Mechanosensitive feedback organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis Pérez-Verdugo et al. show that hindbrain neuropore closure is driven by surface ectoderm actomyosin purse-string tension and active migration. These forces create reproducible patterns of cell elongat...

Delighted with this new paper. Key findings I'm most interested in following up:
- Mechanical cues impact cell shape long after the cue ends,
- Surface ectoderm (SE) cells have cryptic lamellipodia which may enable collective crawling,
- SE becomes progressively jammed
www.cell.com/current-biol...

In @eLife.bsky.social: Patient-specific iPSC models of neural tube defects identify underlying deficiencies in neuroepithelial cell shape regulation and differentiation doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
@hpscenthusiast.bsky.social

Sparse mesenchymal cell networks as a fluid under tension Sparse mesenchymal cellular networks are ubiquitous across animals, shaping both embryonic and adult structures through dynamic interactions with epithelia. Yet, the physical principles underlying the...

How do sparse mesenchymal cells, with unique stellate arms spanning large gaps between cells, maintain their network while still flowing during development? In our new preprint we describe the avian PSM as a fluid under tension and develop new theory to explain it: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Fascinating work on the biomechanics of mesenchymal tissues right here:

One for #NeuralTube biologists:

Figure excerpt showing recoil following annual laser ablation of WT and VANGL2-knock in neuroepithelial cultures

2. iPSC neuroepithelial models by @hpscenthusiast.bsky.social identifying a patient mutation in VANGL2 which diminishes apical constriction in this human model
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Illustration of the mouse cranial neural folds and quantification of recoil following laser ablations in the midline or lateral neural folds

1. Laser ablation study of the mouse cranial neuroepithelium, led by Juana de la O in Adam Martin's lab (MIT), identifying regional differences in apical tension and anisotropy in the lateral neural folds (consistent with a recent paper from Eric Brooks' lab)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#ApicalConstriction and #DevBio afficionados - we've got two new pre-prints you may be interested in, below:

A lateral tension model for cranial mouse neural tube closure www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05....

A couple of weeks left to apply to join Development's *Pathway to Independence* programme

Support & mentoring for post-docs on the academic job market

Deadline: January 31

journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/pi...

UCL East London Scholarship This scholarship supports the ambitions of east Londoners by funding the fees and living costs of all UCL East Master's programmes and select School of Management programmes.

Applications are now open for our UCL East London Scholarship. The value of the bursary is full home tuition fees plus £16,000 maintenance. The deadline is Thursday 26 June 2025. Find out more, including eligibility criteria: www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships...

We're hiring a postdoc! Please forward to people you know who are looking for positions.
Interested in studying how metabolism is wired to support fertility? 🔬🪰 Come join us!
Ad to go live next week, but informal enquiries encouraged.

Applications open for a new cohort of @dev-journal.bsky.social *Pathway to Independence* fellows

Know a #devbio post-doc about to enter the academic job market?

Would they benefit from a little support & mentoring?

Spread the word

Deadline 31 Jan 2025

journals.biologists.com/dev/pages/pi...

To mark Black Friday, we are excited to share our latest work, "Planar polarized force propagation integrates cell behavior with tissue shaping during convergent extension." Now online in Current Biology. authors.elsevier.com/a/1kATd3QW8S...

Congrats to Fernanda - she really came up with some really creative solutions to our questions!

Happy to share our new preprint with Vernanda Perez-Verdugo, @shilabanerjee.bsky.social @glgalea.bsky.social We show that mechanical feedback drives shape and spatial order of the surface ectoderm in hindbrain neuropore closure.

How do physical forces influence spatiotemporal cell patterning during tissue morphogenesis? Our latest preprint integrates theoretical modeling with live imaging of mouse embryos to reveal how mechanosensitive feedback drives self-organized cell patterning during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis.