In the past week, #devbio twitter has been discussing an opinion article from Claudio Stern, published in Developmental Biology. In the article, Claudio discusses progress in developmental biology from a historical perspective before focussing on the present-day and future challenges for the field. In response the article, starting with a twitter thread from Alex Schier, many in the community disagreed with Claudio’s bleak outlook, some even going so far as to say that it is a golden age for developmental biology. We pick out a few of our favourite tweets (click on the link for the full thread). Let us know what you think about the current outlook for #devbio.
A thought: The problem isn't that mind-blowing dev biol isn’t being done; it's that Cell/Science/Nature won't publish it without some ridicul-omics. Why? The field's weak storytelling in recent years? Our failure to nurture and promote a new generation of stars? Both? Or?
amazing discussion – both Claudio's and Alex's points. I find DevBio exciting and VERY painful to leave behind. But why are there so few applications to the ERC? It's now one of the smallest fields in LifeScience – not in terms of awards but in applications. https://t.co/ECLqFqmeZ0
If you would like to write for the Node, check out our recent list of writing ideas. If you would like to contribute to our ‘Developing news’ blog, please get in touch at thenode@biologists.com
Extrinsic forces have an underestimated impact on shaping tissues and organs. Extracellular matrixes surround tissues and provide the cells with mechanical stimuli to drive morphogenetic processes. A specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) that is crucial for the development of epithelial tissues and organs is the basement membrane. The composition of this matrix varies from tissue to tissue and can consist of hundreds of distinct proteins. However, four main components are present in nearly every basement membrane across metazoan life: Laminins, a family of heterotrimeric (α,β,γ) glycoproteins, that self-assemble into networks and interact with cell surface receptors like integrins or dystroglycans. Collagen IV is a triple-stranded helical structure forming networks by covalent interactions. Nidogen is a sulfated glycoprotein that is supposed to connect Laminin and Collagen IV and Perlecan, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan that is involved in cell-signaling by binding of multiple growth factors.
To what extent the presence of these main components is interdependent during the maintenance of basement membranes and to what extent individual components contribute to the mechanical properties of basement membranes is not well understood.
Ovariole with Drosophila egg chambers of distinct stages (2-8).
In this Issue of Development (Development (2022) 149 (10)) we address these questions and show that Laminin and Collagen IV networks partially persist independently from each other and measured the mechanical properties of the basement membrane after knock-down of single main components.
Uwe Töpfer, Karla Yanín Guerra Santillán, Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich, Christian Dahmann; Distinct contributions of ECM proteins to basement membrane mechanical properties in Drosophila. Development 15 May 2022; 149 (10): dev200456. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.200456
“While it sounds silly to send squid into space, these simple models are easy to manipulate, small and don’t weigh a lot so we can get you a lot of information in a short period of time.”
Professor Jamie Foster
In the latest episode of the Genetics Unzipped podcast, Dr Sally Le Page takes a deep dive into the world of squid. She quizzes squid biologist and science communicator, Dr Sarah McAnulty on how they evolved and why they’re so hard to genetically modify, and asks microbiologist Professor Jamie Foster why on earth scientists are sending glow-in-the-dark squid into space.
These ‘cephalonauts’ will provide scientists with data to further understand how astronauts’ health is impacted by long-term space flight and how gravity affects the way animals and bacteria talk to each other in symbiotic relationships.
The 4th biennial Sainsbury Laboratory Symposium (#SLS22) will take place at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge, UK over three days (21-23 September 2022) and will be delivered in a hybrid format. Delegates may choose to attend in-person or online.
The Symposium will foster a dialogue between researchers working on regulatory dynamics from different fields across the plant and animal kingdoms and consist of talks, poster sessions and daytime and evening social and networking events.
Our goal is to create a welcoming, safe, collaborative, inclusive and respectful symposium environment by promoting diversity of attendance and inclusivity of participation of underrepresented scientists.
Symposium overview
The creation of novel organs, the formation of diverse shapes and patterns within tissues or the ability of cells to deploy different responses to environmental cues all rely on the assembly, rewiring and co-option of gene regulatory networks. We now know that complex behaviours can emerge from relatively simple networks. Reciprocally, sophisticated regulatory networks can often generate stable and predictable outputs despite being intrinsically noisy. Technological advances and new model systems are enabling us to address previously unexplorable questions, continuously modifying our understanding of the regulatory logic that underpins life. With SLS2022 we aim to bring together theoretical and experimental researchers from diverse disciplines using a broad range of species and approaches to investigate the regulatory dynamics contributing to the emergence of biodiversity.
We particularly welcome abstract submissions from early career researchers, women, people from ethnic groups underrepresented in science and/or resource-limited countries as they are currently under-represented in scientific research meetings. We will be promoting our Symposium to a diversity of research institutions and countries. If you know of any people, research groups or institutions you think would be interested in presenting a short talk and/or poster, please share this website with them or contact us at sls@slcu.cam.ac.uk.
You must submit a 250-word maximum abstract if you wish to be considered for presenting a short talk, flash talk or poster.
Short Talk: 15-minute live talk
Flash Talk & Poster: Pre-recorded 5-minute talk and live poster presentation
Poster Only: Live poster presentation
You will be given options to present in-person or online.
Key Dates
Abstract submissions close: 12 June 2022
Registrations to attend only (no abstract) close: 12 July 2022
Cambridge Reproduction, the Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences and the Centre for Trophoblast Research are holding a workshop on 18–19 July 2022, Realising the translational potential of reproductive organoids, and focused on the question:
‘How can we realise the potential of reproductive organoids – three-dimensional stem-cell models of organs and embryos – in a therapeutic context?’
To REGISTER, please go to: https://bit.ly/repro-organoids-register.
In-person, at Homerton College, Cambridge, and online. As in-person spaces are limited, we also welcome delegates to join us for the full academic programme virtually.
The workshop will bring together international leading researchers in the field, policymakers, ethical and legal experts, and industry partners. This would enable us to identify the main opportunities, challenges and obstacles, both for researchers and for industry, and to plan next steps. We hope the workshop will catalyse new collaborations and will result in a detailed report that captures the main regulatory and practical challenges and outlines next steps.
For more information, and the 2 day workshop programme, please go to the event webpage: https://bit.ly/repro-organoids
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Please spread the word and circulate details of this event to your colleagues and related networks.
In our latest SciArt profile, we focus on crochet with Tahani Baakdhah, a vision researcher from Toronto, Canada, currently working as postdoc fellow at the Krembil research Institute. Tahani creates crochet models inspired by her science work and her desire to communicate science and medicine to the general public.
Where are you originally from and what do you work on now?
I am a vision researcher from Toronto, Canada. I am currently working as postdoc fellow at the Krembil research Institute
Crocheted scientist doll
Were you always going to be a scientist?
During my medical training, I was curious about the mechanisms underlying clinical diseases and how groundbreaking discoveries are revealing more and more secrets every day due to recent advancements in science. So, I wanted to pursue a career where I can translate basic research to patients’ bedsides and clinics.
Crocheted model of coronavirus
And what about art – have you always enjoyed it?
Yes, art has been always my hobby. In school, I was a member of the art club. I enjoyed exploring different mediums like painting, drawing, fabric work and many more!
Crocheted neuron modelCrocheted neuron plushy
What or who are your most important artistic influences?
I was inspired by the work of Dr Anne Cooke from the University of Bristol in the UK, who started the knit-a-neuron project. I started with simple neuron patterns and then transitioned to more complicated patterns. My collection now includes many neuron types in the nervous system and the retina.
Crocheted Oligodendrocyte plushy
How do you make your art?
I get inspiration from projects I’m working on at the lab, seminar topics, recently published papers or through my customer orders.
Crocheted white blood cell plushy
Does your art influence your science at all, or are they separate worlds?
My science influences my art! When I get excited about a topic, the first thing I think about is crocheting it.
Crocheted retinal neurons
What are you thinking of working on next?
I am working on several books: one with the brain and neuron patterns, another about the body organs and a third with the patterns for my science amigurumi collection.
Thanks to Tahani and all the other SciArtists we have featured so far. You can find the full list here. We’re always on the lookout for new people to feature in this series – whatever kind of art you do, from sculpture to embroidery to music to drawing, if you want to share it with the community just email thenode@biologists.com (nominations are also welcome!)
On Wednesday 4 May, Development hosted three talks to celebrate the completion of our Special Issue focussing on the role of the immune system in development and regeneration.
Below you’ll find each of the talks and Q&As hosted by one of the Guest Editors, Paul Martin (Bristol University).
Ana Zenclussen (Professor for Environmental Pediatric Immunology at the Leipzig University and Head of the Department ofHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research) ‘Relevance of maternal B cell signaling for fetal development and well-being’
Elena Melendez(Postdoctoral researcher in Manuel Serrano‘s lab at the IRB, Barcelona) ‘Natural killer cells act as an extrinsic barrier for in vivo reprogramming’
Franziska Knopf (Junior Professor at the Centre for Regenerative Therapies, Dresden) ‘Laser mediated osteoblast ablation triggers a pro-osteogenic inflammatory response regulated by reactive oxygen species and glucocorticoid signaling in zebrafish’
ELMI and our sister site, FocalPlane have launched a new image competition. Enter your most beautiful microscopy images for your chance to win €250 and have your image featured on the front cover of the Journal of Cell Science.
For more details and to enter, head over to FocalPlane.
Read on for our news roundup of the past two weeks, with an emphasis on what has caught our eyes on twitter. This week, we focus on meetings.
A new style of scientific meeting?
#ScienceFlashMob
OK! Let's do it! If you're spontaneous come join us next month, June 20-21 in Tel Aviv (exact beach will be specified later). We'll talk science and hopefully make new collaborations and friends for life. Use this thread & the #ScienceFlashMob hashtag to tell us if you're coming! https://t.co/DxjkQWRprWpic.twitter.com/eRmloUbe1O
Please note that some meetings may be full before their application deadline.
The Company of Biologists Workshops 2024
The Company of Biologists is calling for proposals for Workshops. In 2024, one Workshop is reserved for an application from the Global South, you can check out the details here.
If you would like to write for the Node, check out our recent list of writing ideas. If you would like to contribute to our ‘Developing news’ blog, please get in touch at thenode@biologists.com
The Munro (Chicago, USA), Lenne and Ruprecht (Marseille, France) groups seek 2-3 postdoctoral fellows to join a newly funded (NSF/ANR) international collaboration. The overall goal of this effort is to understandhow cell-cell contacts in early C. elegans embryos are shaped by the dynamic interplay of adhesion, biochemical signaling, and actomyosin contractility, using a combination of genetics, biophysics, advanced (single molecule and super-resolution) microscopy and mathematical modeling. Candidates will receive cross-training in two or more of these areas. Successful candidates will be based either in Chicago or Marseille, but will have the opportunity to travel between the two sites and will participate in regular joint group meetings of the entire group.
Minimum Qualifications: A PhD is required by start of appointment, in biology, bioengineering, biophysics, mathematical biology or a closely related field. Prior experience in, and/or commitment to, working in a highly interdisciplinary setting is essential.
Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus benefits.
Appointment Type: Twelve-month full-time non-tenure track appointment, with potential to be extended annually for a maximum term of 4 years, subject to satisfactory performance and funding; the positions are currently funded for two years.
To Apply: Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest, a statement of prior research experience and professional interests, a CV, and contact information for three professional references to either: emunro@uchicago.edu or pierre-francois.lenne@univ-amu.fr
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