iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Paul Chrystal

University of Toronto @utoronto.ca · 08/10/2026

#UofT alumna Anne Carson has won the 2026 #NobelPrize in Literature for “her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature." #UofTAlumni 🏆 uoft.me/np26

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Nobel Prize @nobelprize.org · 05/10/2026

BREAKING NEWS The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel “for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.”

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Cell & Systems Biology (CSB) @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Gretl Baghdadi has earned the Nyman Scholarship from CSB for her studies in plant sciences and her supportive role in the @artsci.utoronto.ca community. Read on for her advice to first years and the surprising path that drew her to plant research. csb.utoronto.ca/nyman-schola...

csb.utoronto.ca

Nyman Scholarship earned by paying it forward in research and student life - Department of Cell & Systems Biology

Gretl Baghdadi mentors fellow students while also pursuing rigourous research in the Christendat Lab, earning her the Nyman Scholarship from CSB

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Check out this wonderful study of the mosaic organization of the photoreceptor cells in the turquoise killifish by my friend and colleague @nclnoel.bsky.social. The retina is so stunningly beautiful 😍

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Nicolas Di-Poi @nicolasdipoi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Our collaborative paper on snake coiling is now out in the latest issue of @currentbiology.bsky.social and featured on the cover! 🎉 Delighted to see our work highlighted this way. You can read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1ni9h3QW8S... @helsinki-biotech.bsky.social @helsinki.fi

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Usher Syndrome Ireland @usherireland.org · 19/09/2026

On Usher Syndrome Awareness Day we are sharing some of the realities of living with Usher syndrome from people who know it first-hand. We want to remind you we are here to listen, help, cheer & support you and your family every step of the way. 💚 #RareDisease #UsherSyndromeAwarenessDay #Speirgorm

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute @dkjei-uhn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#ICYMI: Dr. Brian Ballios, Clinician Scientist @dkjei-uhn.bsky.social, was recently featured on The Retina Channel podcast, discussing the latest advances in inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). Listen to the full episode >> bit.ly/4iuq2KF @uhn.ca @uhnresearch.ca @kbi-uhn.bsky.social

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

What a fantastic resource! Add me when you get a chance please 🙏

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Congratulations to Andrés Avelar for winning the F Michael Barrett Award for best poster today at @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social! You've worked super hard over the last 4 months in the Tropepe lab and truely earned this accolade!

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Al Yankovic @alyankovic.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

“Lost media” no longer! I finally got permission to upload “AL’S BRAIN,” an 11-minute educational 3-D film attraction which ran at the Orange County and Western Washington fairs, and hasn’t been seen publicly since 2009. You can watch the whole thing here: youtu.be/2xujU87ZHt4

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

This is just evil! Science sleuths discover thousands of antibodies from 15 vendors supported by doctored images on their websites. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Biochemist Florence Seibert developed the Purified Protein Derivative (PPD) in the 1930s. Before her work, TB skin tests were inconsistent & unreliable. Her PPD formula was adopted as the international standard (1952) & remains in use for TB testing today. Died #OTD in 1991. #WomenInSTEM

Vintage black-and-white studio portrait of American biochemist Florence Barbara Seibert (1897–1991), shown from the shoulders up. The young woman has short, dark, wavy 1920s-style hair parted on the side, wears round wire-rimmed eyeglasses, and offers a gentle smile toward the camera. She is dressed in a light-colored blouse with a ruffled collar. A studio imprint reading “A. F. R. S. Chicago” appears in the lower right corner.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Our working model posits that the -CD1 isoform is required for retinal function while the -CD3 isoform is required for otic function in zebrafish. Future studies are necessary to determine if this separation of function is conserved amongst all vertebrates.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Rather than strict subfunctionalization of pcdh15a & b to ear / eye respectively, these data demonstrate robust cooperitivity. Superseding paralog-specific roles, we find isoform-specific bias between organs and can isolate ear and retina specific phenotypes by KO of individual isoforms.

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

International Society of Developmental Biology @isdb.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

If you have a new preprint or new publication within the field of developmental biology, cell biology, or mechanobiology, we more than welcome you to send them to us via DM to help them get the attention they deserve! We would love to support more ECRs! #devbio #ecr #biology

static.klipy.com

Doris Roberts: We Support Each Other

ALT: Doris Roberts: We Support Each Other

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

bioRxiv Developmental Biology @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Nrl expression and promoter activity in developing cone photoreceptors www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Huge thanks to the talented students who helped me with this study (Ishmael, Alexa, Lisa, Daniel and Jefferson), my supervisors, and our funding partners @FB_Canada @usher1f.bsky.social

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

These results increase our understanding of Usher Syndrome pathomechanism and provide a valuable disease model of retinal disease. Follow-up studies will investigate the binding partners of pcdh15 to look for therapeutic targets.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Finally, the ear and eye phenotypes could be isolated by targeting different isoforms of the pcdh15 genes. These data suggest that differential function is encoded by splicing of alternative c-termini of the protein, depending upon needs of the cell-type.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Even at larval stages, zebrafish rod and cone photoreceptors were abnormal, hinting at a developmental origin of patient vision loss. In adult double mutants, photoreceptor number was drastically reduced and cell death markers were detected in the retina.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

In a double knockout model, the zebrafish recapitulate the three characteristic features of Usher Syndrome type 1F: hearing loss, vestibular disturbance, and progressive photoreceptor cell death.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Using a zebrafish disease model we demonstrate that different isoforms of pcdh15a and pcdh15b are expressed in the ear versus the eye. In the retina, pcdh15 localizes to calyceal processes - a collar of actin filaments that surround the basal outer segment.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

How does one gene perform different functions in different tissues? Our new publication in @CommsBio sheds some light on the disparate roles of Usher Syndrome disease gene PCDH15. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Yeah! The Bananas have exploded in popularity. I see that they are selling out 80,000 seater stadiums right now 👀

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

Oooooh. Jealous! Have a great time!

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Congratulations to Ishmael Majeed from the Tropepe lab who successfully defended his Masters degree! Ishmael has been critical to developing new behavioural tests for visual function testing in our zebrafish mutants. Best of luck with your future graduate studies, Ishmael.

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Jeff Farrell @jeffreyafarrell.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

If you love Daniocell, but wish it could generate analyses specific to YOUR genes & cell types of interest, check out DaniocellDesktop - a new point-and-click app for Mac and Windows that enables reanalysis of the Daniocell data without programming: daniocell.nichd.nih.gov/desktop/ (1/4)

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Thank you to @arvoinfo.bsky.social for the travel grant that got me to #ARVO2025. It was an amazing opportunity to hear about cutting-edge vision science and network with like-minded scientists. I will certainly be back next year in Denver!

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Thanks to everyone that came to chat at my poster today! Great way to end my first #ARVO2025 meeting. Looking forward to seeing you all again in Denver next year!

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

If you are interested in learning about my research modelling Usher syndrome type 1F in zebrafish, "swim by" my poster tomorrow: A0097 #ARVO2025 #UsherSyndrome

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Really wonderful talk and fascinating research. The degree to which biological sex impacted retinal pathology was striking! I am sure that these studies will lead to better retinopathy outcomes for women in the future.

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Kristen Kwan @blockintheback.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

This year, we had ~3 dozen people at our #ARVO2025 zebrafish community gathering! So great to catch up with everyone!

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Incredible new work by @abimoye.bsky.social and colleagues who study microtubule associated proteins responsible for IRD. The iterative ultra expansion microscope images were breathtaking, and provide mechanistic insight into retinal diseases 👏

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Fascinating talk by @macdonaldlab.bsky.social at #ARVO2025 on the contribution of Müller glia to photoreceptor OS length in the high acuity zone of the retina. Is there anything MG can't do?

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Fantastic talk by @emilyrnett.bsky.social on implications of PRDM13 overexpression and it's role in amacrine subtype identity. Bravo 👏

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Farewell Toronto and howdy Salt Lake City. Time to learn about the groundbreaking visual science that is happening across the globe at #ARVO2025

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

That is devastating. So sorry to hear. Stay stong Kristen.

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Reposted by Paul Chrystal

Orange Dick Tater Hater @realbiscuitspaw.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Free speech is no longer free in America.

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Paul Chrystal @pwchrystal.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Was thrilled to catch @nclnoel.bsky.social giving a fascinating talk about her research on using Killifish to model age-related retinal disease. I look forward to the new insights that can be attained, and the implication for human retinal aging!

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