Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Counterpoint: the endless finicky journal-specific formatting requirements for source data are a massive administrative burden passed to authors at journals that charge thousands of dollars in "processing" fees. 111
Reposted by Max HeimanMarta García-Cobo @nemamarta.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Euchromadora´s cuticle in optical microscope vs scanning electron microscope #Nematoda #Euchromadora #Chromadoridae 031
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Always a gamble how much Crazy Spicy Flavor Sauce to use. 020
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I mean, I get it, mine took 8 and things have only gotten harder, but still 150 years is a long postdoc 0141
Reposted by Max HeimanMarius Beck @beckmarius.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Excited to share our new preprint! 🪲 We identify TcFabp8 as a link between lipid handling, chitin synthase-dependent cuticle formation and nanoscale cuticle organization. Combining cell biology, imaging and synchrotron SAXS/WAXS. 021
Reposted by Max HeimanMarius Beck @beckmarius.bsky.social · 20/09/2026How is chitin synthase delivered to the right place in epidermal cells? In our recent work, we identified Sec8 and Myo15 as CHS1-interacting proteins required for its proper localization and cuticular chitin biosynthesis in insects. 🪲 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 012
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026ok, ha ha, but seriously did you know that Santa Anna (the Mexican general who took the Alamo) eventually moved to New York and helped invent Black Jack, the first US chewing gum, after importing one ton of chicle that he had intended to sell to make tires? 000
Reposted by Max HeimanKevin A. Scott, PhD @sculpturatus.bsky.social · 08/09/2026it’s been almost 20 years since i set up my first chemical reaction. it's still magical to me that by understanding chemistry you can fundamentally change physical matter. rearrange the same atoms in the right way, and you change the practical and monetary value of a molecule. 061
Reposted by Max HeimanDevelopment @dev-journal.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Apical extracellular matrix development Read this Spotlight from our special issue #DevSIextracellular by Maxwell Heiman @heiman.bsky.social and Meera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1242/dev.... 063
Reposted by Max HeimanKatrina Velle @katrinavelle.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Teaching advanced cell bio this morning and including a cautionary note about using AI. So I asked AI to draw a microtubule, thinking it would have subtle but important errors. But wow. I think dissecting everything wrong here could take all semester! Maybe a fun exam question? 74412
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Can an ant person tell me what these brown crawly ants and black flappy ants are up to? Other than a major ruckus. 110
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 01/09/2026"The brain is one of the most important organs in your entire head" 000
Reposted by Max HeimanDel Mármol lab @delmarmollab.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Can we design molecules that rewrite how organisms interact with the environment? I'm delighted to share our lab's latest work, where we use structural biology and chemistry to modulate insect behavior in a clade of destructive agricultural pests. Congrats Steve and team! 0176
Reposted by Max HeimanJournal of Cell Biology @jcb.org · 25/08/2026Tran, @dumontlabucsf.bsky.social et al. show that mammalian #metaphase #kinetochores undergo large-scale, complex, and elastic deformations under forces of different timescales, magnitudes, and directions. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #CellDivision #Biophysics #Condensin #Microtubules 054
Reposted by Max HeimanMeera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 24/08/2026The upcoming season of aECM club will cover #aECM glycans, aECM and pathogen interactions, and more. Learn more and sign up here: sundaramlab.com/blog/aecm-cl...sundaramlab.comaECM Club SeminarsA virtual seminar series to highlight work on apical ECM across different systems Organizers: Meera Sundaram, UPennMax Heiman, Boston Children’s, Harvard U.Nathalie Pujol, U. Aix MarseilleJor… 041
Reposted by Max HeimanMeera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 16/11/2024#aECM (apical extracellular matrix) is a subset of #ECMatrix that is distinct from stromal matrices or basement membranes. Anybody out there studying #mucins #ZPproteins #cuticle #glycocalyx #surfactant or the like? We need to find each other and start talking! 42611
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 16/08/2026For the last year, aECM Club seminars have brought together researchers working on apical ECM in diverse species and tissues - yeast cell wall, C. elegans cuticle, Drosophila lens, mammalian inner ear and pancreatic lumen, and many others. Sign up for 2026-27: forms.gle/DDJUxGLkcSRb...forms.gleaECM Club 2026-27Dear aECM researchers, Thank you for your interest in aECM Club! Feel free to forward this brief survey to any colleagues and trainees who may be interested. 157
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 05/08/2026"baby, you can just call me LIN-28, 'cause I have hundreds and hundreds of interactions and most of them are totally pointless" 040
Reposted by Max HeimanJournal of Cell Biology @jcb.org · 29/07/2026Endoplasmic reticulum patterns insect cuticle nanostructure. From Sachi Inagaki, Shigeo Hayashi @riken-bdr.bsky.social and colleagues: rupress.org/jcb/article/... 📕 Part of "Collective Behaviors and Self-Organization in Cells" rupress.org/jcb/collecti... 042
Reposted by Max HeimanM. Brent Hawkins @homeobox.bsky.social · 23/07/2026I am excited to open my lab at @ibioillinois.bsky.social in Spring 2027! We will use zebrafish & other fishy friends to reveal the genetic basis of large scale changes in the vertebrate body plan, and how this impacts both human health and evolution. Join me at UIUC! 🧬🧫🔬 www.hawkinslaboratory.com 1812733
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 24/07/2026For neuroscience PhDs with a strong interest in teaching and mentoring: MIT is hiring a scientific program manager to support activities around a new NIH neuroscience PhD training grant. Salary range $91k - $129k #NeuroJobs careers.peopleclick.com/careerscp/cl...careers.peopleclick.comScientific Program ManagerMIT - Scientific Program Manager - Cambridge MA 02139 01319
Reposted by Max HeimanMeera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 21/07/2026Can Alphafold help predict protein-protein interactions in the #aECM? Our initial results seem promising! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...biorxiv.orgA Lipocalin and a Hedgehog-related protein are partners in the C. elegans pre-cuticle apical extracellular matrixApical extracellular matrices (aECMs) line exposed body surfaces to shape tissues and protect them from the environment. These aECMs often organize into complex patterns and structures, but how such m... 0103
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 19/07/2026Love this question! I have wanted to study it for C. elegans amphid dendrite diameters. Do the diameters increase as the dendrites double in length across larval development? What about in mutants with short heads? I thought it would be too tricky to measure but this paper gives me hope! 060
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 18/07/2026The NIH Data Book has a lot of interesting, well, data. There are a little under 100k US biomedical graduate students, ~38k men and 57k women. When I started grad school in 1997, there were about half as many students, and slightly more men than women (26k, 23k). report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/...report.nih 142
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 15/07/2026"I still love what I do,” she said. “But it’s time to step aside and make resources available for the up-and-coming junior people who want to do what I do, especially right now" news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...news.harvard.eduAward-winning biologist Connie Cepko set to retire — Harvard GazetteAfter decades of advancing work on vision-threatening disease, she passes the torch to scientific successors. 36416
Reposted by Max HeimanChen @xenopuselegans.bsky.social · 08/07/2026the silly joy of having a high school summer student :) #celegans 061
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 01/07/2026Clever approach from @astavoe.bsky.social for those pesky lines that were integrated with Rol -- edit them back to nonRol! I wonder what else we could build from all the existing integrated arrays. Switch colors? 083
Reposted by Max HeimanDavid Breslow Lab @davidbreslowlab.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Excited to share our review article on cilia disassembly, published in @jcellsci.bsky.social. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/.... We highlight how disassembly of cilia occurs, ...journals.biologists.comPrimary cilium disassembly – from mechanisms to roles in physiology and diseaseSummary: This Review explains how recent advances have expanded our models of how, when and where primary cilia disassemble and discusses emerging roles of altered disassembly in disease. 1188
Reposted by Max HeimanJeremy Reiter @reitergroup.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Thi Nguyen's paper on ciliary PKA activity is now published at @plosbiology.org: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... She developed a ciliary PKA activity sensor, then, inspired by recent work from @benmyerslab.bsky.social and Susan Taylor's labs, showed that SMO inhibits PKA within cilia. 1/6journals.plos.orgSmoothened and ciliary GPCRs regulate ciliary protein kinase A activity involved in Hedgehog signal transductionHedgehog signaling in vertebrates is transduced by the transmembrane protein Smoothened (SMO) on the primary cilium, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study shows that SMO and ciliary... 2249
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 18/06/2026well put! "...while Development's IF is modest, researchers in our field trust papers published in our journal as interesting, valuable and robust science that stands the test of time... It is our Academic Editors and the Development name that define our standards, not a number." 1197
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 13/06/2026I'm glad @carlbergstrom.com posted this. I received one today, and a couple in the last few months, and was wondering if others were receiving them and how they were responding. Overall I've felt like I'd rather risk wasting my time than risk ignoring someone who's genuinely curious. 270
Reposted by Max HeimanJeremy Reiter @reitergroup.bsky.social · 06/06/2026Important new work from Chia-Hsiang Chang, @nachury.bsky.social and colleagues identifying the composition of neuronal cilia in an unbiased way. Lots of surprises herein: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...science.orgIn situ proteomics unveils specialized domains for extrasynaptic signaling on neuronal ciliaIn situ proteomics and expansion microscopy reveal nanoscale organization of postsynaptic proteins on neuronal cilia. 21710
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 04/06/2026oh come on this is totally unfair. I'm sure Gaby's brain is bigger than a poppy seed. 030
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Interview with Irina Kolotuev, whose abilities we benefit from as collaborators (4 papers & 1 preprint so far!) "EM... requires patience, attention to detail and meticulousness [as do] my hobbies (embroidery, miniature painting, model building)... experiments feel like an extension of playing." 082
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Not sure what they think buzzwords like "impact beyond the institution" mean but I received a WPI packet with a 14-page document titled "external impact" and it is all citation metrics and journal impact factors -- this is NOT a step forward in scholarly assessment of scientific contributions. 172
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 31/05/2026Fun read! Another classic example is Cynthia Kenyon's discovery that loss of the insulin receptor DAF-2 extends lifespan in C. elegans, which came out of the control for a clever mutant screen in which progeny of single F2s are sent into dauer with daf-2(ts) to track lifespan of the parent. 1226
Reposted by Max HeimanbioRxiv Cell Biology @biorxiv-cellbio.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Neuron-intrinsic and glial pathways regulate sensory cilia regeneration in adult C. elegans www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20… 012
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 17/05/2026This should be put up on the Sphere during the @socdevbio.bsky.social meeting in Las Vegas! 1184
Reposted by Max HeimanThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT @picowerinstitute.bsky.social · 15/05/2026🐈Amid finals and in advance of graduation, two of our most prestigious 'Purr-fessors,' Kinje and Torbie, held office hours at a cat cafe today, arranged the lab of Professor Myriam Heiman. Attendees also enjoyed boba, macarons and cat crafts. Thanks to MIT's School of Science! 031
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Twice now, I have emailed Percival Scientific about minor issues with our 15-year-old incubator and, both times, they replied within hours with technical documents on how to fix it myself. So good when companies empower customers to maintain and repair equipment ourselves! This is the way. 030
Reposted by Max HeimanSarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Hi folks! @bu-biology.bsky.social is hiring two (!!) lecturers in Cell and Molecular Biology. It is a sweet gig in an awesome department. Come join us! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/32034academicjobsonline.orgBoston University, Department of Biology Job #AJO32034, Lecturer, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, US 01226
Reposted by Max HeimanJeremy Reiter @reitergroup.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Please come join me in Washington, DC August 2-6th for the FASEB SRC on Cilia and Centrosomes meeting! Over 40 talks will be selected from abstracts. We are also excited to launch our first North American Ciliopathy Summit, held at the same venue on August 2. events.faseb.org/event/cilia-... 01514
Reposted by Max HeimanWyoming Wormboy @wyomingwormboy.bsky.social · 20/04/2026I have a position open for a Research Associate - Postbac opportunity. For those with curiosity and tenacity, a chance to delve deeply into a project, learn new techniques, and publish papers, all in a friendly environment. Suited for recent college (BS) grads with prior relevant experience. 21520
Max Heiman @heiman.bsky.social · 01/05/2026I saw the story that Barney Frank entered hospice. He was my Representative starting when I was 5, and then again when I moved back as faculty. Here is a signed campaign poster I have from the 1970s (pre-Congress). It hung for years in my dad's office, which was a perpetual mess (like mine is now). 071