Maurice Elphick

BBC Two - Secrets of the Brain, Series 1, Episode 1 Jim Al-Khalili reveals how the staggeringly complex human brain evolved.

🧪 I have a new TV offering: a 2-part Horizon special on BBC2 going out on 29th Sep and 6th October. It is called Secrets of the Brain. See
See www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

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!

From Neuropeptides to Toxins: Illuminating the Origins of Venom Complexity in Cone Snails https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.26.678268v1

Congratulations to Oğuz Akar who was awarded the title of Doctor in Philosophy in Cell and Biology yesterday!

We are recruiting at @qmul.bsky.social
Please spread the word and encourage applications from potential applicants with relevant expertise.
qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/mobile-1/...

CLEM-Reg: an automated point cloud-based registration algorithm for volume correlative light and electron microscopy - Nature Methods CLEM-Reg automates the three-dimensional alignment of volume correlative light and electron microscopy datasets by leveraging probabilistic point cloud registration techniques for fast and accurate re...

Super happy to see CLEM-Reg out in @natmethods.nature.com! A short thread on the algorithm behind it and how to try it out for yourself🧵(1/9)

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Black square with the writing 'Queen Mary University of London Shortlisted for University of the Year' written on it in white, along with the Time Higher Education Awards 2025 logo in gold and white

Queen Mary is delighted to be a ‘University of the Year’ finalist in the #THEAwards!

And we're so proud Professors @larschittka.bsky.social and @alastairhackney.bsky.social have been shortlisted for Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year. @timeshighered.bsky.social

tinyurl.com/ebe8yx23

The genomic origin of the unique chaetognath body plan - Nature Genomic, single-cell transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses show that chaetognaths, following extensive gene loss in the gnathiferan lineage, relied on newly evolved genes and lineage-specific tandem ...

After nearly twenty years in the making, our attempt at understanding what makes the chaetognath phylum so unique has finally been published! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
with #LauraPiovani @dariagavr.bsky.social @alexdemendoza.bsky.social @chemamd.bsky.social and others /1

Repressive cytosine methylation is a marker of viral gene transfer across divergent eukaryotes Abstract. Cytosine DNA methylation patterns vary widely across eukaryotes, with its ancestral roles being understood to have included both transposable ele

Happy to see our latest work out in @molbioevol.bsky.social. We revisit the evolution of 5-methylcytosine across neglected eukaryotic supergroups, establishing an ancestral repressive role silencing genome invaders, both transposons and viral elements👾: academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-... 🧵 1/7

Functional analysis of ligand-gated chloride channels in a cnidarian sheds light on the evolution of inhibitory signalling γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the predominant inhibitory transmitter in the vertebrate nervous system. Fast inhibitory signalling is mediated by type A GABA receptors (GABAARs), which form pentameric ...

Very interesting paper that provides new insights into the evolution of ligand-gated chloride channels.

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

Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Genomics QMUL Faculty of Science and Engineering Research Centres

www.seresearch.qmul.ac.uk/cefg/

Here in @qmulsbbs.bsky.social at @qmul.bsky.social we are seeking to appoint (deadline for applications 17th August 2025) a Reader (Associate Professor) in EVOLUTIONARY GENOMICS to join the QMUL Centre for Evolutionary & Functional Genomics. Please spread the word.
qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/appcentre...

Great to be at #ICCE19 in Sendai Japan with Nayeli Escudero Castelan, Tabinda Islam and Kite Jones presenting our research on neuropeptide signalling in echinoderms.

“On the tendency of Species to form Varieties” paper by Wallace and Darwin originally published in the Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology. Read on 1st July 1858 at the Society.

Portrait of Darwin (1809-1882) commissioned by the Society in 1883 which can be found in the Society’s Meeting Room.

Portrait of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913).

Today marks a special anniversary for us. On July 1, 1858, the theory of evolution by natural selection was first presented at a Linnean Society meeting. Papers written by Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace were read, shaping a groundbreaking idea still powering science today: buff.ly/uBdX7N1

Congratulations Pedro. Much deserved.

I am grateful to have been promoted to the highest rank as Research Professor (ICREA) following my récent 5-year evaluation-a meaningful milestone at the end of my academic path. 🥂🥂

Our new paper is out: "The 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ & the evolution of complex integrative centers in animals.

We reveal a remarkable cell type diversity, nerve net condensation, a multilayered circuit & gene expression profiles.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ctenophores

A new Cambrian stem-group echinoderm reveals the evolution of the anteroposterior axis Woodgate et al. describe a new bilaterally symmetrical echinoderm, Atlascystis acantha, from the Cambrian of Morocco. Comparisons of plate growth with other echinoderms reveal that Atlascystis possess...

Delighted to share our paper in @currentbiology.bsky.social iology.bsky.social‬ with a palaeo-evo-devo perspective on the evolution of symmetry in echinoderms. Led by Steffi Woodgate with Frankie Dunn, @echinerd.bsky.social, @laurentformery.bsky.social & Sam Zamora
www.cell.com/current-biol...-5

Photo of a bean bug (Riptortus pedestris). Photo credit: Jili Xi.

Bean bugs shut down their ovaries over winter to save energy and now Jili Xi & co reveal that the hormone corazonin coordinates the insect's preparations for winter as the days grow shorter

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

RT. Fully funded PhD position in my lab to investigate the origin, composition and function of Ambulacrarian ossicles.

Neuropeptide receptors as therapeutic drug targets.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

BPS Publications Click on the article title to read more.

Biodiversity2Drugs—Renaissance of exploring nature-derived peptides for GPCR ligand discovery bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🔬 Nature's pharmacy unlocked: #Biodiversity2Drugs explores the vast diversity of peptides from nature to develop safer and more effective medicines, highlighting the importance of biodiversity conservation for human health. #BiodivNBS
www.biodiversa.eu/2025/04/08/b...

It's finally here! Great start of the summer. We got our latest preprint from @chemamd.bsky.social in @qmulsbbs.bsky.social @qmulse.bsky.social, showing evidence of developmental system drift in the specification of dorsoventral (belly vs back) axis in annelids 🪱🪱🪱
#DevBio #EvoDevo

Matous's Giving Page I'm Matouš, a first-year PhD student at the Francis Crick Institute, funded by Cancer Research UK. I use computer-based methods to study kidney cancer and better understand how tumours interact with t...

This Month, I'm doing 100 Push-ups a day to raise money for @cancerresearchuk.org. Now more than ever, we need to fund the research that saves lives. Every rep and every donation counts!

fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/matouss...

Here in the School of Biological & Behavioural Sciences at QMUL we are seeking to appoint an Environmental Analytical Facility Technician. Please spread the word and encourage applications from suitable candidates. Deadline for applications is June 13th.

qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

Our brittle star patterning study is now out at EvoDevo! 🥳
doi.org/10.1186/s132...

@lowelab.bsky.social

Divergence in neuronal signaling pathways despite conserved neuronal identity among Caenorhabditis species Comparing the entire brain of related species can reveal patterns of evolutionary change. Toker et al. show that individual neuronal cell types are highly conserved but that expression of neuronal sig...

Very interesting paper.

Divergence in neuronal signaling pathways despite conserved neuronal identity among Caenorhabditis species: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Great PhD opportunities at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples (Italy).

6 fellowships are available to carry out interdisciplinary training.

https://www.szn.it/index.php/it/bandi-e-concorsi/bandi-di-concorso/ph-d-program/ph-d-program-open-calls

Topics include the function of […]

Here in the School of Biological & Behavioural Sciences at QMUL we are seeking to appoint a Teaching Fellow in #Bioinformatics. Please spread the word and encourage applications from suitable candidates. Deadline for applications is June 4th.
qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/appcentre...