M. Lorenza Rusciano
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mlrusciano.bsky.social
M. Lorenza Rusciano
@mlrusciano.bsky.social
Molecular Biologist, PhD Candidate in the @arnonelab.bsky.social at @szndohrn.bsky.social. EvoDevo & Echinoderms lover.
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
We are excited to share that we are hosting a hands-on course on "Electron Microscopy of Marine Environmental Samples" 🔬🌊
📍Naples, Italy 🗓️ 8th-11th of April 2026
If you are interested, check the program below!
Registration is open until the 12th of February. We look forward to seeing you there!
January 20, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
We mourn the passing of Peer Bork, EMBO Member since 2000: https://www.embl.org/news/embl-announcements/in-remembrance-of-peer-bork/
In remembrance of Peer Bork  | EMBL
EMBL and its community are deeply saddened by the death of Peer Bork, the organisation’s Interim Director General. 
www.embl.org
January 17, 2026 at 2:52 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
New findings on genomic regulation mechanisms throughout evolution | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
New findings on genomic regulation mechanisms throughout evolution
The conservation of genome regulatory elements over long periods of evolution is not limited to vertebrates, as previously thought, but also in echinoderms (invertebrates). This is one of the most not...
www.eurekalert.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
EMHOC’s preliminary program is out. Check it out to stay updated!
EMHOC 2026 preliminary program
EMHOC 2026 Preliminary Program Day 1 - Wednesday, April 8th 13h00 - 14h00 Arrival and registration 14h00 - 14h15 Welcome and introduction to the course Giovanna Benvenuto, Stazione Zoologica Napoli, ...
docs.google.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Our work on the evolution of the regulatory genome of echinoderms is now out in @natecoevo.nature.com. Led by my former PhD Marta Magri, Danila Voronov & Saoirse Foley. Great collaboration of Arnone, Hinman & Maeso labs, started long time ago with our missed José Luis Gomez-Skarmeta: rdcu.be/eXX8l
Deep conservation of cis-regulatory elements and chromatin organization in echinoderms uncover ancestral regulatory features of animal genomes
Nature Ecology & Evolution - Analysis of the 3D chromatin architecture and cis-regulatory elements in a sea urchin and a sea star reveals mechanisms of 3D chromatin organization in echinoderms...
rdcu.be
January 7, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
I am extremely proud and happy to announce that another paper from my PhD days has just been published in @natecoevo.nature.com on evolution of genome and gene regulation thanks to all the amazing people involved.

Check the paper out at:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Deep conservation of cis-regulatory elements and chromatin organization in echinoderms uncover ancestral regulatory features of animal genomes - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Analysis of the 3D chromatin architecture and cis-regulatory elements in a sea urchin and a sea star reveals mechanisms of 3D chromatin organization in echinoderms and the long-term evolutionary dynam...
www.nature.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:08 PM
It’s great to see this finally out; congrats to all - especially @danivoronov.bsky.social! 👏🏻
Exciting news to start the new year! We’re thrilled to see this work finally out in @natecoevo.nature.com, the result of a major collaboration between my lab and the labs of Veronica Hinman and Nacho Maeso, began many years ago with the dear José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 7, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Don’t forget to apply to this beautiful Electron Microscopy course at @szndohrn.bsky.social in Napoli, Italy by February 12th! 🌊 ☀️ Stay tuned for the preliminary program, in the meantime take a look here: www.szn.it/index.php/it...
January 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
I am deeply honored to share that my project NeurEvoFun has been awarded support from the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (FIS), the Advanced Grant by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, supporting fundamental research inspired by the ERC model. Excited for what’s ahead!
January 3, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Hawaiian bobtail squid maintain distinct microbiota in different organs, including bioluminescent bacteria in their light organs, by deploying immune factors with tailored expressions in each niche. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/QxLo50XPnyS
December 28, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
The "Electron Microscopy Hands-On Course" returns for its 2nd edition in April 8-11, 2026, at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy. Explore the course overview and start your application here:
www.szn.it/index.php/it...
December 15, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
What a nice way to end the year - last shift of 2025 on the EMBL beamline P14 on Petra III in Hamburg! With @mlrusciano.bsky.social we did x-ray imaging of sea urchin larvae and had the honor of using the synchrotron ourselves! Many thanks to Angelika Svetlove. @embl.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
In preprints: cell type-specific gene regulation through the lens of echinoderms

Periklis Paganos and @arnonelab.bsky.social discuss a recent #preprint by Jonas Maurice Brandenburg, David Aaron Garfield and colleagues

doi.org/10.1242/dev....
November 18, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Glad to see our phoronid genome study featured on the cover of @currentbiology.bsky.social! It shows how genome structure can be used to test competing hypotheses of nested topology and how derived structural changes provide evidence for monophyly.

www.cell.com/current-biol...
November 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
Bizarre Creature With 'All-Body Brain' Challenges What We Know About Evolution of Nervous Systems
Bizarre Creature With 'All-Body Brain' Challenges What We Know About Evolution of Nervous Systems
What other animals have we underestimated?
www.iflscience.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
My book 'The Tree of Life' is published in the USA and Canada today.

Available as book, on kindle and as audio.

I would be really grateful for reposts.

www.amazon.com/Tree-Life-So...
www.amazon.ca/Tree-Life-So...
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I am extremely happy to have contributed to this. Proud of @perievodevo.bsky.social & Jack! 👏🏻
Our study, just published in #ScienceAdvances and funded by @hfspo.bsky.social, explores the post metamorphic cell composition of the sea urchin juvenile, revealing that its body is head-like. Long considered brainless creatures, they’re all brain instead!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Single-nucleus profiling highlights the all-brain echinoderm nervous system
A sea urchin is a head with a brain-like organization and a vertebrate-type retinal signature.
www.science.org
November 6, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
I am beyond excited to share that my postdoc project @szndohrn.bsky.social and the @arnonelab.bsky.social is now available in #ScienceAdvances @science.org. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 5, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
New preprint out! Evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators control monoaminergic neuron development.
We uncover how ancient regulatory programs orchestrate the neurons that produce serotonin and dopamine across 550 million years of evolution.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Evolutionarily conserved transcriptional regulators control monoaminergic neuron development
To what extent conserved developmental programs specify homologous cell types is a central question in biology. Here, we address this by focusing on reconstructing monoaminergic neuron development in ...
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Reposted by M. Lorenza Rusciano
First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience

Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com
Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E

@jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social
The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution
Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...
rdcu.be
October 27, 2025 at 6:48 PM
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October 23, 2025 at 7:44 PM