Cephalopods, like squid, have three hearts. @gertjanveenstra.bsky.social explores how they develop & what we can learn about heart evolution. Gill (brachial) hearts form first, followed by a central, systemic heart, and they develop differently than vertebrates in terms of gene activation. #gfe2026
Posts by Gert Jan C Veenstra
The Epstein files have exposed a moral rot in the circus of scientific public intellectuals.
Sadly but unsurprisingly, also leading scientists visited Epsteins island for the sex parties.
Robert Trivers,Noam Chomsky, Lawrence Krauss, Martin Nowak, Larry Summers, Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins...
With self-deprecating humor, Sir John loved to tell the story of his Biology teacher (1949)
Today it was announced that Sir John Gurdon passed away.
His ground-breaking discovery was that differentiated cells can be reprogrammed. He was a creative and distinguished developmental biologist, a kind person with a great inquisitive mind and original ideas
www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...
Screenshot of article summary of: Toward Science-Led Publishing by Damian Pattinson, George Currie published as an opinion piece, in Learned Publishing Summary The current dynamic of scholarly publishing prioritises the wants of the publishing industry over the needs of the research community. This article explores this theme through the lens of ‘publisher-led science’ as a description of our current status quo, and through ‘science-led publishing’ as an improved future state. We argue that financial motivations central to most publishing distort how research is presented, how it is assessed and even what research is undertaken, leading to a system that hinders, rather than facilitates, scientific progress. We propose three elements of a science-led publishing approach that would accelerate research communication, incentivise collaboration between authors, editors and reviewers, and create a more transparent and equitable research landscape. We believe that research funding and research assessment are two of the primary levers for wider change in research and research culture and consider the future purpose of scholarly publishing in a world where these proposals have been widely adopted.
While academic publishing may not be broken, it isn’t built to serve science either. It runs on a chain of perverse incentives, but everything we need to rebuild it is already in our hands.
#OpenScience #AcademicSky
buff.ly/oSesI1s
long-time coming, multi-lab paper on the evolution of gene regulation in the tetrapod heart. I actually did the mouse and chick embryo heart dissections for this one! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Did you know that cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish) have three hearts?
Did you ever wonder how that is possible?
For the first answer to that question, come to the today's afternoon session of #2025ICDB meeting (Saturday 21 June 7PM)
#2025SDB @socdevbio.bsky.social
The 20th International Conference of Developmental Biology kicks off
Looking forward to five days of exciting developmental biology
#2025ICDB #2025SDB @socdevbio.bsky.social
An announcement slide in white and blue colors, with Gert Jan's name, the SDB ISDB and LASDB logos and text that says Plenary 3: Evolution and Development of Organ Systems. Saturday, June 21st 5-7pm.
🔈 Excited to welcome Gert Jan C. Veenstra as an invited speaker at #ICDB2025!
Gert Jan leads research on gene regulation during embryonic and heart development, utilizing stem cells and model organisms to unravel the complexities of pluripotency and differentiation. 🧬❤️🧪
@albertinlab.bsky.social
Just concluded three exciting weeks at MBL @mblscience.bsky.social at Woods Hole for work of my team with that of Carrie Albertin's on heart development in cephalopods.
Beautifully located, MBL is a terrific place with an environment conducive to collaborative ground-breaking discovery.
Universities are not passive beneficiaries of government largesse. It is the federal government that depends on universities to conduct the research that keeps our nation healthy, safe and economically competitive.I discuss in the Washington Post.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Thanks Peter!
Thanks! For a brief thread on this paper see: bsky.app/profile/gert...
New study outlines a cardiac #differentiation roadmap, mapping cell states that mimic the human fetal heart. ow.ly/lCkh50V8o2w
@isscr.org @cellpress.bsky.social @gairdnerawards.bsky.social @sickkidsvs.bsky.social
This paper is the capstone of Rebecca's PhD work at
@rimls.bsky.social and signifies the highly productive collaboration with Robert's group at @utwente.bsky.social.
Co-authors Marijke Baltissen and Verena Schwach also made important contributions. #TeamScience.
4/4
... and discover a novel mechanism safeguarding a proper balance of the ventricular cardiomyocyte and epicardial lineages.
3/..
The paper represents a huge amount of work and a public resource for analyses of multi-lineage cardiac organoids.
We uncover substantial plasticity of cardiac progenitors in various differentiation and maturation protocols, assess the gene-regulatory networks controlling lineage choice, ...
2/
Our latest work on stem cell-based modeling of human heart development is now out! Excited to see the outstanding and notable work of Rebecca Snabel with our collaborators Carla Cofiño Fabrés and Robert Passier in print.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#CellPlasticity—the ability of cells to change their identity—is vital for tissue growth and repair. But when it goes unchecked, it can fuel #cancer. Our latest study examines how to block #LiverCancer by actively suppressing plasticity. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #CancerBiology
This thread ... LIFE OF PIs ... is being brought to you by one and only Buster Keaton ... I hope you will enjoy it. #LifeOfPI
All you ever wanted to know about mollusks 🐙🦑🐚🐌 and then some ...
1800 pages of wonderful biology 😍
Arrived yesterday
Is endothelium a type of epithelium?
I am @icfortunato.bsky.social & I would like to discuss this with a short🧵 focused on cell-cell junctions, specifically adherens junctions.
Can you please add me? Thnx!
Can you please add me? Thnx!
Can you please add me? Thnx!
Can you pls add me? Thnx!
Would love to be included. Thnx!
Can you pls add me? Thnx!
Your reminder that many of the muscles, nerves and bones you use to hear and talk with correspond to gill structures in fish. 🧪 #evolution #paleontology