Andy Baxevanis

Henrietta Lacks' Family Reaches Settlement in Fight Over Her Stolen Cells Details of the Novartis agreement aren't public, but the family says it is pleased with the outcome.

A long overdue reckoning for Henrietta Lacks — the Black woman whose cancer cells led to breakthroughs but were harvested without her consent. Novartis has settled a lawsuit by Lacks’ estate that alleged the pharmaceutical giant profited off her cells.
https://bit.ly/3NgCeBs

Figure showing 3 panels,(A) a picture of annelid Capitella teleta on black background, (B) a cladogram with major biological model organisms showing the phylogenetic position of C. teleta and (C) schematics of the 10 chromosomes of C. teleta

New from @chemamd.bsky.social lab @qmulsbbs.bsky.social Collab with Elaine Seaver, @baxevanislab.bsky.social @neva-meyer.bsky.social @abhinavsur.bsky.social

New chromosome-level assembly for Capitella teleta 🪱

academic.oup.com/gbe/advance-...

#DevBio
#WormWednesday
@genomebiolevol.bsky.social

Saturday's Wordle... something near and dear to many in our Bluesky circle...

⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛
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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Logo for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN). It shows a the letter UDN is different colors that overlap to form the analogous colors.

Today is #RareDiseaseDay & we are celebrating by highlighting the invaluable work of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN)! Formed in 2020, it aims to solve the most challenging medical mysteries using advanced technologies. In this thread, we will highlight their use of the #zebrafish model. 1/5 🧪

Retraction of Research Article “Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree” On 13 November 2025, Science published the Research Article “Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree” by Jacob L. Steenwyk and Nicole King (1). The authors alerted u...

RETRACTION of Research Article “Integrative phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree” | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

This Giant Phantom Jelly Won’t Eat You. Maybe.

Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...

Please share this with your network: Postdoctoral position available in my group.

www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43...

Researchers Are Using A.I. to Decode the Human Genome

NYT: Researchers Are Using A.I. to Decode the Human Genome
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/s...

I’m recruiting new members to the Farrell Lab this summer. We will have space for 1 postdoc (since Abhinav is leaving to start his own lab at U Arizona!!) and 2 postbacs, since my current two will leave for PhD programs at the end of the summer. More details in thread:

A view of Friday Harbor Labs dock in the early morning with blowing sea fog in the background.

Want to do a postdoc at Friday Harbor Labs? We have two positions open. Apply by March 1st. I am happy to discuss potential projects with fish people.
apply.interfolio.com/180092
🧪

We are thrilled to announce Francis S. Collins, former director of the NIH, as the 2026 NAS Public Welfare Medalist for his pioneering research in human genetics and critical contributions to public welfare as the leader of the Human Genome Project! www.nasonline.org/news/francis... #NASaward

Jellyfish sleep a lot like us—and for the same reasons Study adds to evidence that sleep likely evolved among ancient animals as a means of repairing neurons

Jellyfish sleep a lot like us—and for the same reasons | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...

The re-analysis of this #sponge #ctenophore study made me realize how important it is to really *look* at your data.
Their filtering pipeline was meant to retain "strong" genes, but many of them had NO ctenophores and most had polyphyletic sponges.
Time to put down the pitchforks for a while.

Scientists Catch Jellyfish and Sea Anemones Behaving in Surprisingly Human Ways Sea anemones and jellyfish don’t have brains, but the way their neurons behave during sleep shows some surprising similarities to humans

www.scientificamerican.com/article/jell...

Illumina Appoints Dr. Eric Green as Chief Medical Officer

Congrats, Eric!

Most researchers would receive more recognition if assessed by article-level metrics than by journal-level metrics Are authors fairly judged by assessment of the prestige of the journals in which their work is published? This study compares article level metrics with journal level metrics, finding that the vast ma...

Big journals ≠ big impact...

dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

the logo for the baltimore ravens is on a purple background ALT: the logo for the baltimore ravens is on a purple background

Playoff beard indeed!

The 'immortal' animal that can cheat death One ocean-dwelling creature found in many tropic waters is known to be able to reserve its own life cycle, cheating death.

A Newsweek article on Turritopsis, featuring insights and commentary from Mike Layden, Christy Schnitzler, and Maria Pia Miglietta, explaining the importance of studying cnidarian species to advance our knowledge of regeneration and stem cell biology. A nice read! www.newsweek.com/the-immortal...

An updated and spatially validated somatic single-cell atlas of Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus - BMC Genomics Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has revolutionized transcriptomic research, enabling the creation of detailed tissue, organ, and species-level atlases for model organisms. In Hydractinia, a cni...

A new Hydractinia single-cell atlas from the Schnitzler lab: >47K cells from feeding polyps and stolon tissue that refines major somatic cell lineages and recovers a novel population of putative immune cells – a valuable resource for the cnidarian research community and beyond! tinyurl.com/hsymSC

One of ICB's frequently read papers
Investigating the #evolution and features of regeneration using #cnidarians

@aidemm.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

The ability to #regenerate can greatly vary between #animal groups and cell types...

#science #biology #biologists

A science club for senior citizens

An inspiring story of lifelong learning and love for science! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Coral reefs protect coasts, nurture biodiversity, and help feed millions.

But they’re vanishing fast.

Every fraction of a degree counts in the fight to #SaveOurOcean.

With @burgesslab.bsky.social, not one, but TWO freshly caught T2T zebrafish reference genomes for the Tübingen and AB strains 🎣 🎣 🎉

“Why Are We Funding This?” Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

Every year around Thanksgiving, I see tons of grad students post heartbreaking messages on social media about how their loved ones don’t understand or support their decision to study what seems like something pointless or silly.

Perhaps my American Scientist essay can help!

🧪🌎🦑 #SciComm

The Hydractinia Genome Project Portal: multi-omic annotation and visualization of Hydractinia genomic datasets AbstractMotivation. The colonial hydroid Hydractinia exhibits several unique biological properties, including its remarkable regenerative capacity and the

We've updated our Hydractinia Genome Project Portal! The site includes genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic datasets, genome browsers, an interactive single-cell gene expression atlas, proteome-scale structure predictions, a custom BLAST interface, and more. Check it out! tinyurl.com/hydractinia

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone Via genetic ablation of neurons, Mazloumi Gavgani et al. show that the nervous system is essential for defining axial polarity during whole-body regeneration in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.

Our paper on the role of neurons in Nematostella head regeneration is now out at @currentbiology.bsky.social Big thank you to all collaborators, it was a pleasure!

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

The recruitment for a new NHGRI Director has now been posted, with details at hr.nih.gov/careers/open.... All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply!

An excellent opportunity to join the amazing faculty at the Whitney Labs as a tenure-track faculty member at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. Applications due December 1!

explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...

🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!

Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.

Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

Battle between Trump and universities hurting scientific research in need of federal funding Federal research funding to universities has fueled breakthroughs for years. The White House is pressuring universities to align with the president's political agenda, or risk losing their funding.

Just watched this rather sobering piece that aired on this week’s episode on 60 Minutes on the damage being done to the scientific research enterprise - research that has incredible potential to save many many lives. 🤦🏼‍♂️

www.cbsnews.com/news/researc...