We are thrilled that our study on the evolution of gene regulation in mammalian cerebellum development – led by @ioansarr.bsky.social, @marisepp.bsky.social and @tyamadat.bsky.social, in collaboration with @steinaerts.bsky.social – is now out in @ScienceMagazine! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

💅✨ you superstar

The molecular evolution of vertebrate organs Nature Ecology & Evolution - This Review discusses recent advances in the molecular evolution of vertebrate organs, including rates of evolution of organs and cell types, molecular mechanisms...

Our internal organs are evolutionary marvels. New technologies are transforming our understanding of the evolution of vertebrate organs. You can find more by reading here:
rdcu.be/e5EgU
#EvoBio #EvoDevo 🐟🦎🐢🦇🐊🦜

This beautiful project is finally published! A fascinating study of how temporal use of enhancers sustains gene expression through development and shapes organ development! So proud to have been part of this project

Redundancy masks functional specificity of SMARCD paralogs in neurodevelopment The SWI/SNF complex is an essential chromatin remodeler that regulates DNA accessibility during brain development. Through combinatorial assembly of subunits encoded by paralogous genes, SWI/SNF compl...

New paper on bioRxiv by YounJu So in our lab! She shows that while SMARCD paralogs compensate for each other during neurodevelopment, each still drives distinct gene expression programs, explaining selective vulnerability of these SWI/SNF subunits in brain disorders.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Why we have to continue with animal testing for medical research | Letters Letters: Dr Robin Lovell-Badge and Prof Emma Robinson respond to an editorial on using new technologies to reduce the reliance on animal experiments

Key points on the need for continued animal use in scientific research. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Cadherins modulate the self-organizing potential of pseudo-embryos Gastruloids derived from ES cells mimic embryonic patterning through robust self-organization. Mayran et al. uncover that this competence depends on a cadherin switch regulated by Snai1-driven E-cadhe...

Happy to present the final version of our Cadherin and gastruloid manuscript, online at @cp-cellreports.bsky.social.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Initially in BiorXiv (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...) 1/12

📣 Paper alert!

I am delighted that our paper exploring the impact of Neanderthal-derived variants on the activity of a disease-associated craniofacial enhancer has been published in Development today!
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

FlyBase secures funding for year, but future still uncertain The FlyBase team’s fundraising efforts have proven successful in the short term, but restoration of its federal grant remains uncertain.

🪰 folks! I spoke to the Transmitter about FlyBase. As noted at flybase.org, bridge $ ran out and many staff were laid off.

Good news is stopgap contributions will keep core FlyBase operations active. But community support remains essential. Please donate @FlyBase and share! 1/2

tinyurl.com/FlyBase

Connexin 41.8 governs timely haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell specification Summary: Cx41.8 is necessary to launch the haemogenic program and induce HSPC formation at the correct time during zebrafish development via a ROS-Hif-Notch-Gata2b pathway.

Excited to share that the final version of our work on Connexin 41.8 in HSPC specification is out now in @biologyopen.bsky.social!

If you're curious about how a connexin helps turn endothelial cells into blood stem cells, please have a read!

journals.biologists.com/bio/article/...

A 6-year long study from the Lab is finally out @genomeresearch.bsky.social

Mastered by @annanordin.bsky.social in collaboration with Chaitali Chakraborty from @remeseiro-lab.bsky.social

Why is our work Important? Discover it in the quick Bluetorial 👇

genome.cshlp.org/content/earl...

No new genes needed to fly - just rewire what you have! 🦇🧬

Great new paper from the labs of @fany-real.bsky.social @stemundi.bsky.social @dariloops.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

#EvoDevo #SingleCell #BatWings

The final chapter of my Pitx1 adventure is out! 1 simple question:”How do SVs that shorten enhancer-promoter distance affect limb development?” We find the impact on transcription, cell populations, epigenetics, and chromatin structure. A labour of joy with @guandrey.bsky.social & all co-authors.

Evolutionarily recent transcription factors partake in human cell cycle regulation Pulver and Forey et al. generated a novel atlas reporting (1) gene expression over the cell cycle and (2) how systematic gene depletion affects cell cycle progression. They thereby identified evolutio...

🚨 Check out the latest from @trono-lab.bsky.social showing how evolutionarily young transcription factors contribute to human cell cycle regulation!
Brilliant work led by Romain Forey and Cyril Pulver, now published in Cell Genomics. Check it out !
www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

A meme-style comic panel with three parts. Left: A stylized enhancer with a mutation, surrounded by colored blocks representing functional motifs, a neural network diagram, chromatin accessibility signal traces, and a sequence motif. Two cartoon mouse embryos below show different LacZ reporter activity patterns. Top right: A hand hovers anxiously between two red buttons labeled “Experiments” and “AI,” with the caption “HOW DO ENHANCERS REALLY WORK?” Bottom right: A sweating superhero wipes his forehead, looking stressed about the difficult choice.

Textbooks: “Enhancers are just a bunch of TFBSs”

But how do they REALLY work?

New paper with many contributors here @berkeleylab.lbl.gov, @anshulkundaje.bsky.social, @anusri.bsky.social

A 🧵 (1/n)

Free access link: rdcu.be/erD22

Conservation of regulatory elements with highly diverged sequences across large evolutionary distances Nature Genetics - Combining functional genomic data from mouse and chicken with a synteny-based strategy identifies positionally conserved cis-regulatory elements in the absence of direct sequence...

How to find Evolutionary Conserved Enhancers in 2025? 🐣-🐭
Check out our paper - fresh off the press!!!
We find widespread functional conservation of enhancers in absence of sequence homology
Including: a bioinformatic tool to map sequence-diverged enhancers!
rdcu.be/enVDN
github.com/tobiaszehnde...

New preprint of @trono-lab.bsky.social and my PhD work!
By modulating SWI/SNF remodeling at ancient transposable elements - LINE/L2s and SINE/MIRs, a "noncanonical" KZFP called ZNF436 protects cardiomyocytes from losing their identity.
🫀heartbeat on 🔁 repeat
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #TEsky