Mark your calendars 📅

Just one week until our next IMSI Research Seminar. Join us for a conversation with Prof. Gregory Sawicki on wearable robotics and advancing human mobility.

The front cover of Issue 7 of Volume 229 of Journal of Experimental Biology. The journal title is at the top of the cover. Beneath it is The Integrative Biology of Exercise logo, including a flying goose, a trout making a turn and a dumbbell weight. The Company of Biologists logo is in the bottom left of the image. In the top left it states: Special Issue, The Integrative Biology of Exercise, followed by the names of the Guest Editors Erika Eliason, Christopher Guglielmo, Natalie Holt and Monica Daley

Issue 7, a Special Issue dedicated to The Integrative Biology of Exercise has closed and issue 8 has opened

journals.biologists.com/jeb/issue/22...

The front cover depicts the Integrative Biology of Exercise Special Issue logo, including a flying goose, a turning trout and a dumbbell weight

Screenshot of PDF of the Special Issue Commentary, 'Six questions in fish locomotor biology and the technical approaches needed to address them', by George V. Lauder, Connor F. White, Divya Ramesh, YuPan, Julia Chaumel and Yangfan Zhang. The publishing information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb251375. doi:10.1242/jeb.251375. The first sentence reads: 'For nearly a century, fish have served as a model experimental system to understand how major organ systems both allow and respond to exercise'.

Fish have served as models to understand how organ systems both allow and respond to exercise for almost a century. In their SI Commentary, Lauder & co suggest 6 outstanding questions that remain unanswered in fish locomotion

doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

A screenshot of the first page of the PDF of the SI Research Article, Swimming performance, maximum O2 consumption, EPOC, post-exercise recovery and tissue metabolites after fatigue by Ucrit versus chase protocols in mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), a high-performance pelagic teleost, by Rachael M. Heuer, Chris M. Wood, John D. Stieglitz, LeeAnn Frank, Daniel Benetti and Martin Grosell. The publication information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb251301. doi:10.1242/jeb.251301. The first sentence of the abstract says, 'Carangiform fishes are highly active pelagic teleosts, but there have been relatively few studies of their swimming physiology'.

In their recent SI article, Heuer, Wood & co show that a chase protocol causes an increase in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, but maximum oxygen consumption is much higher when using a critical swimming speed protocol
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

A screenshot of the first page of the PDF of the SI Review Article, A life-history perspective on exercise, by Jerry Husak and Simon Lailvaux. The publication information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb251271. doi:10.1242/jeb.251271. The first sentence of the abstract says, 'Exercise has been extensively studied in humans because of its multiple benefits, yet it is unclear how relevant ‘exercise’ is to nonhuman animals and whether the effects of exercise are identical to those in humans'.

Species from fish to lizards have similar responses to exercise. In their SI Review, Husak & Lailvaux suggest that this response plays a role in life-history strategies and advocate for considering exercise from a life-history perspective in future studies
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

Graphic announcing the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call. It shows the opening date (9 April 2026), closing date (9 September 2026), and a budget of €399.05 million. The design features scientific visuals such as cells, a leaf, and lab elements on a dark background, with the European Commission logo at the bottom.

Big opportunities for researchers 🌍

We are investing nearly €400 million to help researchers share their work and collaborate with the best scientific teams across the EU.

The 2026 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open.

More: link.europa.eu/PNxpxw

Screenshot of PDF of the Special Issue Commentary, 'Comparative and evolutionary perspectives on the integrative biology of exercise', by Monica A. Daley, Erika J. Eliason, Christopher G. Guglielmo and Natalie Holt. The publishing information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb252325. doi:10.1242/jeb.252325. The first sentence reads: 'Understanding how animals achieve movement and athletic performance in varied conditions requires integration across physiological systems and structural scales from molecules to ecosystems'.

Understanding how animals perform bouts of physical activity involves integration across scales & physiological systems. In their Commentary the Guest Editors of the Integrative Biology of Exercise SI highlight 5 themes, bridging fields & scales of study
doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

A life-history perspective on exercise Summary: The phenotypic responses to exercise are ancestral in vertebrates, but a lack of studies that restrict resources during training limits our knowledge of whether exercise-induced trade-offs are consistent or common.

This paper was so fun to write! Special @jexpbiol.bsky.social issue on the integrative physiology of exercise. Check it out for the description of trying to train flounder!

A life-history perspective on exercise url: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-...

And so I have found myself thinking a lot about exercise physiology. I have gained a renewed appreciation for the richness of the comparative approach, the diversity of adaptations for exercise capacity & the insights gained about human physiology by embracing a comparative perspective.
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I struggled with self-doubt about my expertise the first couple of times I taught the class. But this pushed me to dig deeper. Each time a student asks a hard question, I dig into the literature to learn more. Great questions keep me challenged every time I teach, and I continue to learn.
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Hicks designed the original version of the class & shared his materials on cardiorespiratory physiology, which shaped my understanding of the topic (which I continue to learn). But, I could not feel comfortable teaching a class without diving into the literature to make sense of it for myself…
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The class has with a strong focus on cardiorespiratory physiology and aerobic metabolism. This was outside my comfort zone, because I mainly research musculoskeletal biomechanics. I am grateful to my outstanding colleague & mentor Jim Hicks (@compphysiolbio.bsky.social)…
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Parts of this commentary also reflect a perspective that has been profoundly shaped by the process of teaching a class on a topic outside my core area of research expertise. Five years ago, I taught Exercise Physiology for the first time...
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Really jazzed about this special issue in JEB on the Integrative Biology of Exercise! I had a lot of fun writing the accompanying commentary. Thanks to my co-authors and co-editors Erika Eliason, Chris Guglielmo and Natalie Holt for their contributions and leadership in the field.
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Social media card advertising the JEB Integrative Biology of Exercise Special issue. The card as a black background. The text (left justified) reads: Special Issue the Integrative Biology of Exercise Guest Editors: Erika Eliason, Christopher Guglielmo, Natalie Holt and Monica Daley Beneath the text is the JEB logo. On the right of the card is the 'Integrative Biology of Exercise' logo, including a flying goose, a trout making a turn and a dumbbell weight.

Check out the new articles posted in our special issue, The Integrative Biology of Exercise, drawing on work in vertebrates and invertebrates to illustrate the plasticity or evolutionary changes necessary for exercise or sustained locomotion
journals.biologists.com/jeb/issue/22...

Faster fowl fall frequently: speed and force regulation during turning maneuvers by guinea fowl on high and low friction terrains Summary: Birds run slower and modulate limb–substrate reaction forces when executing turns on slippery terrain, but individual speed preferences persist even with practice and experience of higher sli...

See more in the paper here: doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

We have also published the dataset for any who might want to use it: doi.org/10.5061/drya....
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We also found strong individuals speed preferences that persist with practice. Faster birds fall more frequently, yet persist in moving faster. Slow birds rarely fall, and speed up only slightly with practice. This demonstrates individual variation in fall risk sensitivity in novel terrains.
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A new paper on guinea fowl gait biomechanics for National Biomechanics Day! 

How do bipedal animals adjust movement to avoid falls in slippery terrain? We found that guinea fowl slow down, take shorter steps and adjust posture to reduce fall risk in slippery terrain, just like humans. 


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Screenshot of PDF of the Special Issue Review article, 'The sugar oxidation cascade: convergent metabolic strategies in hovering vertebrate nectarivores', by Kenneth Welch and Guilia Rossi. The publishing information states: © 2026. Published by The Company of Biologists | Journal of Experimental Biology (2026) 229, jeb251216. doi:10.1242/jeb.251216. The first sentence reads: 'The smallest flying vertebrate pollinators, including hummingbirds and nectar bats, exist at an energetic extreme'.

Hummingbirds and nectar bats sustain hovering flight using sugar as a fuel source. In their SI Review, Welch & Rossi discuss the convergent and divergent mechanisms that these animals use to fuel this energetically costly mode of flight

doi.org/10.1242/jeb....

The Field Station Perspective series logo. The logo shows four images arranged in four quarters of a circle. The top right quarter shows a cartoon of a seal with icy mountains behind. The quadrant is coloured in shades of blue and white. The bottom right quadrant shows a beetle (black), the quadrant is yellow. The bottom left quadrant shows a salmon leaping above a wave; the quadrant is coloured shades of teal. The top left quadrant shows an emu running across savannah with the sun behind in the sky; the quadrant is in shades of red.

From the Otsuchi Coastal Research Center in Japan to Harvard University's Concord Field Station, field stations are essential homes for groundbreaking research, & JEB's new Perspective series tells the stories behind some of these amazing research centres
journals.biologists.com/jeb/collecti...

Card advertising the JEB Highlights booklet. The card has a black background. Top left: Journal of Experimental Biology logo. Beneath: JEB Highlights (yellow text) Beneath: From a caterpillars diplomatic defence to a tarantula's phenomenal footwork Right side of card: image of the Highlights booklet cover, showing 9 JEB covers from 2025 on a yellow background, with the title, 'Highlights 2025' in a white bar at the top

Each year, we pull together a selection of Inside JEB articles in the Highlights booklet. You can pick up the PDF of the 2025 booklet to find out about the smallest kings of the castle and how snakes sink their fangs in

journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/hi...

🧵 New preprint led by @bingbrunton.bsky.social, @elliottabe.bsky.social, @lawrencehu.bsky.social

We gave a worm brain control of a fly body and it walked

What did we learn? Nothing, other than deep reinforcement learning is effective

We call it the digital sphinx

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

It was a blast teaching these students to code simulation models in Python.

Catch the replay video here!
www.youtube.com/live/LYwOEOJ...

In a black and white photo, a Geoffroy's tailless bat (Anoura geoffroyi) is seen hovering at a tube of sugar water to feed. The bat's long tongue is protruding into a tube of sugar water, curling at the tip as the bat laps up the liquid. Photo credit: Laura Quinche.

Some bats are dedicated nectar feeders, while others mix in insect nibbles. In their new research, Laura Quinche &co reveal that nectar diners with long thin tongues lick more efficiently than bats with a cosmopolitan diet that have wider shorter tongues

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

A close up on the face of a brown frog with bumpy skin. It has a cartoonish frowny face mouth with small nostrils and grumpy eyes looking in slightly different directions.

A black, bumpy frog on moss. It is puffed up and very round with short legs. It looks sad.

Breviceps macrops, a tiny sand covered sphere of a frog. Its from the viral video of the squeaking frog. if you haven't heard it, look it up.

Ugly frog appreciation 🐸💚🧪🧵 #WorldFrogDay

My first uggo is Breviceps fuscus, the black rain frog which got internet famous for looking like a sad avocado. These burrowing orbs don't have a tadpole stage and hatch as froglets.

Close relative B. macrops went viral for cuteness.

⏰ Reminder: Applications for the IMSI Summer Institute 2026 close March 21.

If you’re interested in immersive, research-driven training in movement science this summer, we encourage you to apply.

Learn more and apply:
lnkd.in/gRPtTaS7

During the first session of IMSI’s Prepare to Play Workshop, middle school students joined Westview’s IMS team to explore basketball shot mechanics using high-speed video and motion analysis. Comparing standing and seated shots, students began to see how science reveals movement.
#biomechanics #IMSI

Join IMSI and Prof. Gregory S. Sawicki (Georgia Tech) for Pushing Exoskeletons Out of the Lab and Into the Wild: Smart-Apparel to Support Resilient Mobility Across the Healthspan and Lifespan.

📅 April 21 | 12–1 PM PT
🔗 cims.uci.edu/event/resear...

#Biomechanics #WearableRobotics

lol… yep

Student Loan Forgiveness Will Surge This Month, Suggests Education Department The Education Department indicated this week that student loan forgiveness approvals may surge during the second half of March. Here's why.

Borrowers listen up! Student loan forgiveness approvals are expected to surge soon. After our lawsuits, the Dept of Ed is required to provide updates on the loan forgiveness applications. Make sure your information is up to date so you don’t miss any opportunities. www.forbes.com/sites/adammi...