2026 writing challenge: your words matter 

Last month, we held our 2026 writing challenge. We had 14 entries in total, and it was great to see so many people from our community share their diverse perspectives on topics that matter to them. We really appreciate the effort all our contributors put into sharing posts on the site, and we hoped the challenge would help motivate and encourage writers to share their ideas. The Node is a community for all, regardless of experience, background, skills or career stage. For this reason, we decided to award the prize by randomly selecting the winner rather than using a competitive format. We hope this approach reassured authors to share on the Node without apprehension that their work would be judged. The winner of our writing challenge was Billy Hinchen, who wrote the post ‘The little beach hopper that could’. Billy celebrated the beach hopper, Parhyale hawaiensis, and taught us how it went from a mundane beach critter to a lab celebrity. We’ll feature an interview with Billy in a post soon. 

Several of our community members used this challenge to report on meetings and events that brought our developmental biology and stem cell communities together. The FlyPower team recounted their experiences at the Brazilian Society for Cell Biology (SBBC) meeting, showing how fruit flies continue to push the boundaries of biomedical science. Zainab Afzal reflected on attending the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) meeting in Las Vegas, comparing her first meeting from 10 years ago to her experience today through two lenses: her scientific lens and her camera lens. Liliana Piñeros and Diego Sainz de la Maza shared insights from The Company of Biologists’ Workshop ‘Revisiting metabolic fundamentals’, while the Root Anatomy and Architecture Working Group of the International Society of Root Research (ISRR) reported on the “Rooting” conference on the Adriatic coast of Southern Italy, where many members of the group met in person for the first time.   

Our community members also shared research stories throughout the challenge, which took us on a journey across different research organisms, from cnidarians and fruit flies to plants and beach hoppers, tackling an equally diverse mix of research questions. Katarina Kurtović explored her fascination with the magic and beauty of plant developmental biology, while Vangeli Geshkovski discussed how ULTRAPETALA1 shapes plant development. Drawing on examples of cnidarians, Ian Velloso Randolph explored how embryogenesis may have emerged and evolved. Our challenge winner, Billy Hinchen, taught us about the beach hoppers’ meteoric rise to fame across different areas of science, while Saurabh Chand Sagar explored the story of Drosophila Malpighian tubules and the role caspase-3/Drice plays in their development and function beyond apoptosis. 

Our community members used this challenge to expand beyond the traditional research stories. Julia Ibe taught us how to start exploring single-cell data, making it accessible through publicly available datasets. Likewise, Friedrich Bliem reflected on the role of patterns as bridges between scientific, cognitive and artistic processes of understanding the world.  

Finally, authors turned their attention beyond the research itself and had honest conversations about the human side of science and academic life. Stefanie Williams recounted the burdens that first-generation students face and the importance of reminding them that they belong in academia. Alyssa Paparella highlighted the work of DisabledInSTEM and examined the gatekeeping of science, much of it invisible to everyone except those who are being kept out. Cherene de Bruyn reflected on one of the hardest stages of the PhD, the last 6 to 8 months, and the perseverance needed to cross the finish line.  

My favourite part of reading the entries was seeing each person write about their research, thoughts and experiences through their own unique lens. Each post had its own voice and flair. One phrase from Katarina has echoed in my mind as I was reflecting on this challenge: ‘Every seed matters’. I like to think the same is true for our community. Every member matters. Your science matters. Your experiences matter. Your words matter.  

The Node is always here if you have any research, thoughts or experiences that you would like to share. We also welcome audio or visual communication, including images, illustrations and videos. Challenges like this one remind us that anyone can write for the Node. You don’t need an invitation, just a story that you would like to share. 

You can find all the blog posts that were entered in the writing challenge here: https://thenode.biologists.com/tag/2026-writing-challenge/.