Karen Lange

Save the date!
March 2027 on beautiful lake Maggiore right outside #Milan, are you ready for #Cilia2027? 🥳
Stay tuned for more info!

C. elegans: An elegant experimental system for the study of cilia biology Caenorhabditis elegans is a genetically tractable organism that has become one of the leading in vivo models for cilia research. Cilia are not require…

My fabulous colleague (and ex-postdoc) @inechipurenko.bsky.social and I (mostly Inna!) wrote a review extolling the many virtues of C. elegans for the study of cilia biology. A really interactive and collaborative community of people working in this field too.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

electron microscopy image of a C elegans on a yellow background

🧬June's most-read Genetics paper independently validates previous research showing that #CElegans can inherit learned pathogen avoidance: buff.ly/HQgprLp

I’m pleased to share the latest preprint from the Iyer Lab! 🎉
We uncover a novel role for dynamin in regulating spindle pole assembly and PLK-1 localization during late mitosis in C. elegans embryos.
Read it here 👉 www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
#CellBiology #C_elegans #Cytokinesis
#Dynamin #PLK1

How do species remain distinct? Our recent collaboration with the Rifkin Lab discovered a new hybrid incompatibility between Caenorhabditis species that results in defects in the first cell division, like irregular spindles! We show how subtle changes in cell biology can reinforce species barriers.

Functional residuomics – analyzing how missense mutations impact cellular systems Summary: Functional residuomics maps how single amino acid changes shape protein function and cellular homeostasis, offering a new lens on structure–function relationships and disease.

An interesting perspective from Guangshuo Ou.

Functional residuomics – analyzing how missense mutations impact cellular systems

doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Heat shock proteins function as signaling molecules to mediate neuron–glia communication in C. elegans during aging | Nature Neuroscience The nervous system is primarily composed of neurons and glia, and the communication between them has profound roles in regulating the development and function of the brain. Neuron–glia signal transduction is known to be mediated by secreted signals through ligand–receptor interactions on the cell membrane. Here we show a new mechanism for neuron–glia signal transduction, wherein neurons transmit proteins to glia through extracellular vesicles, activating glial signaling pathways. We find that in the amphid sensory organ of Caenorhabditis elegans, different sensory neurons exhibit varying aging rates. This discrepancy in aging is governed by the cross-talk between neurons and glia. We demonstrate that early aged neurons can transmit heat shock proteins to glia via extracellular vesicles. These neuronal heat shock proteins activate the glial IRE1–XBP1 pathway, leading to the transcriptional regulation of chondroitin synthases to protect glia-embedded neurons from aging-associated functio

Neurons in C. elegans transmit heat shock proteins to glia via extracellular vesicles, aiding neuron-glia communication in aging. PMID:40533573, Nat Neurosci 2025, @NatureNeuro https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-025-01989-0 #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪

Less than a month. There was one academic reviewer.

Graffiti at the end of an underpass in Heidelberg saying 'LAB!'.

Some PIs will stop at nothing to motivate their lab members. 🧪

My first micropublication!

It reports a CRISPR-Cas9 guide sequence that I stumbled upon by accident and now use to make entry strains. I hope others find it useful too! #worms #Celegans

micropublication.org/journals/bio...

YouTube video by Kimberly K "Use More OP50" (2025)

Wanted to post a video we accidentally forgot to show at the Worm art show #worm25 from the Van Buskirk lab @cswormlab.bsky.social @baristursun.bsky.social

Hope you all enjoy!
youtu.be/7IMrOsmg5UY

I had the best time at #worm25 I'm feeling very inspired and I'm grateful for the wonderful worm community

#worm25 Tuesday Tips:

Don’t miss our special Plenary session on supporting the Genetics community, today at 1:30 pm in Mondavi, featuring @rogerslabucd.bsky.social and Pamela Padilla!

10/10 for nostalgia

A poster that has a spot where people could vote. It says what is the next best step? Humanise the whole complex 18 votes Try a different gene 7 votes Use endogenous gene 7 votes

I had a lot of fun at the poster session last night! It inspired lots of new ideas. Thanks to everyone who came by to help me decide what my next step should be. #worm25

“Do you have any advice for aspiring young scientists?”

“Do genetics.” *mic drop*

#worm25

The AI workshop has inspired me to never do a manual roaming assay again (assuming I can figure out how to use the tools described in the workshop) #Worm25

For #worm25, here are updated lists of 200+ researchers for the #Celegans community to easily follow:

C. elegans #1 (150 full) - go.bsky.app/HP1h3nW
C. elegans #2 (50+) - go.bsky.app/J7soTHG

==> Reply to this if you'd like to be added!

cc: @genetics-gsa.bsky.social

#CeleganSky 🪱 🧪 1/n

So much amazing science in the Neurobiology session this morning! #worm25

Finally made it to Davis! #worm25

My flight was canceled.... guess I'll try again tomorrow 🫠

Posted this 6 hours ago and still in Dublin 🫠

Starting my pilgrimage to #Worm25 ✈️

Congratulations!

I will be opening my new lab in September at UBC! if you’re coming to #Worm25 and are looking for graduate studies or a postdoc position, let’s meet! Vancouver + worms = perfect vibes. www.zoology.ubc.ca/~yeecs/labsi... Please share! 🙌

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C. elegans enthusiasts - join me and @stern-lab.bsky.social ‪‪for a pre #worm25 meeting online workshop on *Monitoring inter-individual diversity across multiple levels and timescales* - Jun 26, 2025 12:30 PM Eastern Time
us06web.zoom.us/j/8544967372...

please share!

I did a double take when I saw Crystal Rogers @rogerslabucd.bsky.social listed as a speaker at #Worm25 !!! Looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

I just used the new CGC European shipping hub for the first time and it was seamless!

I thought there would be more chatter about #Worm25

Interstellar.