintana-Urzainqui @idoiaeu.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

🧠🦈Excited to present our latest work🧠🦈Interested in brain evolution? And shark embryos? Then read on… Our work sheds light on the deep origins of our brain’s most complex regions.

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Thibaut Brunet @thibautbrunet.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Beautiful story that combined mechanobiology, evolution, and the power of fly (opto)genetics to make sense of the cephalic furrow. It was a pleasure writing the News & Views. No doubt this is still just the beginning for the field of mechano-evo-devo! Hats off to all involved

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Nature @nature.com · 27/08/2025

For some three billion years, unicellular organisms ruled Earth. Then, around one billion years ago, a new chapter of life began go.nature.com/3JyRV4S

go.nature.com

How did life get multicellular? Five simple organisms could have the answer

Single-celled species that often stick together in colonies have researchers rethinking the origin of animals.

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Gautam Dey @gautamdey.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Want to acquire #ExM images like this and help us understand the true extent of cytoskeletal diversity across the tree of life? This position might be for you! embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j... With @dudinlab.bsky.social @embl.org @biology-unige.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social

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Toby Andrews @tobyandrews.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Thrilled to bits to see our latest work online in Dev Cell! 🥳 We wanted to know how cells build functional organs with precision🫀🫁📏 Here we show how coupling of cell shape and organ function fine tunes the form and contractile power of the developing #zebrafish heart 1/n tinyurl.com/cell-stretch

tinyurl.com

Mechanochemical coupling of cell shape and organ function optimizes heart size and contractile efficiency in zebrafish

Andrews et al. demonstrate that multiscale feedback between mechanical and chemical cues builds a functional heart to support zebrafish embryonic life. Cell recruitment and organ-scale forces drive tr...

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Maite Freire @maitefreired.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

Paper accepted!!

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Casey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Our new paper on structure and growth of Porpita porpita - rdcu.be/etcY6 . Like Velella and Physalia, this is a colonial cnidarian that floats at the surface of the Ocean. The whole colony arises form a single embryo through clonal growth that gives rise to many specialized bodies.

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Maik Bischoff @maikbischoff.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Morphogenesis & 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 🧬🔬🪰🐟🐁🌱

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Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

1/27 We have a new paper out! Turns out that snowflake yeast have been hiding a secret from us - they've evolved a (very!) crude circulatory system. Not with blood vessels or a heart, but through spontaneous fluid flows powered by their metabolism. 🧪🔬 www.science.org/doi/full/10....

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

How did life begin, and why does it matter today? Excited to have contributed to this ASM @asm.org report, supported by @MooreFound, exploring 3 key steps in Earth’s history - from simple cells to complex life- and what it means for future science. Read more: asm.org/reports/earl...

asm.org

Early Microbial Life: Our Past, Present, and Future

The Academy report, funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, examines the origins and trajectory of early microbial life to inform and inspire future research.

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Reposted by Eva Pillai

Samuel Church @shchurch.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Excited to share our study on sailing siphonophores, AKA bluebottles or man-o'-war! 🌊 we received hundreds of samples from scientists around the world, part of a huge effort to sequence genomes and test for multiple species 🧬 out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... 🦑🧪📌

Physalia megalista, a cnidiran with a gas filled float, raised sail, and long blue tentacles hanging below. Image credit: Dalila Destanović

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Thank you Dionn Hargreaves, Sarah Woolner & @dev-journal.bsky.social for highlighting our @sudimukherjee.bsky.social @franzelab.bsky.social preprint! Chuffed to see it engaged with through fresh eyes! 🙌 Interested in how mechanical & chemical signals shape tissue development? Give it a look! 🧠🐸⚙️

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

When in the tropics, we sample! #choanoflagellate from Malaysia 🇲🇾 -a treat from a lovely coastal walk, spotted by the eagle-eyed @jujumathieu.bsky.social #protistsonsky

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Eva Pillai @evapillai.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Every organism's research community aspires to have a resource like FlyBase. Let’s help!

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Aurélien Villedieu @aurelienvilledieu.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

🚨New preprint Glad to share my postdoc work on the role of the hypoblast in primitive streak induction! Discover how live imaging observations led us to revisit the molecular mechanisms governing embryonic axis induction Thanks to @jeromegros.bsky.social and all co-authors! doi.org/10.1101/2025...

doi.org

Live imaging and functional characterization of the avian hypoblast redefine the mechanisms of primitive streak induction

In birds and mammals, the formation of the primitive streak, the hallmark of the primary axis and site of gastrulation, is thought to occur when an anterior displacement of the hypoblast (visceral end...

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Maite Freire @maitefreired.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

🔷 Jacob L. Steenwyk (UC Berkeley): Rooting the animal tree 🔷 Alex de Mendoza (Queen Mary University): The emergence of Sox and POU transcription factors predates the origins of animal stem cells #ChoanoCon2025

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Maite Freire @maitefreired.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Session 5: Structure, Phylogeny & Gene Regulation 🔷 Margarita Skamnelou (IBE, Spain): Diversity and Conservation in Choanoflagellate Behavior and Extracellular Structures 🔷 Deepak Krishnamurthy (UC Berkeley) Biophysics of microscale adhesion and assembly in Loricate choanoflagellates

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Maite Freire @maitefreired.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

And the last day: 🔷Keynote lecture : @floravincent.bsky.social– Marine microbial interactions across scales 🔷Nicole King (UC Berkeley/HHMI, USA) – The secret lives of choanoflagellates #ChoanoCon2025