A phytoscreen identifies a garlic compound as a deterrent of mating and egg laying in Drosophila and mosquitoes This study provides a paradigm for how the vast chemical diversity inherent in agricultural crops can be screened to identify compounds that deter insect disease vectors and pests. Such a “phytoscreen...

Do you want to try scratching garlic on the skin to repel mosquitoes? A phytoscreen identifies a garlic compound as a deterrent of mating and egg laying in Drosophila and mosquitoes www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

🚨 Why can’t mammals regenerate limbs like frog tadpoles or salamanders?
In our new paper in @science.org , we show that species-specific oxygen sensing acts as a gatekeeper for initiating limb regeneration 🐭🐸
🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #EvoDevo

Regeneration of fins and limbs relies on a shared cellular playbook The findings strengthen the case that regeneration is an old trait, offering insights into how complex tissues rebuild themselves.

www.sciencenews.org/article/rege... @josanesousa.bsky.social @gabrielalima19.bsky.social @perezlouise.bsky.social @patyschneider22.bsky.social

Happening today at 12pm EST - join us for an exciting Zone 3 (Americas) webinar focused on Hydroid regeneration! More information and zoom links can be found at: isrbio.org/webinars

We know many fish and amphibians can regenerate the heart. How about reptiles? A landmark paper from @vickaryouslab.bsky.social to fill this gap. Glad to be a part of this study. @isrbio.bsky.social @evodevopanam.bsky.social @socdevbio.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Animals rely on sensory cues to choose mates before reproduction. Male octopuses use a specialized arm that acts as both a sensory and reproductive organ to navigate the female’s mantle, locate oviducts, and transfer sperm. These findings reveal how sensory systems shape reproductive behavior and drive speciation. This image shows courtship during mating.

Male octopuses use a specialized arm that acts as both a sensory and reproductive organ to navigate the female’s mantle, locate oviducts, and transfer sperm. These findings reveal how sensory systems shape reproductive behavior and drive speciation.

Learn more in Science: https://scim.ag/4dYMtFq

The EMBO Global Investigator Network supports group leaders setting up their laboratories in #Chile, #India, #Japan, #Singapore and #Taiwan. Apply now with a deadline of 1 May 14:00 CEST. 🧪

www.embo.org/funding/fellowships-gran...
#LifeSciences

A new role of a gene in brain development, cancer, and evolution Many “master” genes control how the brain develops and how cancers form, but they often act only weakly on their own. At the same time, hundreds of genes that are active in specific tissues have uncle...

This is an excellent summary of our work. www.growkudos.com/publications...

Thank you, Nick. Hope that you are doing well!

This is a wonderful collaborator with @reiterlab.bsky.social
@genophoria.bsky.social, Lu lab, and Flamant lab with supports from @ucsfaging.bsky.social @ucsfstemcell.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social.
. #PediatricCancer #Evolution @evodevopanam.bsky.social
@socdevbio.bsky.social

Evolutionarily conserved role of Tox3 as an Atoh1 coactivator and its implication in cerebellar expansion in evolution. Overall, our atlas and screening strategy may be a valuable resource for exploring novel transcriptional regulators in development and physiology. 10/10

Tox3 and Atoh1 synergistically activate downstream gene enhancers. 9/10

Tox3 and Atoh1 share a substantial number of direct target genes and physically interact. 8/10

Tox3 is highly expressed in certain subtypes of medulloblastoma. Its deletion reduces sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma and extends survival in the mouse model. Together, these findings highlight TOX3 as a potential therapeutic target in pediatric brain tumors. 7/10

snRNA-seq reveals that Tox3 deficiency impairs the maintenance of granule neuron progenitors in the neonatal cerebellum. 6/10

Loss of Tox3 causes profound defects in cerebellar granule neuron progenitors. 5/10

We generated Tox3 knockout mice which develop severe cerebellar atrophy and ataxia. 4/10

To identify new transcription regulators in cerebellum expansion, we hypothesized that candidate genes arose after the divergence from lampreys which only have a primitive cerebellum and thus lack clear lamprey orthologs. Tox3 emerged as an excellent understudied candidate. 3/10

How do “master” genes drive strong programs if they’re weak alone? Moreover, hundreds of genes that are active in specific tissues have unclear roles. We started by generating an atlas of ~2K transcription regulators in 7 organs in fetal, neonatal and adult mice. 2/10

Our new paper led by @XiaoxinChen2024
is out in @pnas.org! bit.ly/4785aCD

We built a tissue atlas of ~2K transcription regulators ➔ identified Tox3 as a long-sought Atoh1 amplifer in cerebellar development, tumorigenesis & evolution. 1/10

📢 We're recruiting postdocs in Evo-Devo!

It’s out! 🐟 We compared three regeneration superstars—axolotl, zebrafish, and Polypterus—to ask how animals regrow limbs and fins. We find shared core processes, and other programs fine-tuned by evolution in surprising, lineage-specific ways. tinyurl.com/mpftkn7y

Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2 Peripheral cancer inhibits amyloid pathology and rescues cognition of Alzheimer’s disease through secretion of cystatin-c (Cyst-C), which binds amyloid oligomers and activates TREM2 in microglia and e...

A landmark discovery in cancer neuroscience! Why is the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) lower in patients with a history of cancer? CELL: Peripheral cancer attenuates amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease via cystatin-c activation of TREM2 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

So proud of this incredible team and all we accomplished this year!

We’re looking for 1-2 postdocs to explore evo-devo, organ regeneration, extreme physiology, non-traditional animals, and

SUPERMAN 🦸‍♂️!

Please spread out news.
@isrbio.bsky.social @ahascience.bsky.social @socdevbio.bsky.social

Here is a copy of last year's Twitter thread explaining our preprint - jump to (21) for the new stuff 👀

Synergy between cis-regulatory elements can render cohesin dispensable for distal enhancer function

now revised and journal accepted at www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧵👇

Nice to see it in print finally, Elphege. Congratulations on the beautiful work!

We've just been awarded a grant to study the cellular basis of regeneration – to track the progenitors of sensory organs in the context of leg regeneration, in our favourite crustacean tinyurl.com/parhyale, based on live imaging and cell tracking. The project involves some cool collaborations... 1/3

NIH announces end to funding for animal-only studies - Drug Discovery and Development Drug Discovery and Development covers strategies and technologies related to pharmaceutical research and development and drug formulation.

All new NIH funding opportunities should incorporate New Approach Methodologies, a suite of modern alternatives including computer modeling, AI and ‘organs-on-a-chip’ technologies. “NIH will no longer seek proposals exclusively for animal models.” www.drugdiscoverytrends.com/nih-announce...

Congrats, Arica! Great to see it in print!

Border-zone cardiomyocytes and macrophages regulate extracellular matrix remodeling to promote cardiomyocyte protrusion during cardiac regeneration Nature Communications - Adult zebrafish are capable of heart regeneration, but how the collagenous injury site is replaced remains unclear. Here they provide an in-depth analysis of cardiomyocyte...

Very excited to see the first Beisaw lab publication out in its final form 🥳🥳 rdcu.be/ei1I7 if you’re interested in zebrafish heart regeneration and how cardiomyocytes replace the fibrotic injured tissue (spoiler alert: macrophages play an important role), then read it here 👇