Robert Kozol
@cavefish.bsky.social
He/him/his
Assistant Professor,
St. Johns University.
Fish evolutionary neuroscientist, musician and professional husband/dad
Assistant Professor,
St. Johns University.
Fish evolutionary neuroscientist, musician and professional husband/dad
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Happy to share my second paper from my PhD. This study explores a fascinating aspect of the evolutionary and behavioural ecology of the Arabian killifish (Aphaniops dispar): colour change and camouflage.
Enjoy reading it as an open access on @ecol-evol.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#colsci
Enjoy reading it as an open access on @ecol-evol.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
#colsci
The Geographical Variation of Colour Change in the Arabian Killifish (Aphaniops dispar Sensu Lato) From Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems
Animals that live in a wide range of environments possess plastic traits such as colour change, but most research has only looked at this within single populations. In this study, we tested four popu...
doi.org
February 18, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Our second paper of the year is online at @pnas.org. Led by recently graduated PhD student Anjali Pandey, we describe how seemingly symmetric neuronal responses can be mediated by underlying asymmetric molecular mechanisms. Link to longer preprint post below.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
February 17, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Our second paper of the year is online at @pnas.org. Led by recently graduated PhD student Anjali Pandey, we describe how seemingly symmetric neuronal responses can be mediated by underlying asymmetric molecular mechanisms. Link to longer preprint post below.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
#Fish #vision #deepsea
"The current dogma is that vertebrates develop cone-dominated retinas first, adding rods later. Here we show that larval deep-sea fishes have “hybrid” photoreceptors, expressing cone-specific genes in rod-like cells."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"The current dogma is that vertebrates develop cone-dominated retinas first, adding rods later. Here we show that larval deep-sea fishes have “hybrid” photoreceptors, expressing cone-specific genes in rod-like cells."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Deep-sea fish reveal an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision
Hybrid photoreceptors in larval deep-sea fish reveal evolution of an alternative developmental trajectory for vertebrate vision.
www.science.org
February 16, 2026 at 11:22 AM
#Fish #vision #deepsea
"The current dogma is that vertebrates develop cone-dominated retinas first, adding rods later. Here we show that larval deep-sea fishes have “hybrid” photoreceptors, expressing cone-specific genes in rod-like cells."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
"The current dogma is that vertebrates develop cone-dominated retinas first, adding rods later. Here we show that larval deep-sea fishes have “hybrid” photoreceptors, expressing cone-specific genes in rod-like cells."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Deepsea critters are just odd.
So you are a #deepsea #dragonfish who is going to emit red light to hunt by. Cool, cool. Obvously, you'll have a photoreptor for that red light.
Malacosteus says, "Nah...I will use *chlorophyll* extracts in my retina". 🤯
biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/dra...
So you are a #deepsea #dragonfish who is going to emit red light to hunt by. Cool, cool. Obvously, you'll have a photoreptor for that red light.
Malacosteus says, "Nah...I will use *chlorophyll* extracts in my retina". 🤯
biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/dra...
February 16, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Deepsea critters are just odd.
So you are a #deepsea #dragonfish who is going to emit red light to hunt by. Cool, cool. Obvously, you'll have a photoreptor for that red light.
Malacosteus says, "Nah...I will use *chlorophyll* extracts in my retina". 🤯
biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/dra...
So you are a #deepsea #dragonfish who is going to emit red light to hunt by. Cool, cool. Obvously, you'll have a photoreptor for that red light.
Malacosteus says, "Nah...I will use *chlorophyll* extracts in my retina". 🤯
biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/dra...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
And don’t ‘at’ us about gar and lungfish not being teleosts. We think they are super cool! 🆒
February 15, 2026 at 1:41 PM
And don’t ‘at’ us about gar and lungfish not being teleosts. We think they are super cool! 🆒
Reposted by Robert Kozol
When your #zebrafish know more Gen Z slang than you do 🤣
h/t @drjulieb.bsky.social
Source: zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-990...
h/t @drjulieb.bsky.social
Source: zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-990...
February 14, 2026 at 4:58 PM
When your #zebrafish know more Gen Z slang than you do 🤣
h/t @drjulieb.bsky.social
Source: zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-990...
h/t @drjulieb.bsky.social
Source: zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-990...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
This also applies to mentoring people in Academia. The trees and the woods 🧪
I used to be a secondary English teacher, and did my teacher training 'on the job' through the Graduate Teacher Programme, back in 2006-2007. I remember, when I first started in the classroom, setting some written homework for a class of Year 7 boys. 1/n
It cannot be overstated how much hobby gamers underestimate how unintuitive and difficult hobby games are to non-gamers.
This is perhaps even more true of professional game designers, publishers and reviewers/pundits, broadly speaking.
This is perhaps even more true of professional game designers, publishers and reviewers/pundits, broadly speaking.
February 13, 2026 at 7:50 PM
This also applies to mentoring people in Academia. The trees and the woods 🧪
Reposted by Robert Kozol
An animal model for cerebral small vessel disease
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
February 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
An animal model for cerebral small vessel disease
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
Zebrafish can be used to study the cellular mechanisms responsible for cerebral small vessel disease, which is a leading cause of stroke and dementia.
🔗 buff.ly/wchKmpT
Reposted by Robert Kozol
As we count down to #DarwinDay, we're re-visiting some great pieces on why we teach evolution! "Evolution isn't just a story about where we came from. It's an epic at the center of life itself." https://ncse.ngo/why-teach-evolution-1
Why teach evolution? | National Center for Science Education
Biology is the science of life, and it is arguably the most challenging of all the sciences. Not only does biology build upon the principles of chemistry and physics, it also adds new layers of complexity requiring an entirely different form of scientific analysis.
ncse.ngo
February 10, 2026 at 5:01 PM
As we count down to #DarwinDay, we're re-visiting some great pieces on why we teach evolution! "Evolution isn't just a story about where we came from. It's an epic at the center of life itself." https://ncse.ngo/why-teach-evolution-1
Reposted by Robert Kozol
New tool from @loicaroyer.bsky.social, for those interested!
GitHub: github.com/royerlab/nap...
Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
GitHub: github.com/royerlab/nap...
Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
1/ 🚀🧪🤖 Big update for #Omega — the LLM-powered autonomous agent for bioimage analysis in @napari.org ! Custom LLM endpoints, layer actions, plugin extensibility, agentic widget maker, modernized UI, & 30+ fixes. Here's what's new in version *2026.2.8.2*:
February 9, 2026 at 7:57 AM
New tool from @loicaroyer.bsky.social, for those interested!
GitHub: github.com/royerlab/nap...
Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
GitHub: github.com/royerlab/nap...
Paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
This is so awful I don’t know how to express how awful it is.
This is the Yale professor's explanation for why he described the physical attractiveness of a student in an email to Epstein. He explicitly says he regrets nothing about their association.
Again, I'm so happy Yale hired David Brooks to restore trust.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
Again, I'm so happy Yale hired David Brooks to restore trust.
yaledailynews.com/articles/gel...
February 5, 2026 at 6:44 PM
This is so awful I don’t know how to express how awful it is.
Reposted by Robert Kozol
From 1,750–2,000 m deep, we collected one of the rarest deepsea fishes out there: a one-jaw eel (family Monognathidae). Only ~100 specimens of this group are known worldwide and we hold the largest collection (~46), most just a few inches long… The one we collected though, 6 inches or 154 mm!
February 2, 2026 at 12:39 PM
From 1,750–2,000 m deep, we collected one of the rarest deepsea fishes out there: a one-jaw eel (family Monognathidae). Only ~100 specimens of this group are known worldwide and we hold the largest collection (~46), most just a few inches long… The one we collected though, 6 inches or 154 mm!
Reposted by Robert Kozol
February 1, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Reposted by Robert Kozol
“These studies establish hypoxia as the driver of heart asymmetry and reveal a mechanistic connection between the hypoxic cave environment and the evolution of a novel trait.”
New work from Jeffery Lab at University of Maryland 🐟 #cavefish
New work from Jeffery Lab at University of Maryland 🐟 #cavefish
Environmental hypoxia controls the evolution of cavefish heart asymmetry https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.29.702597v1
January 31, 2026 at 8:00 AM
“These studies establish hypoxia as the driver of heart asymmetry and reveal a mechanistic connection between the hypoxic cave environment and the evolution of a novel trait.”
New work from Jeffery Lab at University of Maryland 🐟 #cavefish
New work from Jeffery Lab at University of Maryland 🐟 #cavefish
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Some context before someone starts yelling at us for insulting zfish bsky.app/profile/zebr...
Scottish Physician Francis Hamilton first described the “beautiful” but “insipid” zebrafish in, “An Account of the Fishes Found in the River Ganges and Its Branches” after capturing it in the River Kosi near Nathpur 🇮🇳 in August 1810. Below is a copy of his original illustration. #ZebrafishFunFacts 🧪
January 28, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Some context before someone starts yelling at us for insulting zfish bsky.app/profile/zebr...
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Our Fish EvoDevoGeno Lab @michiganstateu.bsky.social has its 10th anniversary today! 🐠🐟🧪🧬🔬
Thanks to all lab members - present & past, pictured or not - for making the last decade a success!
& thanks to our partners in crime of the @brainyfishguts.bsky.social Lab, too!
#EndlessFishMostBeautiful
Thanks to all lab members - present & past, pictured or not - for making the last decade a success!
& thanks to our partners in crime of the @brainyfishguts.bsky.social Lab, too!
#EndlessFishMostBeautiful
January 26, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Our Fish EvoDevoGeno Lab @michiganstateu.bsky.social has its 10th anniversary today! 🐠🐟🧪🧬🔬
Thanks to all lab members - present & past, pictured or not - for making the last decade a success!
& thanks to our partners in crime of the @brainyfishguts.bsky.social Lab, too!
#EndlessFishMostBeautiful
Thanks to all lab members - present & past, pictured or not - for making the last decade a success!
& thanks to our partners in crime of the @brainyfishguts.bsky.social Lab, too!
#EndlessFishMostBeautiful
Reposted by Robert Kozol
🧪IMPORTANT! This graphic explains how science all over the US is funded. Congress approved a 2% increase in the #NIH budget for FY 26.
Buried in the bill-
Shift of ~40% of grants to MYF. This will still result in a 35% DECREASE in the NUMBER of grants funded per yr.
Russel Vought is behind this.
Buried in the bill-
Shift of ~40% of grants to MYF. This will still result in a 35% DECREASE in the NUMBER of grants funded per yr.
Russel Vought is behind this.
January 22, 2026 at 1:25 AM
🧪IMPORTANT! This graphic explains how science all over the US is funded. Congress approved a 2% increase in the #NIH budget for FY 26.
Buried in the bill-
Shift of ~40% of grants to MYF. This will still result in a 35% DECREASE in the NUMBER of grants funded per yr.
Russel Vought is behind this.
Buried in the bill-
Shift of ~40% of grants to MYF. This will still result in a 35% DECREASE in the NUMBER of grants funded per yr.
Russel Vought is behind this.
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Ah the good old days
An eye-popping discovery: early vertebrates had four eyes rather than two @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
An eye-popping discovery: early vertebrates had four eyes rather than two
Eyes on a face’s front or side enable a brain to perceive images. Fossil evidence suggests that two light-sensitive organs on top of ancient vertebrate heads generated images, too.
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Ah the good old days
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Drug discovery for nervous system disorders is really challenging. We think early/rapid in vivo testing with zebrafish will accelerate the drug development cycle for conserved targets. Check out our proof-of-principle pilot study and virtual drug discovery pipeline (tinyurl.com/3whr23hs). #Skytorial
January 21, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Drug discovery for nervous system disorders is really challenging. We think early/rapid in vivo testing with zebrafish will accelerate the drug development cycle for conserved targets. Check out our proof-of-principle pilot study and virtual drug discovery pipeline (tinyurl.com/3whr23hs). #Skytorial
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Researchers have engineered magnetically controlled fluorescent proteins that can be remotely dimmed and brightened in cells and living animals
go.nature.com/3NUSY12
go.nature.com/3NUSY12
‘Remote controlled’ proteins illuminate living cells
The discovery that some fluorescent proteins are sensitive to magnets could lead to the development of switchable drugs and biosensors.
go.nature.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Researchers have engineered magnetically controlled fluorescent proteins that can be remotely dimmed and brightened in cells and living animals
go.nature.com/3NUSY12
go.nature.com/3NUSY12
Reposted by Robert Kozol
Congratulations to Dr. Sylvie Rétaux, at NeuroPSI, who has been appointed to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honour! #cavefish
🎖️Toutes nos félicitations à Sylvie Rétaux, cheffe de l'équipe DECA à NeuroPSI, qui a été nommée au grade de Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur !
January 19, 2026 at 6:58 AM
Congratulations to Dr. Sylvie Rétaux, at NeuroPSI, who has been appointed to the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honour! #cavefish
Reposted by Robert Kozol
🥳
Exciting genome news! For those interested, there is a prerelease of the Ensembl gene models for the new reference genomes GRCz12tu (GCA_049306965.1) and GRCz12ab (GCA_05204075.1) at ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/database...
You can download gff and gtf files there as well as softmasked genomes.
You can download gff and gtf files there as well as softmasked genomes.
Index of /pub/databases/ensembl/pre-release/Danio_rerio
ftp.ebi.ac.uk
January 13, 2026 at 6:13 PM
🥳
Reposted by Robert Kozol
A male #cardinalfish rotates his brood of eggs.
#mouthbrooder #mouthbrooding #bali #amed #amedbali #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
#mouthbrooder #mouthbrooding #bali #amed #amedbali #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
January 12, 2026 at 12:52 PM
A male #cardinalfish rotates his brood of eggs.
#mouthbrooder #mouthbrooding #bali #amed #amedbali #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
#mouthbrooder #mouthbrooding #bali #amed #amedbali #tulamben #tulambenbali #chrisgug #gug #gugunderwater
Reposted by Robert Kozol
*steeples fingers* i know that's not how its pronounced, but cmon man, you can't tell me there's a fish called boops boops and expect me to stay calm www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118664-...
Bogue (Boops boops)
Boops boops /ˈboʊ.ɒps/; Greek: βόωψ boōps, literally 'cow-eye'), commonly called a bogue, is a species of seabream native to the eastern Atlantic. Its common name in most languages refers to its large...
www.inaturalist.org
January 10, 2026 at 9:57 PM
*steeples fingers* i know that's not how its pronounced, but cmon man, you can't tell me there's a fish called boops boops and expect me to stay calm www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118664-...