Alex Donovan
@apadonovan.bsky.social
Biologist at the LMB, Cambridge, interested in human brain evolution and how stem cells behave and misbehave 🧠🧬🏳️🌈
Reposted by Alex Donovan
🌐Our new LMB website is live!🌐
Fresh design, better navigation, same first-class science.
Take a look around ➡️ mrclmb.ac.uk
Fresh design, better navigation, same first-class science.
Take a look around ➡️ mrclmb.ac.uk
January 19, 2026 at 5:25 PM
🌐Our new LMB website is live!🌐
Fresh design, better navigation, same first-class science.
Take a look around ➡️ mrclmb.ac.uk
Fresh design, better navigation, same first-class science.
Take a look around ➡️ mrclmb.ac.uk
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/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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.
www.science.org
January 16, 2026 at 4:31 PM
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/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
🧬🔬@science.org A genetically encoded device for #transcriptome storage in mammalian cells | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @broadinstitute.org
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...
www.science.org
January 15, 2026 at 8:31 PM
🧬🔬@science.org A genetically encoded device for #transcriptome storage in mammalian cells | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @broadinstitute.org
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
Visit our website for more details: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
January 14, 2026 at 9:55 AM
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...
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.
What a breakthrough! Such a puzzle for 30 years, this is real progress!
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers
The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...
www.biorxiv.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:21 PM
This is so cool!! One of the best examples I’ve seen of enhancer selection.
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
Link: nature.com/articles/s41...
January 8, 2026 at 6:54 AM
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...
Link: nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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)
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...
www.biorxiv.org
December 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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)
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/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
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 ...
journals.biologists.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
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/...
journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
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...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
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...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
“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. 🦠
- Bertrand Russell, 1976.
Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠
December 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM
“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. 🦠
- Bertrand Russell, 1976.
Time-lapse video of Vampyrella lateritia eating Spirogyra algae from Science Source/Oliver Skibbe. 🦠
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
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...
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.
www.nhm.ac.uk
December 16, 2025 at 9:33 AM
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...
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...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
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.
www.bbc.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:35 AM
BBC News - Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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...
www.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:17 AM
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...
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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/...
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...
journals.biologists.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
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/...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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 ⚛️🧪
Turns out we can harness the power of bacteria to power the world’s smallest machines.
1/7 ⚛️🧪
October 26, 2025 at 2:01 AM
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 ⚛️🧪
Turns out we can harness the power of bacteria to power the world’s smallest machines.
1/7 ⚛️🧪
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
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...
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...
www.biorxiv.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:06 PM
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...
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...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
October 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM
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...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
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...
October 11, 2025 at 8:22 AM
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...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
New online: Computational design of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins
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.
go.nature.com
September 12, 2025 at 10:29 AM
New online: Computational design of sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins
Very cool paper providing mechanism to how sea slugs can retain photosynthetically active chloroplasts (also love the term kleptosomes) - www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
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.
www.cell.com
June 26, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Very cool paper providing mechanism to how sea slugs can retain photosynthetically active chloroplasts (also love the term kleptosomes) - www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Alex Donovan
Today in relatable science: Gulls making a mysterious daily trip that turned out to be to a potato chip factory
November 15, 2024 at 8:15 PM
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 🧫
June 5, 2025 at 7:32 PM
My Cyclops (type of freshwater copepod) culture is teeming with life 🧫