Oliver Harschnitz

Metabolism is traditionally studied at the individual cell level, yet its role during development is very much under-appreciated. @mongeralab.bsky.social, @matyasbl.bsky.social and Olivier Pourquié lab discuss this interesting interplay between metabolism and morphogenesis: doi.org/10.1242/dev....

Ever wondered what a cell has experienced in the past? This is in general hard to measure. Here we introduce the recordanelle, to equip cells with a tool that lets them record their own history. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natbiotech.nature.com @ethz.ch @bsse.ethz.ch

Nature research paper: Elp1 is required for myeloid differentiation and brain repopulation go.nature.com/3TZdDV5

Huge congrats to @aleborsellini.bsky.social and the rest of the @alessandrovannini.bsky.social lab for this amazing work!

IMO the paper of the year in the gene regulation field - such a clean and clear study, showing how promoter-enhancer contacts mediate transcriptional activation. www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

🎉 Our paper is out today in @science.org! How does the intestine maintain the right balance of cell types? We find that signalling rhythms matter! So proud of our three shared first authors, Sonja Weterings, @hiromuneeto.bsky.social & @jddeleede.bsky.social! 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Inducible human yolk sac myeloid progenitors model myeloid ontogeny and enable tissue-resident macrophage replacement in vivo Anna Martinez-Muriana et al. www.cell.com/developmenta...

📢 The ISSCR is now accepting nominations for the 2027 ISSCR Board of Directors and the Society's annual awards. Nominations are due 16 October. Learn more 👉https://www.isscr.org/isscr-news/get-involved-with-the-isscr-two-ways-to-make-an-impact

A weekend read for folks who want to get away from AI, Russian diesel, execution porn, and all that, and just read about some science. www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-lif...

An aptly titled paper shows, for the first time, the significance of heterogeneities of gene expression in the construction of complex systems : fate decisions are group decisions. Previously @biorxivpreprint cell.com/cell/fulltex... #MustRead #Gastruloids @Jshendure lab

SPARCS is a scalable platform for genome-wide genetic screening of complex cellular phenotypes with a proteome-level readout @cellcellpress.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... @v-hornung.bsky.social @mannlab.bsky.social @nik-as.bsky.social

Great to see this out from @vertesy.bsky.social and @knoblich-lab.bsky.social. A real tour de force, using barcoded monosynaptic rabies tracing with scRNA-seq to study single-neuron connectivity and molecular states in hPSC-derived organoids. Huge congrats to the whole team!

🧬 What controls how long an #mRNA survives inside a cell? 🔬 On 8 Oct, Narry Kim, Seoul National University & IBS, joins “HT Seminars: Connecting Discoveries” to explore mRNA stability, from viruses to RNA therapeutics. Register by 7 Oct 👉 humantechnopole.it/en/training/... @ilegnini.bsky.social

Happy to share the first paper from my postdoc @sagnera.bsky.social in collaboration with the brilliant PhD students @laiacaudet.bsky.social and @archimistry.bsky.social. In here, we investigate the role of miRNAs in the temporal patterning of the spinal cord. 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Very nice work from the Barton lab developing iPSC-derived organoids enriched with mature, myelinating oligodendrocytes and functionally reactive microglia. The model shows demyelination, myelin clearance by microglia, and interestingly also new myelin formation. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Nature research paper: Spatiotemporal clonal architecture of the newborn mouse forebrain go.nature.com/4xRHqwU

Perspective @cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social @michiganstateu.bsky.social Immunoids: Building immunocompetent organoids from human pluripotent stem cells www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...

Stem cell differentiation is controlled by manipulating RNA condensates go.nature.com/3X215du rdcu.be/QMNfdKz92Ypa

Intriguing set of observations on how ‘dual-aggregate gastruloids’ lead to the emergence of foregut-pharyngeal mesoderm co-development and patterning www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #gastruloids #MustRead

How are mRNAs linked to molecular motors in mammalian cells? In our new preprint, we show that FXR1/2 are RNA adaptors for the microtubule motor dynein. Our findings have also prompted us to rethink how activating adaptors contribute to motor-based transport (1/n)

Using snake airway organoids, we modelled reptile virus infection in vitro. With a new Python Regius reference genome, we show that our organoids contain multiple cell types, could mount an immune response and respond to antivirals. Work from @samwillemsen.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great work from the Bateup lab demonstrating how cell-autonomous defects in astrocytes drive neuroinflammation and neuropathology in tuberous sclerosis, independent of chronic seizures. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Terrific work from the @studerl.bsky.social lab, led by Donghe Yang, on the development of strategies to generate hPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons resembling the substantia nigra pars compacta (A9) and ventral tegmental area (A10) subtypes. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

“Atlas of cell types and regulatory elements underlying human facial diversity” @adameykolab.bsky.social & colleagues 🧪🧬 @natgenet.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to see this published today! Truly special because we made the initial discovery >15 yrs ago! We found two copies of a human gene called BC200 embedded in a human poxvirus. BC200 blurs the line between gene & transposon—both functional & mutagenic! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧵1/n

Super excited to share my postdoctoral work at @imbavienna.bsky.social @viennabiocenter.bsky.social - We discovered that some retrotransposons, or "jumping genes" 🧬, are able to spread from cell to cell via a new viral infectivity route. A short thread: 🧵👇 (1/7)

Today, the Toll-like Receptors reveal a new mechanism of signal transduction: Receptor-Free Signal Transduction. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Super excited to share this Forum article just out in @cp-trendsimmuno.bsky.social in which we discuss how dyregulated #IFN signalling can perturb #HSC 🩸 in Inborn Errors of Immunity #IEI that mainly affect nonhematological tissues www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🤯“Human cortical neurons integrated with the mouse nervous system & showed organized activity resembling developing circuits. The platform will be useful for obtaining circuit/behaviour readouts to study neurodevelopment, model disease & develop therapeutics.” New from @sergiuppasca.bsky.social lab🧪

On the usefulness of #gastruloids as a discovery tool for the exploration of early mammalian development. Previously as #preprint now out after PR www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thrilled to have arrived in beautiful Croatia for the 10th Rijeka Forum on Neurodegenerative Diseases. Many thanks to Stipan Jonjic and @ilija-brizic.bsky.social for the kind invitation.

1/11 Our newest study asks how far cellular reprogramming extends in the ordinary course of animal life. Metamorphosis offers the test of maximal severity: the wholesale conversion of one body plan into another. Out now in Nature Communications. nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77191-y

Can small extracellular vesicles guide growing axons?🧪 Our new preprint provides evidence that small extracellular vesicle (sEV) secretion regulates axon guidance at a key ventral midline choice point during spinal cord development. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #neuroscience #EVs #axon

‼️ Postdoc position open. We study how protein metabolism controls time. If you’re excited by this question, we’d love to hear from you! We’re looking for a motivated & collaborative researcher with a strong track record. 📅 30 September 2026 📢 Please share Apply here 👇👇

The first Danionella paper from the lab. Danionella cerebrum is transparent, so you can see all of the internal organs. But what sensory information are the organs sending to the brain? In our new preprint, Emily Bayer wanted to find out. 1/4 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Morphogen-guided neocortical organoids with anteroposterior areal identity

Very useful, comprehensive catalogue of striatal cell types in mice and humans!

Interesting link between aging, serotonin, platelets and COVID-19 severity. A new study in Science Immunology from @iannaconelab.bsky.social and colleagues identifies platelet-derived serotonin as a driver of age-related lung pathology following SARS-CoV-2 infection. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

It was an absolute privilege and pleasure to work together over the past years. I'm very excited to learn about the discoveries you will make during your next step. Good luck!

Goodbyes are bittersweet, but I'm immensely proud of everything Eleonora Conti and @nicolapalazzi.bsky.social achieved during their PhDs. Joining a brand-new lab five years ago took real courage, and I'm deeply grateful for their trust and dedication. In bocca al lupo, Eleonora and Nicola!

Embryonic stem cells for chicken and seven other avian species are derived go.nature.com/4gLAGcZ rdcu.be/fCiZk

Mark your calendar: Oct 6-7 2027 the first VIB conference on neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatry in beautiful Leuven, Belgium. Amazing line-up of speakers check below - in partnership with Cell Press - www.vibconferences.be/events/new-h...

Postdoc and Tech post! 3-yr BBSRC project studying cell biology of Wnt signaling: advanced imaging, genome editing and embryology. Apply now! work with Matthias Krause and Karen Liu labs. @matthias-krause.bsky.social Tech: www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/155666-... Postdoc: www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/155745-...

Human-specific genes in glia promote neoteny- beautiful work by @franckp.bsky.social and colleagues. www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

Beautiful study by Ikuo Suzuki lab on the impact of species-specific tempo of neurogenesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Temporal uncoupling of radial glia lineage progression in cortical organoids www.nature.com/articles/s41...

2 great papers on species-specific developmental tempo now @cp-devcell.bsky.social Congrats @trayon.bsky.social @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social @ebisuyamiki.bsky.social & their teams 🧪 1. On protein degradation in neural progenitors 2. On differences in protein stability www.cell.com/developmenta...

New paper from the lab! authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S... We find that protein degradation is broadly slower in human segmentation clock cells than in mouse cells, regardless of the degradation pathway or protein category! 1/

Good to see this out Mouse neural progenitors degrade proteins faster than human, driven by higher proteasome activity Increasing IRX3 turn over speeds OLIG2 induction, implicates protein stability in developmental tempo Great work by @trayon.bsky.social & co authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...

Very happy to see this story finally out in @natbiotech.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Fantastic collaboration with @lancasterlab.bsky.social on how to identify and ‘fix’ differentiation-compromised human pluripotent stem cells. @babrahaminst.bsky.social @mrclmb.ac.uk 🧵 below