After ~2 years of preparation, we’re all set for the @GordonConf on Fertilization! Excited for great talks, engaging discussions, and reconnecting face to face with this amazing team @ShwetaBhagwat3 @jovinelab.org & Rafael Fissore #GRC #Fertilization
Beyond thrilled and grateful to join this incredible community! Mom, Dad: I’m officially a 2025 Leading Edge Fellow!!!
My beautiful baby ♡ 🐁 #FluorescenceFriday #DevBio
Check out the news 👇👇
6/6 Want the full picture? Check out our preprint, or reach out to any of the amazing authors who made this story possible >> @steinpau.bsky.social, @martinestermann.bsky.social @williamsrepro.bsky.social, Lenka Radonova
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
5/6 The exciting part? This abnormal calcium-induced epigenetic reprogramming can be rescued by adding exogenous lactyl-CoA, which restores global H3K18la and global transcription at the 2-cell stage.
4/6 And guess what? We demonstrated that calcium signals at fertilization function as a metabolic regulator, altering the availability of lactate and lactyl-CoA. This, in turn, affects H3K18la and impairs Pol I-driven EGA.
3/6 The answer came during our MATEbolism Journal Club, where we learned that lactylation acts as a molecular switch, linking metabolism and chromatin remodeling, and that H3K18-lactylation (H3K18la) and RNA pol-I activity are key for EGA and embryo development.
2/6 Using genetic mouse models or ionomycin treatment to increase calcium exposure, we showed that excess calcium leads to high H3K27ac marks but drastically reduces global transcription at the 1-cell and 2-cell embryo stages. But for the longest time, we couldn’t understand HOW!
1/6 🧵 I am beyond excited to share the latest work from @williamsrepro.bsky.social! This story began during the pandemic as we sought to understand how a brief insult during the peri-fertilization window can escalate into a metabolic outcome in adulthood—as seen in IVF-conceived children.
Poster for the rally at the state Capitol, Noon, Friday March 7
Join us today, in Raleigh NC and around the nation, as we remind our communities what science brings to the nation--solutions to our toughest challenges, new cures for disease and good jobs that pay a living wage
standupforscience2025.org
Hoy Argentina se lleno de orgullo 🇦🇷 🏳️🌈
Scientific research is a driving force behind human progress. It fuels medical breakthroughs, spurs technological innovations and drives economic growth. Federal funding of research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is absolutely critical for ensuring that the U.S. maintains its global leadership in science and technology. The unprecedented freeze on the review and issuance of federal research grants is already negatively impacting research and could have significant ripple effects. Ongoing studies may lose momentum if grant renewals or supplement requests are delayed, slowing scientific progress on research the NIH has already invested in. Researchers affiliated with the Society for Developmental Biology carry out critical research on birth defects, which kill twice as many children as cancer does. Slowed progress will delay the development of new therapies and diagnostics, and thus have real public health implications. In 2019, the total estimated cost of birth defect–associated hospitalizations was $22.2 billion. Scientific research is also critical to the U.S. economy more broadly. In 2023 alone NIH funded research not only directly supported 412 thousand jobs, but its overall economic impact rippled out to all sectors of the economy driving more than $92.89 billion in economic activity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It is estimated that every dollar of NIH funding generates $2.46 dollars of economic activity. Finally, federal research funding not only drives impactful research discoveries but also supports the training of the scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future. University laboratories, funded by federal grants, serve as essential training grounds for the next generation of researchers even as they push the boundaries of knowledge. This training prepares young scientists for leadership roles in both academia and industry, helping to ensure that the scientific workforce r…
The Society for Developmental Biology has released a statement on the Unprecedented Disruptions to Biomedical Research in the United States.
The 2025 season of MATEbolism Journal Club is now on! Over the last year, with @virginiasavy.bsky.social, we’ve explored how metabolism controls cell fate and epigenetics—while we metabolize cakes and snacks. Science fueled by sugar is back!! #Metabolism #Epigenetics #DevBio