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Maurice R. Elphick

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Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 6d

It was fantastic welcoming back Chema Martin @chemamd.bsky.social from @qmulsbbs.bsky.social at the Centre today 👏 He shared with us his latest work on spiralian larvae evolution, with fascinating insights on the timing of gene expression during development. Thank you for visiting us!

Chema Martin, wearing a dark blue sweater and green trousers, presents his work in front of a seated audience. Behind him, parts of a slide is visible on a screen. It shows a schematic of a planktonic larva.

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · 8d

Thrilled to share that the lab has been awarded a @wellcometrust.bsky.social Discovery Award to keep exploring the evolution of 6-methyladenine #6mA in Eukaryotes. We'll open postdoc (3️⃣) and tech (1️⃣) positions to start in 2026, please share with candidates or reach out if you’d like to join us.

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 17d

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

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Christy Schnitzler @christyschnitz.bsky.social · 17d

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!

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Jenifer Croce @croce-urchin.bsky.social · 20d

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

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Jim Al-Khalili @jimalkhalili.bsky.social · 23d

🧪 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...

BBC Two - Secrets of the Brain, Series 1, Episode 1

Jim Al-Khalili reveals how the staggeringly complex human brain evolved.

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Sep 15

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/...

Environmental Analytical Facility Technician - QMUL Jobs

ID: 7383. Title: Environmental Analytical Facility Technician. Application Deadline:

qmul-jobs.tal.net

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Daniel Krentzel @danielkrentzel.bsky.social · Sep 10

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...

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...

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Queen Mary University of London @qmul.bsky.social · Sep 4

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

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Ferdinand Marlétaz @ferdix.bsky.social · Aug 13

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

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 ...

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Alex de Mendoza @alexdemendoza.bsky.social · Jul 28

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

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

academic.oup.com

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jul 27

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

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

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 ...

www.biorxiv.org

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jul 23

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

Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Genomics

QMUL Faculty of Science and Engineering Research Centres

www.seresearch.qmul.ac.uk

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jul 23

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...

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jul 9

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.

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick, Anthony Ricciardi

The Linnean Society of London @linneansociety.bsky.social · Jul 1

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

“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).

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jun 28

Congratulations Pedro. Much deserved.

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Pedro Martinez @pedromartinezserra.bsky.social · Jun 28

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. 🥂🥂

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · Jun 28

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

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Imran Rahman @imranrahman.bsky.social · Jun 26

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

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...

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Christopher B. Cameron @invertevo.bsky.social · Jun 23

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

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · Jun 23

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/...

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

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jun 12

Neuropeptide receptors as therapeutic drug targets.

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

Targeting GRPR for sex hormone-dependent cancer after loss of E-cadherin - Nature

A study finding an oestrogen-sensing signalling pathway that promotes melanoma metastasis only in female mice emphasizes the importance of recognizing sex-specific factors in cancer management.

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jun 6

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

BPS Publications

Click on the article title to read more.

bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · Jun 2

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/...

Environmental Analytical Facility Technician - QMUL Jobs

ID: 6011. Title: Environmental Analytical Facility Technician. Application Deadline:

qmul-jobs.tal.net

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Allan Carrillo-Baltodano @allancarbal.bsky.social · Jun 2

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

Image shows larvae of four different species of marine annelid worms, stained for muscle (magenta) and cilia (yellow). All with lateral views, with the mouth towards the left, and the future head pointing up. Images are to scale.

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Matouš Elphick @matous-elphick.bsky.social · Jun 1

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...

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...

fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick

Laurent Formery @laurentformery.bsky.social · May 31

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

@lowelab.bsky.social

by Maurice R. Elphick

Maurice Elphick @mauriceelphick.bsky.social · May 30

Very interesting paper.

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

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...

Reposted by Maurice R. Elphick, Mónica Medina

Gaspar Jekely @jekely.biologists.social.ap.brid.gy · May 26

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 […]

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