Andy Baxevanis

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part II).

A full bucket of ctenophores for Ctenophore day - time to shimmer🌈🌊✨

Please watch till end: Mnemiopsis & Pleurobrachia included.

Alexandre @alexandrejan.bsky.social filmed and caught this ctenophore at the same time @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part I).

The fjords around Bergen are full with Mnemiopsis right now. Movie by the amazing @alexandrejan.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

Now Hiring! Whitney Laboratory Assistant/Associate Professor in Marine Bioscience
Apply & More Info - explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
We seek a creative, collaborative scientist whose research harnesses or advances cutting-edge tools. Please help spread the word & reach out with any questions!

These hermit crabs are using trash as homes. He’s fixing that | CNN One night while documenting wildlife, photographer Shawn Miller discovered hermit crabs living in trash. Now, he’s on a mission to swap their plastic homes for proper shells with his conservation proj...

www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/c...

Shedding Light on Patterns of Unconventional Expression of Opsin Genes in Hydra vulgaris Synopsis. Opsins are G-protein-coupled receptors often expressed in neuronal photoreceptor cells and used for light detection in most animals, including cn

First, first-author paper alert!

“Shedding Light on Patterns of Unconventional Expression of Opsin Genes in Hydra vulgaris” is out and open access in @sicbjournals.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/icb/advance-...

Keep reading for some highlights in the thread below!

🦑🧪

Congratulations on the first-first, Marina!!! 🎉🥳👏

How Close Are Manatees to Extinction? Close enough that proposed changes to protections for endangered species could doom them.

www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

How the Pygmy Sea Horse Lost Its Snout

Absolutely fascinating!

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/s...

A master of protein origami Johns Hopkins chemist Stephen Fried has spent decades investigating how protein cells fold, unfold, and misfold, a cause of many neurodegenerative diseases and our cognitive decline. His pioneering wo...

Some very interesting insights into the protein folding problem, including what AlphaFold can (and can't) do, as well as a "crash course" video on protein folding

hub.jhu.edu/magazine/202...

Excited to share our new work on the 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ!

We explored its remarkable cellular diversity and integration with the syncytial nerve net, uncovering connectivity and insights into the evolution of sensory complexes.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Alberto Rivera of the Baxevanis group @baxevanislab.bsky.social presents on the allorecognition in cnidarians 🪸

There is evidence for synteny and conservation across allorecognition complexes in Cnidaria... How does this compare to bilaterians?

#Evol2025 #Evol25

Investigating the evolution and features of regeneration using cnidarians url:https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/doi/10.1093/icb/icaf006/8082139

A wonderful piece on @christyschnitz.bsky.social's scientific journey and research accomplishments!

integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2025/04/22/d...

Solid State Books Washington DC's newest independent bookstore. Solid State Books is a well-curated and dynamic community hub for customers of all ages.

... and, in DC, it's Solid State on 14th Street:
www.solidstatebooksdc.com

Browseabout Books

When in Rehoboth Beach, it's most definitely Browseabout - a cool indie bookstore with a great great staff! browseaboutbooks.com

Why we study shrimp on treadmills: The case for curiosity-driven research “If we cut or limit funding for curiosity-driven research, we risk shutting down the pipeline of future innovation,” writes Carole LaBonne of Northwestern.

Why model organisms? "At first glance these creatures might seem unrelated to humans, but they share surprisingly similar genetic makeup to us. Because of their simpler biology and rapid life cycles they have provided critical insights into everything from how cells divide to the origins of cancer."

Column | Delete your DNA from 23andMe right now The genetic information company declared bankruptcy on Sunday, and California’s attorney general has issued a privacy “consumer alert.”

wapo.st/4kUsBEF

Navigating the Genomic Chart of the Greek Seas By Tereza Manousaki, Thanos Dailianis, the MOm team, Katerina Vasileiadou, Xenia Sarropoulou and Konstantina Theofanopoulou The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), is at the forefront of mari...

Greek 🇬🇷 marine #biodiversity #genomics www.erga-biodiversity.eu/post/navigat...

Dr. Andrea Quattrini holding up a big orange coral while standing in a room full of drawers that contain corals.

Congrats to Dr. Andrea Quattrini (Coral Curator, SI NMNH) for winning The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers!

This is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists in the early stages of their independent research careers!

Grace under pressure ✨️💫⁠

Comb jellies are some of the most dazzling and depth-diverse denizens of the sea. Using MBARI's advanced deep-sea robots, researchers revealed how membranes help comb jellies thrive in the deep.

Learn more: youtu.be/e7A0hZ8mBtE?...

Christy Schnitzler from the Whitney Labs presenting a comprehensive overview of Hydractinia, describing how single-cell studies of this organism are providing new insights into the evolution of cnidarian sensory systems during a special session at #SICB2025. A big and exciting leap forward indeed!

Sue Xu from Christy Schnitzler's group at the Whitney Labs sharing her studies of the Hippo pathway in Hydractinia, providing us with a better understanding of polyp head regeneration and juvenile colony growth in this highly regenerative (and very cool) emerging model organism. Very nice work!

Mike Connelly from our group sharing his hot-off-the-10X Podocoryna single-cell data @SICB2025, establishing a really solid foundation for future work on this very interesting and informative regenerative cnidarian. Stay tuned... more to follow!

Alberto Rivera from our group sharing his work characterizing the allorecognition complex in Podocoryna - and, looking through a longer lens, establishing the foundation for determining whether there is a throughline between the cnidarian ARC and the vertebrate MHC. Cool evolutionary story indeed!

Alicia Boyd from Elaine Seaver’s lab at the Whitney Labs sharing some really cool work on the mechanisms underlying regeneration in one of our favorite model organisms, Capitella, @SICB2025. Very nice talk!

Zach Lane from Christy Schnitzler’s group at the Whitney Labs presenting his work on isolating Hydractinia’s stem cells using FACS @SICB2025. Great talk!

Opinion | No, You Don’t Get an A for Effort (Gift Article) High marks reward excellence, not grit.

Food for thought

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/o...

The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back with the funky animals they study.

The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived
Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back
@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...

Congratulations to Justin Waletich on his beautiful dissertation work and for earning his doctoral degree! Well done, Justin – and congrats to Christy as well for being an amazing mentor to Justin and the folks in her research group!

www.whitney.ufl.edu/news--events...

Cuisinart-assisted ursicide?