Bonnie Kircher
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holyanole.bsky.social
Bonnie Kircher
@holyanole.bsky.social
83 followers 57 following 11 posts
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holyanole.bsky.social
@a-weberling.bsky.social & I characterize oogenesis from initiation in the germinal bed to ovulatory follicles for the first time in the brown anole, a powerful reptile model for evo-devo & functional genetics!
Full preprint here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 24, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
aaronhgriffing.bsky.social
Sphaerodactylus geckos loom large in my mind (but sit small on my hand)
an adult miniaturized gecko, Sphaerodactylus macrolepis, sitting on top of my thumb
August 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
lucksmith.bsky.social
i was told a US donor site to support FlyBase will be live shortly, which we should all broadcast to everyone we can. however, there is a delay (red tape) to be able to provide invoices to bill grants, but its in process. 🪰
August 14, 2025 at 12:04 PM
holyanole.bsky.social
@a-weberling.bsky.social , @shylonatasha.bsky.social et al. continue to provided stunning images and insight into early reptilian development with this new paper on chameleon embryogenesis 🦎🥚. Check it out!
a-weberling.bsky.social Antonia Weberling @a-weberling.bsky.social · Aug 11
1/6
Preprint Alert
Ever thought that humans & chameleons look alike?
We follow chameleon development from fertilisation to oviposition & uncover the process through which they form an epiblast lumen that exhibits striking similarity to human embryos
#devbio #evodevo

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
August 14, 2025 at 2:17 PM
holyanole.bsky.social
Very cool work on embryo-yolk signaling in zebrafish!!
a-weberling.bsky.social Antonia Weberling @a-weberling.bsky.social · Jun 20
The preprint of my dear friend Svetlana Jovanic showing that
"cell behaviour during gastrulation is robust to the deficiency of yolk topology & signalling originating from the yolk syncytial layer."
is now online!
Super interesting read! #zebrafish #embroids #DevBio

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 21, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
rogerslabucd.bsky.social
Yet another heartbreaking and short sighted decision. The folks at NSF are so supportive of the scientific community. Their funding is what has allowed my lab to grow and succeed. These cuts are so destructive.
jonlambert.bsky.social Jonathan Lambert @jonlambert.bsky.social · Feb 18
NEW: NSF confirmed that they fired 168 employees today, out of their staff of ~1,500 feds.

This includes some people who'd finished their 1-year probationary periods, which were extended to 2-years last month without explanation. More to come.
February 18, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
cppape.bsky.social
After a long journey, Segment Anything for Microscopy is now published in Nature Methods! We significantly improve SAM for interactive and automatic segmentation in light and electron microscopy and build a user-friendly tool.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Improvements in LM (top) and EM (bottom) of our micro-sam model (finetuned) compared to the default SAM model.
February 12, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
rrbehringer.bsky.social
Here is the 2025 embryo alphabet from alligator to zebrafish. Developmental biology is stunning & leads to important discoveries for human medicine.
@socdevbio.bsky.social
February 1, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
rogerslabucd.bsky.social
This is a fantastic program! You can apply as a mentor to work with a student who will travel to your lab, or you can apply as a mentor to work with one of your current students. I highly recommend it! I have done both and it’s been so rewarding. ❤️
socdevbio.bsky.social Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · Feb 3
We are extending the #ChooseDevelopment application deadline to Wednesday, February 5, 11:59 PM ET. Undergrads from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, first-generation college students, veterans & students with a disability are eligible. bit.ly/3FwHqYp #devbio
Society for Developmental Biology Logo - Choose Development Paid Summer Undergraduate Research Training Mission To broaden the scientific workforce by preparing undergraduate students to enter doctoral programs in developmental biology with enriched mentored research experiences for two summers. Overview Two 10-week summer research internships in the lab of an SDB member Receive $5500 stipend each summer Receive guidance and support from a team of mentors Network with the developmental biology community Present summer research at the next SDB annual meeting Eligibility Undergraduate student from underrepresented group(s), first generation college student, veteran, or undergraduate student with a disability U.S. citizen or permanent resident Interest to pursue a doctoral degree Photo of woman in lab coat pipetting a solution QR Code to Choose Development website Application Deadline Extended: February 5, 2025, 11:59 PM ET www.sdbonline.org/choose_development
February 3, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
ericboodman.bsky.social
NSF froze payments to researchers.

State AGs said it was unconstitutional for exec branch to pause congressionally mandated funds.

Judge issued restraining order.

Payments resumed.

But some inconsistencies in what the NSF has said (thread):
www.statnews.com/2025/02/02/n...
National Science Foundation restores payments after five-day pause, but worries over science funding persist
The NSF said on Sunday that its payment system was back on line, after it froze out researchers and sparked financial worries.
www.statnews.com
February 2, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
afroherper.bsky.social
Hi, I'm Earyn, and I'm a lizard scientist! I created a game to teach people about lizards and increase the representation of Black women as herpetologists. #findthatlizard is a Where's Waldo-esque game where there is a lizard camouflaged in its environment. Your challenge is to find it. Will you? 🦎
February 1, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
stairwaytokevin.bsky.social
The dismantling of American Science continues. The Organismal Response to Climate Change grant call has been cancelled. The NSF Director is a disgrace
Email text: [EXT] Grants.gov Opportunities Update External Email The following grant opportunities were created, updated, or deleted on Grants.gov: NSF National Science Foundation 25-504 - Organismal Response to Climate Change Deletion Comments: Opportunity deleted
February 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
stairwaytokevin.bsky.social
Still frozen out. We’re getting word that people getting Universities to reach out to NSF over this & broader freeze may put pressure on them & help resolve this. If folks could start contacting their uni admin with complaints to forward to NSF (hopefully you know who to contact) it’d help a lot
stairwaytokevin.bsky.social Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jan 29
To expand on this, right now ~200 postdoc fellows directly funded by NSF are locked out of their salary &research funds right before the first of the month. No doubt other NSF funded grads &postdocs are affected as well. All requests for funds put in before the freeze are slowly being cancelled
stairwaytokevin.bsky.social Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · Jan 29
As of now, NSF does not appear to be changing course at all given the temporary restraining order or the rescission of the memo. I can't help but feel that the NSF director is failing us and his handling of this is indefensible. new.nsf.gov/executive-or...
January 30, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
socdevbio.bsky.social
The Society for Developmental Biology has released a statement on the Unprecedented Disruptions to Biomedical Research in the United States.
Scientific research is a driving force behind human progress. It fuels medical breakthroughs, spurs technological innovations and drives economic growth. Federal funding of research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is absolutely critical for ensuring that the U.S. maintains its global leadership in science and technology. The unprecedented freeze on the review and issuance of federal research grants is already negatively impacting research and could have significant ripple effects. Ongoing studies may lose momentum if grant renewals or supplement requests are delayed, slowing scientific progress on research the NIH has already invested in. Researchers affiliated with the Society for Developmental Biology carry out critical research on birth defects, which kill twice as many children as cancer does. Slowed progress will delay the development of new therapies and diagnostics, and thus have real public health implications. In 2019, the total estimated cost of birth defect–associated hospitalizations was $22.2 billion. Scientific research is also critical to the U.S. economy more broadly. In 2023 alone NIH funded research not only directly supported 412 thousand jobs, but its overall economic impact rippled out to all sectors of the economy driving more than $92.89 billion in economic activity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It is estimated that every dollar of NIH funding generates $2.46 dollars of economic activity. Finally, federal research funding not only drives impactful research discoveries but also supports the training of the scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future. University laboratories, funded by federal grants, serve as essential training grounds for the next generation of researchers even as they push the boundaries of knowledge. This training prepares young scientists for leadership roles in both academia and industry, helping to ensure that the scientific workforce r…
January 29, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
blw9786.bsky.social
As a NSF PRFB postdoc it would be nice to know if I can pay rent next month (crazy, right). In the meantime, for no reason whatsoever, here are a few ‘wasteful’ things I’ve done as a postdoc: been a science pen pal, helped run a booth at a science center, mentored a high school lab intern.
January 28, 2025 at 3:57 AM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
spangas.bsky.social
…the sentence at the end, “to the extent permissible by law, cancel awards already awarded that are in conflict with Administration priorities”.
peiferlabunc.bsky.social Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Jan 28
Yesterday President Trump announced a pause on all federal grant disbursals. While it is a bit vague on details, it appears to include research grants. This would be devastating to American science. If you have not had a chance, call your Senators & Reps 🧪
www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/p...
January 28, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
jbwallingford.bsky.social
Someone in 1st Century India got human embryonic limb development perfectly right. The progressive emergence of parts, even the timing, exactly right. Today, I'll start a new thing about the ancient origins developmental biology, the science of embryos. 🧵1/15 #TheLongBibliography
#DevBiol
#SciHist
January 25, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
liebschutz.bsky.social
All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.
January 22, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
nanopharmnc.bsky.social
I just reached out to my senators about the NIH situation. If you need to find out how much impact NIH has in your state in terms of dollars in and their economic impact here's a link: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research
Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.
www.unitedformedicalresearch.org
January 22, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
shylonatasha.bsky.social
Amazing talk by @zgrif26.bsky.social about orange pigmentation and ovaries and what connects them. #SICB2025
January 7, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
maggiehantak.bsky.social
I am recruiting a fully-funded PhD student for the fall of 2025 to work on phenotypic variation in amphibians! More info here: maggiehantak.weebly.com
January 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
jexpbiol.bsky.social
Congratulations to Kory Evans @sternarchella.bsky.social, winner of this year’s @J_Exp_Biol sponsored Carl Gans Award at #SICB2025. His #biomechanics research examines the role of modularity in the evolution of the #fish skull. Don't miss his talk: 7 Jan at 13:30 in Marquis D

Please repost
A photo of Kory Evans, winner of the 2025 Carl Gans Award
January 6, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Bonnie Kircher
a-weberling.bsky.social
Very happy that our study on early anole lizard embryogenesis is featured in the December #preprint list of @the-node.bsky.social

want to know more?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

@shylonatasha.bsky.social @thomsanger.bsky.social @holyanole.bsky.social @aussiebiologist.bsky.social
January 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
holyanole.bsky.social
Hyoids in action!
c0nc0rdance.bsky.social c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · Dec 28
Woodpeckers are amazing creatures, with tongues up to a third of their body length, wrapped around their skulls in a way that looks... *anatomically wrong*

But I want to highlight some recent findings on how they avoid concussions.

(📷: Getty Images)
A diagram of the woodpecker's tongue next to a red headed. The tongue loops over the skull, around the eyeball.
January 2, 2025 at 11:17 PM
holyanole.bsky.social
Checkout this awesome preprint from @a-weberling.bsky.social et al. with the first description of early embryogenesis in the brown anole! This dataset was no small feat to collect as much of early development takes place before the egg is laid!! Thrilled to have been a part of this project! 🦎
December 18, 2024 at 8:25 PM