Small Model, Big Insight: RNA Structure Rules Emerge from Minimal Data - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology MCB Senior Research Fellow Elena Rivas and colleagues have demonstrated that the fundamental rules governing RNA structure can be learned using a remarkably simple computational model—challenging assu...

Small Model, Big Insight: RNA Structure Rules Emerge from Minimal Data 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd #RNA
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @nature.com @harvard.edu

Delighted to share our discoveries about one of the brain's neurotransmitter systems:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Together with colleagues at the @alleninstitute.org, we have learned a lot about a tiny cluster of neurons in the brainstem locus coeruleus (LC) that releases norepinephrine (NE). 1

Whole-organism spatial transcriptomics at single-cell resolution in C. elegans www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04...

Neil H. Shubin to Give 2026 Prather Lectures, April 15, 16, and 17 - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology The Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) will host the 2026 Prather Lectures from April 15–17, featuring renowned evolutionary biologist Neil H. Shubin, Robert R. Bensley Distinguis...

Neil H. Shubin to Give 2026 Prather Lectures, April 15, 16, and 17
🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd #evolution
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @nasonline.org @harvardmuseums.bsky.social @museumofscience.bsky.social @debivort.bsky.social

Pablo Villar et al discover male octopus mating arms are sensory organs used to find females, navigate internally to the oviduct & deliver sperm. From behavior to structure, these findings offer a framework for how sensory systems shape reproduction & species barriers
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Study Reveals Octopus Mating Arm Doubles as a Chemical Sensor - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study (PDF) from the MCB lab of Nicholas Bellono reveals an unexpected sensory mechanism underlying octopus reproduction—showing that a specialized arm used for mating is also […]

Study Reveals Octopus Mating Arm Doubles as a Chemical Sensor 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd #sciencecommunication #research
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardmed.bsky.social @oistedu.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social

THIS SATURDAY: Science Spotlights at the Harvard Museum of Natural History to Feature MCB’s Rebecka Sepela - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology The Harvard Museum of Natural History will host a special Science Spotlights in-person event on Saturday, April 4, from 2:00–3:30 pm, featuring emerging scientists across Harvard, including MCB’s […]

THIS SATURDAY: Science Spotlights at the Harvard Museum of Natural History to Feature MCB’s Rebecka Sepela www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@harvardmuseums.bsky.social @boschildmuseum.bsky.social @museumofscience.bsky.social @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social

Super, super interesting work by @kathaschmack.bsky.social on a neuroimmune model of psychosis! 👏

Bee sleeping on the job.

Original post

Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine building

Max Planck Instittute for the Science of Light building

🚨New Lab Alert!🚨 Superhappy to announce that I will start my lab combining photonics & neuroscience at the Max Planck Center for Physics & Medicine in Erlangen & @mpi-scienceoflight.bsky.social in January 2027! Reach out if you're interested in internships, BSc, MSc & PhD & postdoc projects!

Congrats!

Konrad Bloch Lecture to Feature Ruth Lehmann on Engineering RNA-Specific Translation - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) is pleased to announce the upcoming Konrad Bloch Lecture, featuring Ruth Lehmann, Director of the Whitehead Institute and Professor in […]

Konrad Bloch Lecture to Feature Ruth Lehmann on Engineering RNA-Specific Translation
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @remlehmann.bsky.social @harvardcellbio.bsky.social

Evolutionary Clues Reveal How a Key Hearing Protein Adapted for Function - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study in Current Biology (PDF) sheds light on how a critical protein underlying hearing evolved to perform its specialized role in vertebrate sensory systems—offering a rare […]

Evolutionary Clues Reveal How a Key Hearing Protein Adapted for Function 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n...
@nbellono.bsky.social @treyjscott.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @currentbiology.bsky.social

Why Evolution Keeps Returning to the Same Solution for Smell - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Why do animals as different as insects and mammals process smells in nearly the same way? A new theoretical study published in PNAS takes on this question by […]

Why Evolution Keeps Returning to the Same Solution for Smell
🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @neurovenki.bsky.social @kempnerinstitute.bsky.social @pnas.org @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @jzv.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social

New preprint!
Follow the thread to find out about the exciting work of an outstanding postdoc in my lab @merylneuro.bsky.social !!!

Michael Bishop, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1989: Official Lecture YouTube video by Nobel Prize

Very sad to hear of the passing today of our UCSF colleague Mike Bishop at the age of 90. A legendary and inspiring figure. He also led UCSF as Chancellor. Have a listen to his Nobel lecture. youtube.com/watch?v=CDv7...

Harvard’s Biochemical Sciences Tutorial Program Marks a Century of Scientific Education - and a Year of Celebratory Events - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology In 1926, Harvard introduced a distinctive approach to undergraduate science education: the Biochemical Sciences Concentration and Tutorial, overseen by the Board of Tutors in Biochemical Sciences. Bui...

Harvard’s Biochemical Sciences Tutorial Program Marks a Century of Scientific Education - and a Year of Celebratory Events 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvard.edu @scienceinboston.com @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @mitpress.bsky.social

Huda Zoghbi in her lab in Houston talking with another researcher

New work from #HHMIInvestigator Huda Zoghbi & colleagues points to a promising new treatment strategy for Rett syndrome, a rare disorder that affects brain development in infants & children, primarily girls: bit.ly/3Np4Ng9.

@bcmhouston.bsky.social | Texas Children’s Hospital

This is such a moving spotlight. I’m proud to have had Luke in my lab for his senior thesis!

*In the nation's service and the service of humanity*

Study Reveals Neural Circuit Behind the Brain’s Dopamine–Serotonin “Gas–Brake” System for Reward - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study by Daniel Cardozo Pinto, now a Harvard Junior Fellow in MCB, has uncovered a neural circuit mechanism explaining how two key brain chemicals—dopamine and serotonin—work […]

Study Reveals Neural Circuit Behind the Brain’s Dopamine–Serotonin “Gas–Brake” System for Reward 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @dcardozopinto.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardbrainsci.bsky.social @harvard.edu

Beautiful and powerful! Congrats 🥂🐠

As MCB’s Bok Fellow, Mackenzie Harrigan Supports the Next Generation of Teachers and Scientists - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology When Mackenzie Harrigan began her PhD at Harvard, she knew she loved science. What she didn’t yet know was how deeply she would come to value shaping how […]

As MCB’s Bok Fellow, Mackenzie Harrigan Supports the Next Generation of Teachers and Scientists 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @microscopemack.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvard.edu

Another amazing story by @edvardmoser.bsky.social and @m-bmoser.bsky.social on the developmental emergence of spatial navigation : I am so thrilled to see a new, and surprising example of instinctive circuit function 🤣
We still have so much to learn on behavior circuit development: congrats! 👏🧠

Second- or third-year PhD student in biological or biomedical sciences? Get ready — applications for our #GilliamFellows Program open Sept. 1! Robust research support, incredible scientific community, & tailored professional development that can transform a PhD journey. 🧪 bit.ly/4bjdTmr

Maxim Prigozhin Awarded 2026 MIND Prize to Advance Nanoscale Brain Imaging in Neurodegeneration - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Maxim Prigozhin, Assistant Professor in MCB and Applied Physics, has been awarded the 2026 Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) Prize for a bold proposal to transform how […]

Maxim Prigozhin Awarded 2026 MIND Prize to Advance Nanoscale Brain Imaging in Neurodegeneration 🧠 🧪🧬 🔬#AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @cryptogenomicon.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social

Common Plant Proteins Found to Calm the Immune System - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology A new study co-led by MCB’s Kazuki Nagashima and published in Science Immunology (PDF) identifies plant-derived molecules that help quiet the immune system, preventing inflammatory reactions to the […...

Common Plant Proteins Found to Calm the Immune System 🧪 🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @microbiometcell.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @science.org @harvard.edu

Call for Nominations: 2026 MCB Mentorship Award - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology The MCB Community Task Force (CTF) is excited to announce that nominations for the 2026 MCB Mentorship Award are now open! This annual award recognizes individuals within the […]

Call for Nominations: 2026 MCB Mentorship Award #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @dulaclab.bsky.social @zombiflied.bsky.social @nbellono.bsky.social @hekstralab.bsky.social @neurovenki.bsky.social @rivaselenarivas.bsky.social @harvard.edu

The Brain Prize 2026 David Ginty HHMI Investigator Harvard Medical School

Thrilled to see #HHMIInvestigator — & now 2026 @brainprize.org winner — David Ginty recognized by The Lundbeck Foundation for his pioneering work on the cellular architecture of touch & pain, which paved the way for a new generation of targeted pain therapies: bit.ly/4sbowiN.

Amazing work!

Wendy Valencia Montoya Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award for Groundbreaking Thesis on the Evolution of Sensory Worlds - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology Wendy Valencia Montoya has been named a recipient of the prestigious 2026 Harold M. Weintraub Award in recognition of her doctoral thesis, an ambitious and interdisciplinary body of […]

Wendy Valencia Montoya Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award for Groundbreaking Thesis on the Evolution of Sensory Worlds 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @basicsci.fredhutch.org @harvardoeb.bsky.social