Damián García-García

💚🦴 Fluorescence Friday: Halloween edition! 🎃
This glowing mouse embryo skeleton is serving serious spooky vibes 👻 Who knew bone development could look this eerie and elegant? 💀 Image by @martinestermann.bsky.social
#FluorescenceFriday #SpookyScience

People discussing projects at a pin board with text promoting upcoming online courses this autumn.

Places available in our online courses this autumn: @embo.org Project Management (17-19.09), Negotiation for Scientists (18-19.09), Lab Leadership for Postdocs (07-09.10) and for Group Leaders (04-06.11) + Self-Leadership (14-16.10). Register now: www.embolableadership.org/our-courses/ #EMBOLabLead

The essential role of connective-tissue cells during axolotl limb regeneration - preLights Axolotl limb regeneration decoded! Connective-tissue cells aren’t just participants – they are essential architects of new limbs. Remove them, and regeneration stalls!

A preprint co-authored by MDI Bio Lab Ph.D. student @damgargar.bsky.social (@murawalalab.bsky.social) is already turning heads!

The study was recently highlighted by @prelights.bsky.social, a journal featuring noteworthy preprints of particular interest to the biological community. 🧪 🤝

We're grateful to have our #preprint featured in @prelights.bsky.social. Thank you @dhanuush.bsky.social for selecting it!

Check it out! 🤩

@mdibiolab.bsky.social @murawalalab.bsky.social

Delighted that our work on positional memory is now published. We asked how axolotl cells 'know' which part of the limb to regenerate after injury.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A joy to work with super team Sarah Plattner, Yuka Sugiura, Francisco Falcon and Elly Tanaka.
🧵1/14

Neuronal activation in the axolotl brain promotes tail regeneration - npj Regenerative Medicine npj Regenerative Medicine - Neuronal activation in the axolotl brain promotes tail regeneration

Delighted to see this work from my lab published today, where we identify a population of ETV-1 positive glutamatergic neurons that are activated in the brain in response to a distant injury.

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

Two pink axolotls and one (Chonk) has bunny ears

A pink axolotl with bunny ears

Happy Easter to all who celebrate from Chonk and the axolotls!

Light sheet microscopy Light sheet microscopy is a technology that enables near-isotropic imaging of large biological specimens over time. It opens new avenues to study biological processes with unprecedented imaging speed…

The @embo.org practical course on #lightsheet #microscopy is back!

Join us in #Dresden for 2 weeks with #your #samples, try the complete line-up of #lightsheet microscopes, tackle big data image analysis, sample prep, OA hardware & much more

Apply now!

Repost 🙏

meetings.embo.org/event/25-lsm

Mechanical control of tissue growth during limb regeneration The axolotl is a highly regenerative species, capable of restoring full limbs, regardless of the amputation site. However, the regeneration rate is adjusted with the plane of amputation along the prox...

It has been known for a long time that if the starting point of limb regeneration is at the hand level or close to the shoulder, it would take about the same time to regenerate. Puzzling right?
Check out this preprint from our lab to know more about it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Embryonic induction of fate is a core concept in developmental biology. But, cells can also modify the physical state of surrounding tissues a process we call 'actuation'.

I reviewed with
@mayorlab.bsky.social 3 excellent papers that show how actuation and feedback can drive changes in the embryo.

🚨Latin American Workshop Series🚨

The team from @bethcimini.bsky.social‘s lab at @broadinstitute.org and the Center for Open Bioimage Analysis will host three free online image analysis workshops for LATAM ... in SPANISH🇪🇸 and PORTUGUESE🇧🇷!!!🎉🎊

broad.io/latam_worksh...

Deadline: April 23rd, 2025

The essential role of connective-tissue cells during axolotl limb regeneration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.30.645595v1

I want to thank my Ph.D. mentor, @murawalalab.bsky.social, and all the co-authors in the manuscript. Without their work, this project wouldn’t be a reality! 🫶

Let us know what you think 😀

With this
•⁠ We conclude that CT cells are the majority of blastema cells and are necessary for axolotl limb regeneration
•⁠ ⁠Establish a cell ablation system in the axolotl that can be combined with any Cre-specific line
•⁠ ⁠⁠Provide a new database of the dynamics in CT cells expression over time

Given their importance, we characterized the molecular dynamics of CT cells over time and deposited this database into an interactive web platform 💻(microarrayct-murawalalab.mdibl.org)

We then eliminated CT cells by using the NTR/MTZ #ablation system. After the specific elimination of CT cells, limb regeneration was delayed or truncated, underscoring the necessity of these cells for #regeneration 🤯

We defined the dynamic changes of cellular identities within the blastema over time by using 10X #Xenium spatial transcriptomics. Immune cells predominate in the first stages, whereas CT cells gradually increment and become the predominant cell type (~73%) at the late-bud blastema stage 🤔.

Pre-print alert:
This is our latest work on limb regeneration. We found that connective-tissue (CT) cells are necessary for this process by using a combinatorial approach of #spatial transcriptomics and an #ablation system for the first time in the #axolotl!
👇🧵1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Registration for the ISRB Madison Conference is now open. Early bird registration ends June 15th so don't delay. We also have a pre-meeting workshop for trainees. Hope to see you all in Madison!

Light sheet microscopy Light sheet microscopy is a technology that enables near-isotropic imaging of large biological specimens over time. It opens new avenues to study biological processes with unprecedented imaging speed…

Registrations are open for the EMBO Practical course on light sheet microscopy! Great opportunity to learn all kinds of light-sheet, as well as image postprocessing from the experts themselves.

meetings.embo.org/event/25-lsm

Peer review completed within 7 days!
Paying peer reviewers!
Yes, it's possible.

Fast & Fair peer review by @biologyopen.bsky.social

More innovation from @biologists.bsky.social

Details here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This is a cross section of an axolotl's zeugopod by @damgargar.bsky.social, shows the #nuclei (blue), muscles (yellow), and connective tissue (red). A #zeugopod is the middle segment of a vertebrate limb, allowing movements like flexion, rotation & extension.

#microscopymonday #standwithscience 🧪 🤝

This #microscopymonday image by Katelyn White is an HCR-ISH on an axolotl neural tube — a technique that amplifies the signal of #RNAtranscripts in cells and tissues (blue nuclei & magenta Shh gene). The Shh gene plays a crucial role in embryonic development. 🧪🤝 👩‍🔬

#standwithscience

Adhesion to a common ECM mediates interdependence in tissue morphogenesis in Drosophila For organs to be functional, the cells and tissues that constitute them must effectively interact with each other and coordinate their behaviours. Halfway during Drosophila embryogenesis, two lateral ...

The first original research paper from my lab is now out in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Tracheal development is an amazing model to study morphogenesis. There are great works out there that show how this tissue elongates, interconnects, and forms branches (1/n)

Science thrives because of our dedicated researchers, students, supporters, and community members. At MDI Bio Lab, we believe in the power of discovery, education, and collaboration. Thank you for #standupforscience2025, believing in science, and being part of our community!

#standwithscience 🧪 🤝

At @science.org today, an important new way we can make major headway into immunologic and infectious diseases. Sequencing the lymphocyte B and T cell receptors and A.I. to accurately make the diagnosis!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp2407
A seminal study by @anshulkundaje.bsky.social et al

The Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) is alarmed by the recent workforce reductions at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other federal research agencies. These sudden and far-reaching cutbacks jeopardize the breadth and depth of scientific inquiry—including in the field of developmental biology—and imperil immediate research goals, as well as long-term innovation, and the training of the next generation of scientists. These dismissals do not enhance government efficiency. To the contrary, they eliminate highly trained experts, grant administrators, and support staff whose collective knowledge underpins critical discovery and fuels scientific momentum. Without their efforts, essential research— including research on birth defects, which kill twice as many children as cancer—will face considerable delays. The loss of such institutional memory will also undermine the capacity of these agencies to evaluate grants, maintain databases, and spearhead cutting-edge projects. The SDB acknowledges the value of periodically reviewing and updating agency operations; however, large-scale workforce reductions taken without transparent input from those knowledgeable about these essential and complex agencies risks weakening the entire United States research enterprise. The consequences extend far beyond the laboratory bench, reducing our global competitiveness and hindering the development of breakthrough interventions for human health. Moreover, these actions, and the downstream effects on research teams, are causing trainees to rethink scientific research as a career. In short, these actions will erode the country’s leadership in the sciences, stifle innovation, limit job growth, and compromise the well-being of everyone in our society. Carole LaBonne, PhD, SDB President Ken Cho, PhD, SDB Past President Richard Behringer, PhD, SDB President-Elect Approved by SDB of Directors on February 19, 2025

The Society for Developmental Biology has released a statement on how the Abrupt Dismissal of NIH and NSF Staff Undermines Government Efficiency. bit.ly/3X9VEKd

Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy 2025

Registration for LSFM at @mdibl-lmf.bsky.social 6/1-6/7 is now open! This is an amazing academic environment, and is unique that all the major vendors will be there and students are ENCOURAGED to bring their own samples! mdibl.org/course/lsfm-...

We are grateful to @isrbio.bsky.social for their support of the ReBilD course @mdibiolab.bsky.social. mdibl.org/course/rebil... Please RT. 🙌

Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Communications (Stem Cell and Developmental Biology) Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Communications (Stem Cell and Developmental Biology) Location(s): New York, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Berlin or Heidelberg Application Deadline: About Spring...

My team @naturecomms.bsky.social is looking for a new editor! We need someone to help handle all of the awesome #stemcell and #devbio papers we're getting. DM me if you're interested or have questions about the role or interview process.
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...