iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Tessa Montague @tessamontague.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm excited to share our new preprint: Generation of a transgenic cephalopod tinyurl.com/pc86jxz8 Cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopus & squid) are crazy critters that dynamically camouflage to their surroundings by changing the color, pattern, & texture of their skin, which they control w their brain.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

For the last 34 years I have been on the faculty of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Biology and have never regretted that decision. This year we are hiring TWO new Assistant Professors in the broad area of Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology 1/n bio.unc.edu

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 7h

We got a little bit of #fall 😍🍁🍂💃🏽🎃 #iubloomington

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eric lai @lucksmith.bsky.social · 8h

the Lai lab is legal: 21 years! fantastic gathering of past and current lab stretching over 2 decades. these folks made mountains of discoveries that will last the ages, and continue to fuel new inquiries. im privileged to work with them @mskcancercenter.bsky.social and see them find their success!🧬

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Dr. Arun Sethuraman @arunsethuraman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Among the many things as Chair, I've been working on celebrating our awesome faculty, staff, and students at @sandiegostate.bsky.social Biology in newsletters. Here're volumes 1 and 2, featuring the labs of @doc-brock.bsky.social and Gretchen Goodbody, the Director of our Coastal & Marine Institute!

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A/Prof Sam Stehbens PhD (She/Her) @samstehbens.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Australia officially celebrates #InternatinalCoffeeDay on October 1st. One of my great loves ☕️

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Me, my plants and my coffee - every morning! Cheers 💗

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thank you @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social for making submissions fast and easy. New work from our lab available soon

Defining redundancy in the stickers and spacers of the cell-cell junction protein Canoe's
intrinsically disordered region
Corbin C. Jensen1*, Renick Wiltshire1*, Sarah E. Clark1, Jeremy Lamb1,
Kevin C. Slep1*, and Mark Peifer1,2*
1 Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3280, Chapel Hill, NC
27599-3280, USA
2 Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel
Hill, NC 27599 USA
# These authors contributed equally and are listed alphabetically

Figure 3. CnoIDRScramble localizes to both AJs and nuclei and has mild deficits in function. A-F, H-L,
M, N. Embryos, genotypes, embryonic stages, and antigens indicated. A, B. en face. C, D. cross sections.
C. Wildtype Cno is restricted to apical AJs, (yellow arrow) and absent from lateral borders (cyan arrow) and
nuclei (magenta arrow). D. CnoIDRScramble is also enriched at apical AJs (yellow arrow) relative to lateral
borders (cyan arrow) but accumulates in nuclei (magenta arrow). E, F. While wildtype Cno is enriched at
TCJs relative to bicellular borders (E, magenta vs cyan arrows), TCJ enrichment of CnoIDRScramble is
reduced. F. TCJ enrichment. H-J. Most cnoIDRScramble mutants complete ventral furrow invagination (H,
arrow) like wildtype (I), and if defects are seen they are mild (J, arrows). K. Wildtype. AJs have very few
gaps. L. cnoIDRScramble has a somewhat elevated number of small gaps. (cyan arrows). M. Gap
frequency. N. Wildtype cells round up for mitosis (arrows) and then resume columnar shapes. O. Some
cnoIDRScramble mutants have delays in cells resuming columnar shapes (arrows).

Abstract
Cell-cell adherens junctions (AJs) and their dynamic cytoskeletal linkage power morphogenesis. AJs are
enormous complexes with hundreds of proteins linked by multivalent interactions. Like other biomolecular
condensates, intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) in junctional proteins play important roles in AJ assembly
and function, using spacer elements to span distances, and stickers to engage targets. To define molecular
mechanisms, we need to define the functional units within IDRs. Drosophila Canoe, homolog of human Afadin,
is our model. Canoe mediates morphogenesis and has an extensive IDR, with two conserved F-actin-binding
stickers and two poorly conserved spacers. We combined biochemical, genetic and cell biological approaches
to define the function of these IDR elements. While no single element is essential, deleting the full IDR
essentially eliminates Canoe function. By scrambling the amino acid sequence of the spacers, we find that
length and composition are more important than amino acid sequences, though sequences in the C-terminal
spacer affect Canoe localization. Finally, we test redundancy of the F-actin-binding stickers. Deleting both
reduces but does not eliminate viability, and sensitized assays reveal their redundant roles. These data reveal
the robustness of IDRs.

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Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Emory Biology department is hiring a tenure-track ecologist at any rank. Deadline is Nov 1, link below! As I've said many times before, I couldn't ask for a more supportive department. Our faculty colleagues, dept chair, and admin staff are truly awesome ❤️ apply.interfolio.com/191783

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

You know it's the beginning of a bad week when your Monday begins with finding out that the mass spec facility messed up your Friday samples and you won't have flies for an extra experiment. Not that I have to wrap up my thesis anytime soon 😢

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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Please pass along: I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab. We study physical ecology, macroecology, and biodiversity — spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested 🧪🌐🌾

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My cursive era never ended, I still pretty much write in cursive. And most people around me get surprised by it.

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Do food odors have a distinct category in the brain, how do insects separate food vs non food odor and how does the brain characterise odor from different sources - beautiful work 🎉🥳 #Drosophila #neuroscience #behavior

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Ivy Chan @ivychanchiwai.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Our paper on odour categorization in the Drosophila mushroom body is now out in Cell Reports! 🎉 We found that αβ and α′β′ Kenyon cells—but not γ KCs—distinguish food-related from non-food odours at the population level. Very happy to see this work published! 🪰🧠 doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

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epithelial mechanics fan club @epimechfc.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

In his seminal 1952 theoretical paper, Alan Turing proposed that partial differential equations, representing molecules (“morphogens”) that react with one another and diffuse through space, can encode spontaneous periodic pattern formation. doi.org/10.1098/rstb...

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

3-2 it is ! Go Alcaraz ! Go Fritz ! Good game 🎾🥳 #LaverCup

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Gina Baucom @gbaucom.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Early career faculty in Evolution? I would love to chat with you!

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Larry Hamilton @ichiloe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Leaves turning in the White Mountains today.

Forested New England mountainside with bright orange and red scattered among other trees still green.

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Nature @nature.com · 24/09/2026

A fruit-fly protein thought only to store amino acids in fact responds to nutritional deficiency in both development and adulthood, resulting in lifespan extension go.nature.com/4d6rRdo

go.nature.com

Surprising protein links dietary restriction to increased lifespan in flies

A fruit-fly protein thought only to store amino acids in fact responds to nutritional deficiency in both development and adulthood, resulting in lifespan extension.

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Jake McKinlay @jakemckinlay.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

IU Biology in Bloomington, Indiana has an opening for an Assistant or Associate Professor in RNA Science and Technology. Assistant Prof: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/34356 Associate Prof: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/34357

indiana.peopleadmin.com

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Faculty Position in RNA Biology

Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology in the field of RNA Science and Technology. ...

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

My students were so excited about kinetics and spectrophotometer - some of the topics we covered in my class today. Often after my evening section I am exhausted but today I feel somehow pumped up. The joy of teaching keeps finding its way 😊

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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 21/09/2026

How do the brain's anatomical architecture & functional activity patterns become established during early life? This study of developmental changes in the #brain from perinatal to toddlerhood reveals the organization of networks & #cognitive development @plosbiology.org 🧪 buff.ly/UESbFve

Top: This illustration depicts the evolving spatial pattern of brain structure–function coupling from the perinatal period through infancy. Cortical colors represent regional coupling strength, while the circular arrangement and arrows indicate the temporal progression of early brain development. Bottom: This image separately visualizes the brain’s structural and functional organization. The left panel shows colored white-matter fiber pathways, whereas the right panel displays cortical functional connections as colored nodes and edges embedded within a brain surface. Image created by Ruoke Zhao, Dan Wu.

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Almost a year ago I had a traumatic accident which led to having surgery. I had my last doctor's appointment and have made almost a full recovery. The past year has been so mentally and physically exhausting - no stamina, post op complications, constant pain, PTSD, couldn't work out, brain fog.

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FlyBase @flybase.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

FlyBase has added 11 new #MetabolicPathways reports in FB2026_03 covering AMINO ACID DERIVATIVE METABOLISM flybase.org/reports/FBgg... (1 new report), LIPID METABOLISM flybase.org/reports/FBgg... (6 new reports), and...

flybase.org

Pathway: AMINO ACID DERIVATIVE METABOLISM

FlyBase: a database for drosophila genetics and molecular biology

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FlyBase @flybase.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We've also added 10 new Human Disease Model reports (flybase.org/reports/FBhh... - flybase.org/reports/FBhh...). You can find an index to all Human Disease Models here flybase.org/lists/FBhh/ (linked at the bottom of the Human Disease QuickSearch tab).

flybase.org

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Tara M Finegan @tarafinegan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The International Dev Mech Seminar Series Returns Thursday! Ricardo Barrientos, UCL “The contribution of basement membrane turnover and stress relaxation on cell shape during tissue growth” & Marina Marchenko, TU Dresden “Synthetic lumen rounding directs neural progenitor division mode”

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Científico Latino @cientificolatino.com · 21/09/2026

We are so excited to announce our Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) 2026 mentors! These scientists are mentoring the next generation of scientific leaders enrolled in our GSMI 2026 program!⁠ Meet our GSMI 2026 Mentors: www.cientificolatino.com/gsmi-2026-me...

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Genetics Society of America @genetics-gsa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Welcome to National Postdoc Appreciation Week! Along with NPA, we are celebrating 150 years of the postdoc position in the U.S. 🎉 Find a list of virtual & in-person events and important materials like an advocacy letter & a fact sheet on NPA's website: buff.ly/JN805y0 #NPAW #nationalpostdoc 1/3 🧵

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Siobhan Mitchell, PhD @esiobhanmitchell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Brilliat new paper : The brain is two separate organs that develop in parallel One organ is for controlling breathing, temperature, heart function, and the other organ is for thinking. They form separately and then join together during development 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Two parallel neural ectoderm progenitors contribute to the developing brain - Nature Neuroscience

This study shows that the brain arises from two distinct progenitors: one forms the forebrain and midbrain, whereas the other generates the hindbrain. These insights enable the generation of human hin...

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Sheri @sagrill.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Incredibly excited to share my new preprint! 🪰🧬 Ever wondered how germ cells can specify their fate without having a dedicated transcriptional program? We found that germ cells keep the uncommitted chromatin state of the early embryo www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

Decoupling Transcription from Cell Fate Preserves Germ Cell Totipotency

Only germ cells can give rise to a totipotent embryo, yet a conserved transcriptional program for germ cell identity remains elusive. Profiling Drosophila primordial germ cells (PGCs) across embryogen...

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Firstly a beautiful paper, and now I know why I mess up things when there's too much on my plate. "When the brain isn't sure what information matters, it's prone to making more mistakes under high cognitive load". #neuroscience #behavior

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Marlene Cohen @marlenecohen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Now out in Nature Neuroscience: fantastic work by @cxue.bsky.social, Sol Markman et al who discovered a neural reason that performance suffers under cognitive load: “Feature interference underlies a neuronal basis for the behavioral cost of task uncertainty”. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧪🧵1/

nature.com

Feature interference underlies a neuronal basis for the behavioral cost of task uncertainty - Nature Neuroscience

Using a combined approach of monkey electrophysiology, artificial neural networks and human psychophysics, Xue et al. show that neuronal interference from irrelevant information underlies behavioral e...

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Arjuna Rajakumar PhD @arjunarajakumar.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

So proud of my lab mate @sagrill.bsky.social (whose on the job market 👀) for this magnum opus from @remlehmann.bsky.social lab @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social ScRNA-seq of 🪰 germ cells reveals new biology, answers age old questions, and proposes new paradigms! 1/8 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Drosophila stage 10b embryo w/HCR staining marking two germ cell clusters. One will successfully colonize the gonad and the other, like tears in the rain, will be lost forever

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This could be a game changer for folks working on arthropods other than Drosophila

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Maitreyi Das @daslabpombe.com · 16/09/2026

The Das lab has 1-2 open postdoctoral positions. Our lab investigates the fundamentals of cell-cycle-dependent cell polarity. Boston College has fantastic resources, including a cutting-edge imaging facility with state-of-the-art microscopes. Please apply here: bc.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

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Claus Wilke @clauswilke.com · 15/09/2026

The Department of Integrative Biology at UT Austin has two open positions for assistant professors, one in evolutionary biology and one in mechanistic processes. Please share. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/193270

Two Assistant Professor Positions in Evolutionary Biology and Mechanistic Processes

Description
The Department of Integrative Biology at The University of Texas at Austin seeks to fill two faculty positions in the areas of Evolutionary Biology and Mechanistic Processes, broadly defined. We are looking for candidates who are advancing (1) evolutionary biology or (2) the mechanistic understanding of organismal processes. These positions will be filled at the level of Assistant Professor.

Qualifications
Candidates should be using innovative approaches in evolutionary biology and/or the mechanistic understanding of whole-organism processes. Mechanistic processes include, but are not limited to, behavior, biomechanics, cognition, physiology, and development. The phylogenetic scope of the Evolutionary Biology position may include eukaryotes, prokaryotes, viruses, and the scale may include individual molecules to entire ecosystems and beyond. Candidates for either position may employ experimental, theoretical, or computational frameworks, or a combination thereof. Special consideration will be given to applicants with demonstrated potential for integrating across our target disciplines.

We seek applicants with a strong record of high-quality research, publications, potential for extramural funding, and a commitment to excellence in teaching and mentorship. A PhD or equivalent is required at the time of appointment, and postdoctoral research experience is strongly recommended.

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Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Are you a #NewPI in Ecology & Evolution? Would you like to meet with peers to chat about work, the future and life as a new PI? 🍪☕️ Then I have the form for you! 📋 Help us gauge interest in a new network/event by filling in this short survey: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/K4wUiuLuFn Please RT! 🙏

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I really like how more and more people are listing PMIDs in their presentations - I think that's a really good step forward ! 👏🏽🎉

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Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Amazing and mind-blowing work ! And more that anything - really cool thread with all the gifs 🧵 The #visualcortex is full of mysteries 🤩

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