Alex Donovan

Exited to share Current Opinion review on how chromatin hubs involving multiple enhancers and promoters are formed, and their potential roles in gene regulation: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Congrats! 🎉

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?

Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
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Fresh design, better navigation, same first-class science.
Take a look around ➡️ mrclmb.ac.uk

An ancient genome duplication event drives the development and evolution of spinnerets in spiders A genome duplication event during the Silurian played a crucial role in the evolutionary emergence of spinnerets in spiders.

Spinnerets are a defining feature of many arachnid species - this paper tells a really cool story about their gain and loss throughout evolution 🕷️🕸️

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A genetically encoded device for transcriptome storage in mammalian cells Understanding how cells make decisions over time requires the ability to link past molecular states to future phenotypic outcomes. We present TimeVault, a genetically encoded system that records and s...

🧬🔬@science.org A genetically encoded device for #transcriptome storage in mammalian cells | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @broadinstitute.org

LMB Seminar Paul Nurse Francis Crick Institute CDKs and Cell Cycle Control Monday 26 January at 11 am Max Perutz Lecture Theatre and Zoom.

Join Paul Nurse from the Francis Crick Institute at the LMB on Monday 26th January at 11am (GMT) for a #LMBSeminar on ‘New Perspectives on CDKs and Cell Cycle Control’

Visit our website for more details: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

This is so cool!! One of the best examples I’ve seen of enhancer selection.

a,b Average sleep time during 36 h under LD in C. andromeda (a) and N. vectensis (b). White, black, and red horizontal bars represent light, dark, and SD periods, respectively (C. andromeda: ZT17-23, N. vectensis: ZT20-ZT4). c, d Sleep time accumulation of the previous 12 h (sliding average) in C. andromeda (c) and N. vectensis (d) during 36 h under LD. Black arrowheads indicate sampling time for the DNA damage assay presented in (i–l). e Confocal z-projection of a C. andromeda rhopalium and adjacent peri-rhopalial tissue. White squares mark representative single nucleus in the mesoglea. Red asterisk indicates rhopalium. Scale bar 150 μm. f Confocal z-projection showing the mOrange-positive endodermal nervous system in tg(-2.4NvElav1b:mOrangeCAAX) N. vectensis. White squares mark representative single neurons. Scale bar 100 μm. g Representative images of cells in the peri-rhopalial tissue of C. andromeda sampled at ZT11, ZT23, and the following day (Day2 ZT11). Nucleus stained by DAPI (gray), and γH2AX foci (magenta) are stained using immunohistochemistry. Scale bar 4 μm. h Representative images of γH2AX staining (magenta) in mOrange-positive neurons (green) of tg(-2.4NvElav1b:mOrangeCAAX) N. vectensis sampled at ZT17, ZT8, and the following night (Night2 ZT17). Nucleus stained by DAPI (gray). Scale bar 2 μm. i, k Normalized number of γH2AX foci per nucleus of control and sleep-deprived C. andromeda under LD. i Control: Day1 (n = 24, 1.00 ± 0.64), Night (n = 22, 0.55 ± 0.55), Day2 (n = 26, 1.31 ± 0.63). k Sleep-deprived: Day1 (n = 27, 1.00 ± 1.09), Night (n = 31, 2.11 ± 1.13), Day2 (n = 28, 1.42 ± 1.12). Values are mean ± s.d. (n=rhopalia from 8-10 animals per time point).

Jellyfish sleep, which is already bizarre given they have no brains. DNA damage accumulates in their neurons when jellyfish are awake, and it gets repaired when they sleep. This might be something fundamental, evolutionarily, to the role of sleep. 🧪🌊

Link: nature.com/articles/s41...

Predictive design of tissue-specific mammalian enhancers that function in vivo in the mouse embryo Enhancers control tissue-specific gene expression across metazoans. Although deep learning has enabled enhancer prediction and design in mammalian cell lines and invertebrate systems, it remains uncle...

Our preprint "Predictive design of tissue-specific mammalian enhancers that function in vivo in the mouse embryo" is on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... . Amazing collaboration by @shenzhichen1999.bsky.social, Vincent Loubiere (@impvienna.bsky.social,@viennabiocenter.bsky.social),... (1/2)

A conserved differentiation programme facilitates inhibitory neuron production in the developing mouse and human cerebellum Summary: Single cell RNA-sequencing establishes core components of the gene regulatory network that drive Nestin-expressing progenitor to inhibitory neuron differentiation in the developing mouse and ...

Out today officially! Such a cool story and I feel very lucky to have been involved - congrats to @sumrubayin.bsky.social and @jensbager.bsky.social along with everyone else involved! Was fun to get back to my roots in cerebellar development for a bit 🧠

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

Neural stem cell quiescence is actively maintained by the epigenome Homeostasis of the nervous system is maintained by a population of resident neural stem cells (NSCs) retained in a state of reversible cell-cycle arre…

So happy to see this amazing work by @annamalkowska.bsky.social out! A huge effort that ended in a really exciting story - read if you are interested in epigenetic maintenance of cell states and if you aren't, read it anyway! 🪰🧠🧬

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“A process which led from the amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously a progress - though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known"
- Bertrand Russell, 1976.

Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠

Glittering butterflies: Natural History Museum describes 262 new species in 2025 | Natural History Museum Over the last 12 months our scientists have been busy cataloguing the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth.

Our scientists have been busy this year!

From dinosaurs to diatoms, they have helped to describe an amazing 262 new species from all around the world! 🪸🐠🦎🦋🪱

Read more about this year’s new species list 👇🏻
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...

Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.

BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of seahorse male pregnancy - Nature Ecology & Evolution Seahorses have a unique sex role reversal with male pregnancy involving the brood pouch, an evolutionarily novel organ. This study uses single-cell genomics and in vivo experiments to reveal the cellu...

Cool work on how male pregnancy works in seahorses and other Syngnathids - brood pouch formation is androgen responsive. Interesting comparison of cell types to mammalian parallels at the end too!

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

I haven’t enjoyed reading a review so much as this in a long time - an in depth and beautifully composed overview of metazoan evolution through the lens of transcription factors and transcriptional regulation 🧬

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

Tiny pink and cream colored cube under 2mm stuck to the surface of a leaf. There were several, scattered around randomly, but the photo is cropped to show the one that was in best focus. The second picture shows a bit of my thumbnail in the corner, with sparkly nail polish.

Tiny pink and cream colored cube under 2mm stuck to the surface of a leaf. There were several, scattered around randomly, but the photo is cropped to show the one that was in best focus. The second picture shows a bit of my thumbnail in the corner, with sparkly nail polish.

Diminutive fairy wombat poop. Tiny cubes under 2mm on each side.

These are egg sacs made by a spider in the family Theridiosomatidae.

They made yesterday’s hike special. Finding something I’ve never seen before is such a thrill.

🌱 #nature #macro #spider

Neanderthal-derived variants increase SOX9 enhancer activity in craniofacial progenitors that shape jaw development Highlighted Article: Neanderthal-specific non-coding variants increase the activity of a human disease-associated craniofacial enhancer proposed to impact SOX9 expression in a pool of progenitor cells...

Really great to see more studies like this, exploring how tiny changes in enhancer sequences over evolution can have tangible effects on developmental processes! journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

Domesticated animals have pulled our heavy carts and turned our large mills for centuries. But what about the opposite end of the spectrum—what if the wheel you want to turn is so small you can’t see it?

Turns out we can harness the power of bacteria to power the world’s smallest machines.

1/7 ⚛️🧪

Enhancer-promoter compatibility is mediated by the promoter-proximal region Gene promoters induce transcription in response to distal enhancers. How enhancers specifically activate their target promoter while bypassing other promoters remains unclear. Here, we find that the p...

What is a promoter? And how does it work?

We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters

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

I am thrilled to share our latest story led by the incredibly talented Brooke D’Arcy and Camila Musso. We discover a rich world of local gene expression in radial glia, essential neural and glial precursors, and develop a new method for sub-cellular mRNA manipulation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Delighted that Ziqi Dong's PhD paper is out for all to read! Hypoxia is fundamental to normal development, and fascinating! Thanks to all of our co-authors including @jamesnathanlab.bsky.social @jellevda.bsky.social authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Congrats!! It’s such cool work, happy to see it out 🍾

Computational design of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 12 September 2025; doi:10.1038/s41594-025-01669-4The authors develop a computational method to design small DNA-binding proteins (DBPs) that target specific sequences. Designed DBPs show structural accuracy and function in both bacterial and mammalian cells for transcriptional regulation.

New online: Computational design of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins

A host organelle integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis Sea slugs steal foreign chloroplasts and store them in specialized organelles that facilitate photosynthesis and eventual digestion to mediate starvation resistance.

Very cool paper providing mechanism to how sea slugs can retain photosynthetically active chloroplasts (also love the term kleptosomes) - www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Congratulations!! 🎉

A map of flight paths emanating from breeding colony of gulls, with this caption: Early on, LifeWatch noticed something odd. Most gulls were making daily trips to Mouscron, a city on the French border 65 km away. They went to investigate and found the birds bingeing on discarded snacks at the Roger & Roger potato factory.

Today in relatable science: Gulls making a mysterious daily trip that turned out to be to a potato chip factory

My Cyclops (type of freshwater copepod) culture is teeming with life 🧫