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Trevor Sorrells

@trevorsorrells.bsky.social
678 followers 242 following 15 posts

Assistant Professor, Yale | HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | Mosquito Behavior and Evolution | he/him 🏳️‍🌈 In case it wasn’t obvious, opinions are my own and do not reflect those of my employer

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Reposted by Trevor Sorrells
Rebecca Saxe @rebeccasaxe.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
When we started scanning human infants 13 years ago, it seemed likely that functional responses in infant cortex would be qualitatively different from adults. Instead we keep finding similarities between infants and adults. Even for scene perception, despite the slow development of navigation.
Image of brain activation when infants look at movies of visual scenes, showing activation in three cortical regions: OPA, PPA and MPA.
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International Society for Neuroethology @neuroethology.org · 26/07/2026
Day 1 of the #ICN2026 Mosquito Satellite meeting is off to a great start with talks about all the senses mosquitoes use to find mating partners or tasty hosts to bite. @trevorsorrells.bsky.social presented his work on the neural basis of CO2 + heat sensory integration.
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The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
A lifelong passion for writing helped rising star @doctheagrif.bsky.social land a book deal and publish 15 chapter books for early readers, covering topics ranging from what the cerebellum does to how a cake bakes. By @avaskham.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/craft-and-ca...
thetransmitter.org
Crafting tales of science with Theanne Griffith
A lifelong passion for writing helped the neuroscientist land a book deal and publish 15 chapter books for early readers, covering topics ranging from what the cerebellum does to how a cake bakes.
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Li Zhao @lizhao.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Very excited to share the work by Alice Gadau. We found that D. suzukii (the invasive pest that loves ripe fruit) doesn’t hate CO₂, while classic lab flies avoid it. That tiny sensory shift helps explain a big ecological transition. journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
journals.plos.org
Molecular evolution of CO2-sensing ab1C neurons underlies divergent sensory responses in the Drosophila suzukii species group
Author summary Animals rely on their senses to locate food sources and identify suitable reproductive sites in their environment. Closely related species can evolve strikingly different preferences as...
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Sachin Sethi @sethisachin.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... We had a lot of fun working on this project (led by Itzel Ishida, not on bluesky). Some interesting highlights from the paper -
cell.com
Neuronal calcium spikes enable vector inversion in the Drosophila brain
In the fly central complex, PFNa neurons switch from firing classical sodium spikes when depolarized to firing non-canonical T-type calcium spikes when hyperpolarized. This bidirectional spiking allow...
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Very pleased to have had a small part in this new paper showing that the greater chestnut weevil is not, as feared, extinct.
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Undergraduates who are interested in summer research please consider the HHMI Cech Fellows Program. There are many great HHMI labs to choose from including ours!
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Nick Seaver @nickseaver.website · 18/11/2025
people are actually very susceptible to just-so stories about human origins because listening to bullshit helped us survive on the savanna
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Leah Houri-Zeevi @leahhouri.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
What does mating look like when you only have a single shot at getting it right? Very excited to share our work on an almost-invisible female control, rapidly evolving mating recognition systems, and species that break the rules and take over the world. IN MOSQUITOES>
The male genitalia of an 𝘈𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘴 mosquito
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Nadav Shai @nadavshai.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
🦟 We've just published the world's first head-to-toe single-cell atlas of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in @cp-cell.bsky.social! The #MosquitoCellAtlas maps 69 cell types across 19 tissues, revealing surprising biology. Read it here: shorturl.at/dJWT3
cell.com
A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
A comprehensive single-nucleus RNA-seq atlas of >367,000 nuclei from male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reveals sexual dimorphism in sensory systems and brain cell types and widespread co-expres...
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UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute @ucscgenomics.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
🦟 The mosquito is the most deadly animal in the world. The Mosquito Cell Atlas is an incredible new resource to help us understand more about their ability to transmit pathogens to humans. Data is available on the UC Santa Cruz @genomebrowser.bsky.social at mosquito.cells.ucsc.edu
mosquito.cells.ucsc.edu
UCSC Cell Browser
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Olivia Goldman PhD @oliviagoldman.net · 30/10/2025
Excited to announce the final version of the Mosquito Cell Atlas is out now in @cellpress.bsky.social!! 🦟🩸 There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields! www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
A comprehensive single-nucleus RNA-seq atlas of >367,000 nuclei from male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reveals sexual dimorphism in sensory systems and brain cell types and widespread co-expres...
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Mosquito cell atlas is now published! Congratulations to @nadavshai.bsky.social and @oliviagoldman.net and the many other collaborators that contributed to this resource. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
cell.com
A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
A comprehensive single-nucleus RNA-seq atlas of >367,000 nuclei from male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reveals sexual dimorphism in sensory systems and brain cell types and widespread co-expres...
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Ann Kennedy @antihebbiann.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
doi.org/10.1126/scie... This seems rad: overexpressing FruM in a set of proboscis-motorneuron-projecting neurons makes melanogaster males add food-sharing to their courtship repertoire. It is fascinating to see evolutionary shifts in behavior be tied so concretely to shifts in brain development!
doi.org
Cross-species implementation of an innate courtship behavior by manipulation of the sex-determinant gene
In accepting a courting male, Drosophila subobscura females require nuptial gift giving in which a male gives regurgitated crop contents to her mouth to mouth. No similar behavior is found in D. melan...
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Philipp Brand @pbrand.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Excited to share our new #biorxivpreprint We discovered that the fruit fly #drosophila erecta requires food odor to mate and arousal is further enhanced by social group motion. Cross-species analysis of brain activity reveals a novel gate evolved from within a conserved circuit shorturl.at/gGYm7
a group of Drosophila erecta fruit flies on a small food patch. flies on white background
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
A seminal study no doubt
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Matt Bertone @bertonemyia.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Dark taxa are extremely diverse organisms that remain largely undescribed due to small size, subtle differences, & few experts. Take this quiz to find out what you are - I'm a gall midge! whatdarktaxonareyou.static.domains/insect-quiz.... by @vivianfeng.bsky.social & @flyliceresearch.bsky.social
A dark, hairy gall midge fly on a white sheet. It has long legs and antennae and a red neck.Quiz results showing I'm a gall midge or cecidomyiid
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Jolene Ramsey @jrrmicro.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
@trevorsorrells.bsky.social seminar for @tamubiology.bsky.social cues waft on the wind #mosquito neurons light up blood thirst wanes post-bite #sciku #neuroscience #biology
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Yale Neuroscience @yaleneuro.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
🚨 Only 3 days left to register! 🚨 Yale postdocs, don’t miss the Oct 9th @kavliatyale.bsky.social Chalk Talk event, featuring tips by @schandralab.bsky.social & a mock talk by @trevorsorrells.bsky.social! Register Today!👇 yalesurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Flyer for The Chalk Talk event on Oct 9.
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Chantal Vogels @chantalvogels.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
📢New preprint on the impact of dengue virus genetic diversity on inhibition by Wolbachia 🦟🦠🧬 Project led by Afeez Sodeinde, @emiliefinch.bsky.social, and @keli5734.bsky.social! ✨ Key findings in thread below 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Heterogeneity in inhibition of genetically diverse dengue virus strains by Wolbachia
The release of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transinfected with the virus-inhibiting Wolbachia bacterium has the potential to reduce the burden caused by dengue virus (DENV). However, the robustness of thi...
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Starting to accumulate quite a few species in the mosquito gallery:
alexanderwild.com
Mosquitoes - Alex Wild
Mosquitoes comprise a large family, Culicidae, of slender, scale-covered flies found worldwide. We think of mosquitoes as voracious blood-feeders, but the primary food of adult mosquitoes is actually ...
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marilou boddé @mariloumercedes.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Our paper Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus was published in Science today! It features inversions, selection in action, museum specimens and putative new ecotypes. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
doi.org
Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus
Anopheles funestus s.s. is a major human malaria vector across Africa. To study its evolution, especially under vector control pressure, we sequenced 656 modern specimens (collected 2014 to 2018) and ...
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Teagan Mulford @teaganmulford.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Tired of doom scrolling? Want to help a PhD student out? Check your collection for Promachus (and friends) and I'll be forever indebted! If you need an excuse to get outside and go collecting this weekend, this is it! #Asilidae #Diptera
A poster saying "Wanted: Robber flies, Promachus and Allies. Wanted: freshly caught specimens of Promachus or other large robber flies for DNA extraction. Contact Teagan Mulford at teaganmulford@gmail.com with any questions or leads. Thank you! PC: Steve Collins"
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
A bluetorial on NIH funding and out year commitments: A historical perspective
media.tenor.com
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
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ZooKeys @zookeys.pensoft.net · 05/09/2025
"The unknown is made up of small organisms, such as insects, mites, and crustaceans. These species are the nuts and bolts of ecosystems. And most of them have yet to be identified." www.vox.com/down-to-eart...
vox.com
The search for Earth’s most mysterious creatures is turning up extraordinary results
We still haven’t documented 90 percent of animals on Earth
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Rory Coleman @rorycoleman.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
I am thrilled to announce that I just opened my lab at New York University in @nyucns.bsky.social and Biology! Our work will explore the richness of animal behavior, dissecting the genetic and circuit mechanisms that shape its evolution.
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Maxim Greenberg @maxvcg.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
🚨 🐜 is there a Bluesky starter pack for researchers who don’t study ants but who get lightheaded every time there’s an awesome ant paper? CC @mariusw.bsky.social @jrichardalbert.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants - Nature
In a case of obligate cross-species cloning, female ants of Messor ibericus need to clone males of Messor structor to obtain sperm for producing the worker caste, resulting in males from the same moth...
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Saccharomyces Genome Database @yeastgenome.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Utterly devastating: FlyBase zapped. www.thetransmitter.org/community/ha... #modelOrganism
thetransmitter.org
Exclusive: Harvard University lays off fly database team
The layoffs jeopardize this resource, which has served more than 4,000 labs for about three decades.
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Bluma Lesch @ambystoma22.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
New paper on the role of H3K4me3 at enhancers! We (led by Haoming Yu) used dCas9 epigenome editing to add H3K4me3 to intergenic enhancers. This was (1) sufficient to turn up transcription at open, active regions and (2) has no effect on target gene transcription. genesdev.cshlp.org/content/earl...
genesdev.cshlp.org
H3K4me3 amplifies transcription at intergenic active regulatory elements
A biweekly scientific journal publishing high-quality research in molecular biology and genetics, cancer biology, biochemistry, and related fields
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Genome Biology and Evolution @genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Morinaga, @agloriasoria.bsky.social @jsoghigian.bsky.social develop two de novo chromosome-scale genomes for Aedes aegypti formosus and A. mascarensis, finding extensive chromosomal rearrangements between major lineages of mosquitoes. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf142 #genome #evolution
doi.org
From Macro to Micro: De Novo Genomes of Aedes Mosquitoes Enable Comparative Genomics Among Close and Distant Relatives
Abstract. The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is an organism of high medical importance because it is the primary vector for diseases such as yellow
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MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
Who do I know that breeds or has access to Mudskippers? I have some questions! Rt appreciated 🧪
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Jenn Coughlan @jenncoughlan.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Oh hey, we did a thing!!! Fun collab between the Coughlan and @mollyschumer.bsky.social labs!!! www.cell.com/trends/genet... Lead by the absolutely ✨STELLAR✨ @hybridzones.bsky.social, @nemovrobles.bsky.social, and @majorodriguezb.bsky.social.
sky.social
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Wei-Chung Allen Lee @darbly.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
With @megyounger.bsky.social's lab, et al., we present the first connectomics work in the disease-vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, revealing how its brain is wired to detect host cues. Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... #Neuroscience #Connectomics #vEM #VectorBiology 🧪
Diagrams (top-left) of an adult female Ae. aegypti head and (bottom) a basiconic sensillum on maxillary palp (gray) which contain dendritic processes of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), including CO2-sensitive Gr3-expressing OSNs. OSN axons project centrally to the antennal lobes in the brain. On the right is a volumetric rendering of the mosquito brain neuropils including the antennal lobes (light blue) (Heinze et al., 2021; Matthews et al., 2019). Scale bar 100 μm.
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Wei-Chung Allen Lee @darbly.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
How is the nervous system organized to coordinate behavior? To approach this massive question, a team led by @asbates.bsky.social, @jasper-tms.bsky.social, @mindyisminsu.bsky.social, & Helen Yang present the BANC: a Brain and Nerve Cord connectome. Preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025... 🧪#Neuroskyence
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Ben Hopkins @brhopkins92.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I am delighted to be starting as an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology at the University of Florida in January 2026. The lab is broadly interested in the functional, developmental, and evolutionary genetics of cell types and organs across flies and beyond 🪰🧬
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Felix Baier @felixbaier.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
🚨Very happy that my PhD work is now out in @nature.com! We discovered that evolution, by acting in the midbrain, shifted the threshold to escape in Peromyscus mice, to fine-tune defensive strategies in different environments www.nature.com/articles/s41... This was a truly collaborative effort! 🧵⬇️
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Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
A pair of Desert Firetail damselflies making more damselflies. The male is bright red and he's using claspers at the of his abdomen to hold the female behind her head. She bends her abdomen around to pick up a sperm packet from him. The more you know! 💫 (Telebasis salva) Portal, AZ #DamselflyJuly
Two insects with four wings folded along their body. The both have large eyes and long abdomens. The male is at the top gripping a plant with his legs. He is using a pair of claspers at the end of his abdomen to hold the female behind her head. She is tan in color and is bending her abdomen to meet this body at the end of his thorax. Her legs hand at her sides.
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
The thing about entomology is, there are always weirder bugs than anything you could imagine on your own. Here's Cysteodemus wislizeni, a blister beetle from west Texas.
Photograph of a metallic blue/green beetle with a very spider-like body, a huge fake "abdomen" that is swollen and dented with even pits over its bulbous surface. It is otherwise ant-like, standing on a pure white stylized background.
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Molly Schumer @mollyschumer.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Apply to this program and share with students in your networks! We will work 1:1 with you on your applications, CVs, interviews, etc bsky.app/profile/stan...
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Alex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
These are called “Ensign Wasps” for how they move their little butts like flags.
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Evelyndroid's Aperture Science and Bugge-Finding 🏳️‍⚧️🕷️ @apsciencebylyn.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Paracantha fruit fly, just cranking the style slider to 100 and seeing what happens. I love it, is what happens. 💛
Strange stripy orange fly with striped and spotted wings, and banded technicolor compound eyes. Long setae all over Close shot of the creature's wild eyes, stripy yellow and maroon and hints of light blue and green. Top view; wings are folded, they have a transparent outer edge with dark veins like zebra stripes, and orange with like blue-ringed octopus spots on the inner surface. Face of the creature, both compound eyes visible.
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Kara Marshall @karalmarshall.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Gave a talk at my parents’ retirement community to describe how science is done, and what is at stake. There was a ton of interest, and anyone can do this. Get the word out about how science affects everyone. I’m happy to share slides with anyone who asks- just get in touch! youtu.be/BY_SFgi-Cig
youtu.be
Kara Marshall PHD-History of Science in America - Trilogy at Tehaleh 04/27/25
YouTube video by Steve Lawson
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 01/05/2025
How do animal #brains evolve to support ecological specialization? Yaoyu Jiao & @trevorsorrells.bsky.social explore a @plosbiology.org study revealing that #glia show the most dramatic changes in brains of #FruitFlies adapted to a toxic niche 🧪 Paper: plos.io/4js7Rms Primer: plos.io/42VHcHw
Comparative atlases of three closely related Drosophila reveal a glial role in fly brain evolution.

Phylogenetic relationships and approximate divergence times are indicated at left. The authors generated single-nucleus RNA sequencing of the whole central brains of two generalists, Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans, and a specialist on noni fruit, Drosophila sechellia. This allowed them to estimate the divergence in gene expression and abundance in brain cell types, revealing that glia diverge more quickly than neurons.
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Trump has cut the NIH budget by more than half in defiance of Congressionally mandated appropriations for the agency. No comparison historically, not even the Great Recession. This is clearly not legal and Congress needs to address it.
Graph from the Washington Post showing declines in spending at NIH. New grants cut from 1 billion to around 400 million. Overall grants down from 4.5 billion to 2.4 billion.
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Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Some beautiful maize diversity at the CIMMYT germplasm bank plus some really weird looking maize mutants.
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Reminder: apply for our research assistant position!
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
The Sorrells Lab is hiring a recent college graduate interested in neurobiology of mosquitoes! The position is ideal for someone interested in gaining skills for graduate school. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/164849
Mosquito larvae saying "Join Us!"
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Trevor Sorrells @trevorsorrells.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
The Sorrells Lab is hiring a recent college graduate interested in neurobiology of mosquitoes! The position is ideal for someone interested in gaining skills for graduate school. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/164849
Mosquito larvae saying "Join Us!"
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Nadav Shai @nadavshai.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
BIG NEWS! The Mosquito Cell Atlas preprint is live! 🦟🧬 My first senior author paper! Massive and accessible snRNA-seq dataset and a lot of cool mosquito biology. A true collaborative achievement! #MCA biorxiv.org/content/10.1... See @oliviagoldman.net thread here
biorxiv.org
Mosquito Cell Atlas: A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito
The female mosquito’s remarkable ability to hunt humans and transmit pathogens relies on her unique biology. Here, we present the Mosquito Cell Atlas (MCA), a comprehensive single-nucleus RNA sequenci...
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