Dustin Updike
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dustinupdike.bsky.social
Dustin Updike
@dustinupdike.bsky.social
Associate Prof, MDIBL | C. elegans germ granules | Hiding in the woods of Maine
Reposted by Dustin Updike
Schematics of our increasing knowledge of in vivo human primordial germ cell development, and a summary of the exciting hPGCLC maturation protocols:
@dev-journal.bsky.social @biologists.bsky.social
September 15, 2025 at 8:21 AM
C. elegans, ba ba ba. #Worm25
July 2, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Two cancelled flights, ten delays, and a 36-hour odyssey past Polyphemous, Scylla, Charybdis, and the Laestrygonians—but we finally made it to #Worm25!
June 30, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Ah, the joys of traveling anywhere from downeast Maine - our flight out of Bangor to #Worm25 was cancelled. Delayed, but not deterred - we'll see all you worm folk tomorrow.
June 28, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Part of the puzzle unlocked. Excellent work from the Phillips and Montgomery labs.
Argonaute-siRNA loading via the RNA-binding protein RDE-4 in C. elegans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.06.652520v1
May 8, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
🧪#Celegans - I am very excited to announce the publication of our latest finding in transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI) of learned pathogen avoidance - • C. elegans transgenerational avoidance of P. fluorescens is mediated by the Pfs1 sRNA and vab-1 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
C. elegans transgenerational avoidance of P. fluorescens is mediated by the Pfs1 sRNA and vab-1
C. elegans’ TEI of learned pathogen avoidance is induced by a third bacterial small RNA, Pfs1, from P. fluorescens 15.
www.science.org
April 23, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
The first C. elegans paper from lab! We find that, similar to mammals, tRNA-fragments (or the new name in the field tDRs) accumulate in worm sperm and can transmit non-genetically inherited phenotypes to offspring. We also find an RNase that regulates their processing, showing that length matters
tRNA-derived RNA processing in sperm transmits non-genetically inherited phenotypes to offspring in C. elegans https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.04.14.648817v1
April 16, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
Science thrives because of our dedicated researchers, students, supporters, and community members. At MDI Bio Lab, we believe in the power of discovery, education, and collaboration. Thank you for #standupforscience2025, believing in science, and being part of our community!

#standwithscience 🧪 🤝
March 7, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
Funding science is like betting on horses. Only with science, for each dollar you bet on a horse, you average getting two to three dollars in winnings. Also, you can bet on more than one horse in the field. Plus you learn something that up to that moment, no one knew before.
February 22, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
What an amazing discovery from Scott Kennedy's lab! A new splicing system that recognizes transposons and removes them from mRNAs! t.co/3p3wyxkYXX
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.14.638102v1?ct=
t.co
February 18, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
Fluorescently labeled proteins are essential to research. But we should never forget how messed-up their behavior can be. An example from condensates:
Fluorescent Tags Are Basically Never Silent
www.science.org
December 2, 2024 at 6:56 PM
For you or someone you know? I have to say, it's pretty great up here.
We are currently #hiring a faculty member in Regenerative and Aging Biology to address fundamental biological questions in the areas of #stemcell & #tissueregeneration, #germline development, ribonucleoprotein (RNP) assemblies, and #aging: 🧪🤝🧬

mdibl.org/careers/assi...
November 21, 2024 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by Dustin Updike
Ru-upping this thread from last year since the paper is now out! @chenshuliu.bsky.social identified a Piezo-dependent mechanism that enables C. elegans to sniff out “bad eggs” and target them for destruction. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 21, 2024 at 8:15 PM