Maximilian Staps
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maximilianstaps.bsky.social
Maximilian Staps
@maximilianstaps.bsky.social
39 followers 57 following 9 posts
Post-Doc at Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research (@mpi-hlr.bsky.social)
Developmental Biology | RNA Modifications | Cardiac Biology | Alternative Splicing
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Reposted by Maximilian Staps
rorylcooper.bsky.social
🚨 Come join us @sheffielduni.bsky.social for a PhD on the evolution and development of feathers and flight! 🐣🔬

This project is supervised by @matt-towers.bsky.social & @alexgfletcher.bsky.social, and I'm excited to be involved as a project advisor. Please share!

www.findaphd.com/phds/project... 🧪
November 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
giulia-boezio.bsky.social
Thrilled to share my main postdoc work with @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social

We used genomic barcoding + scRNAseq in chick & human embryos to reveal a lineage architecture that reshapes how we understand neural tube development & cell fate decisions
🧵👇

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Hierarchical lineage architecture of human and avian spinal cord revealed by single-cell genomic barcoding
The formation of neural circuits depends on the precise spatial and temporal organisation of neuronal populations during development. In the vertebrate spinal cord, progenitors are patterned into mole...
www.biorxiv.org
October 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
snymark.bsky.social
Extremely important K+ and Ca2+ indicator development work in these papers.
plosbiology.org PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · Oct 22
Despite advances in green genetically encoded ion indicators, red ones have lagged. This Primer explores 2 @plosbiology.org studies that present red #fluorescent indicators for visualizing K+ & Ca2+ dynamics in culture & in vivo 🧪 Papers: plos.io/3YnCqRW plos.io/42niaSz Primer: plos.io/4nZKzXl
Principles of FRCaMPi and GEPOs. Top: Principle of FRCaMPi. The calcium-sensing domain (CaM and M13) is inserted within mApple. After calcium binding, the brightness of the sensor will increase. CaM: calmodulin. Bottom: Principle of RGEPO. The potassium-sensing domain is inserted within mApple. After potassium binding, the brightness of the sensor will increase. Kbp, potassium binding protein.
October 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
socdevbio.bsky.social
🏆 First Prize – DevBio Art Contest 🖼️
“A Model Meeting” by Karla Akari Garcia
Inspired by The Quaker Meeting, this watercolor honors animal research models, from mouse to axolotl, that have advanced developmental biology 🎨 A tribute to science’s often unsung heroes. #DevBioArt
October 22, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
xenbase.bsky.social
Ran et al. generated a retinal regeneration model and a tumor model using targeted integration in X. tropicalis (PNAS). Kagawa et al. provide a step-by-step protocol for knock-in targeted integration in X. laevis (DGD). www.xenbase.org/xenbase/doNe... #science #devbio #xenopus #frogs
October 21, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
timothyfuqua.bsky.social
A fun little side project I've been working on with @stepadenisov.bsky.social , Mato Lagator, and Andreas Wagner: "Strong promoters are mutationally robust". Briefly...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Strong promoters are mutationally robust
Mutational robustness is the persistence of a phenotype upon mutation. It facilitates molecular evolution and has been characterized in a variety of biological systems, but studies of prokaryotic prom...
www.biorxiv.org
October 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
elisabethbik.bsky.social
Hey @tandfresearch.bsky.social, - you should not allow authors to address photoshopped tumors by just leaving out the photoshopped tumors. This paper was 1 year old at the time of correction. Where are the originals?
Horrible editorial decision.
#ImageForensics
Screenshot of the original published figure (left) and the corrected figure (right). In the left photo we see tumors in a grid of 5 columns and 6 rows. Two sets of tumors are marked by me with blue and green boxes respectively. In the right photo the duplicated tumors are just left out.
October 20, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
cp-trendsgenetics.bsky.social
"m6A in the coding sequence: linking deposition, translation and decay"
by Kathi Zarnack (@zarnack-group.bsky.social) & colleagues

"This review explores [m6A in] mRNA decay, with a focus on the newly discovered CDS–m6A decay (CMD) pathway..."

Read it here:
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Figure 2. Overview of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) decay pathways. m6A acts as a destabilizing mark on mRNA.
July 8, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
natbiotech.nature.com
Durable epigenetic silencing with a TALE-based editor #NBTNV - @stanleyqilab.bsky.social go.nature.com/4q3YvRE
Durable epigenetic silencing with a TALE-based editor - Nature Biotechnology
Transient expression of a transcription activator-like effector (TALE)-based epigenetic editor demonstrates durable therapeutic silencing in non-human primates.
go.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
markus.reuter.netzpolitik.org
Der Etappensieg bei der #Chatkontrolle ist das Verdienst einer quicklebendigen Zivilgesellschaft, die es geschafft hat, in klugen und unerwarteten Bündnissen die Wichtigkeit des Themas allen vor Augen zu führen. Zeit, dafür Danke zu sagen.

netzpolitik.org/2025/protest...
Protest gegen die Chatkontrolle: So geht Demokratie
Der Etappensieg bei der Chatkontrolle ist das Verdienst einer quicklebendigen Zivilgesellschaft, die es geschafft hat, in klugen und unerwarteten Bündnissen die Wichtigkeit des Themas allen vor Augen ...
netzpolitik.org
October 8, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
events.embl.org
On #WorldMentalHealthDay, let's take a moment to pause and reflect 💚

Working in life sciences often means juggling a lot at once, and it's okay to seek support. Talking to colleagues, friends, or a professional is a strength, not a stigma.

#ItsOkayToAskForHelp #MentalHealthDay
October 10, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
stephenturner.us
Lost Science is a new NYT series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding. You can send your story to the Times here www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/c...
October 10, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
darthbluesky.bsky.social
u know who are skeptics
scientists are skeptics

being anti-science is not being a skeptic
September 16, 2025 at 11:12 PM
maximilianstaps.bsky.social
Quick question to the scientific hive mind: does anybody has some tips how to best transport live, adherent cells for 45 min from one lab to another?
September 15, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
elisabethbik.bsky.social
TK: Authors did not reply or replied that they did not care if the paper would be retracted - they just needed it to graduate.
Retaliation: we received lots of spam after retracting papers.
We learned that paper mills can abuse peer review system. Do not rely on author-suggested reviewers.
#PRC10
September 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
plosbiology.org
What guides fibroblast precursors' migration from the #sclerotome during vertebrate development? @penghuang031.bsky.social &co show that this is driven by #PDGF -mediated chemoattraction, enabling their differentiation into specialized #fibroblast subtypes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3HTZ92Y
Top: Transgenic expression of PdgfraΔK-EGFP (cyan) in nkx3.1:Gal4; UAS:NTR-mCherry (magenta) background at 56 hpf. mCherry+ EGFP+ cells are mostly restricted in the dorsal or ventral regions of the trunk. A transverse view of a 50 μm region centered on the dashed line is shown on the right, with the neural tube (nt) and notochord (n) outlined by dotted lines. Bottom: Model for how the migration of sclerotome-derived cells is regulated by chemoattraction mediated by Pdgfab/Pdgfra signaling. (A) In wild-type embryos, nkx3.1+ (cyan) sclerotome-derived cells express the receptor Pdgfra (magenta), while the medial somites express the ligand Pdgfab (orange) in response to Hh signaling. pdgfra+ sclerotome-derived cells undergo extensive migration toward both the notochord in the medial trunk and the fin fold. (B) In pdgfra−/− mutants (pdgframRFP/mRFP and pdgfraref/ref), nkx3.1+ sclerotome-derived cells fail to migrate in any direction and remain in their original location in the ventral and dorsal parts of the somites. (C) In pdgfab−/− embryos, pdgfra+ sclerotome-derived cells fail to migrate toward the notochord, although migration toward the fin fold remains unaffected. (D) In pdgfab−/− embryos with mosaic pdgfab expression, nkx3.1+ sclerotome cells can migrate toward the ectopic pdgfab-expressing cells, either medially around the notochord or ventrally toward the yolk extension. When the pdgfab source is located near or in the notochord, it can completely rescue the migration of nkx3.1+ sclerotome cells toward the notochord. These diagrams depict a 2-somite region located above the yolk extension of a zebrafish embryo at 48 hpf. nt: neural tube; n: notochord.
September 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
academic-integrity.bsky.social
The easiest way to get good looking fluorescence microscopy figures is to just do fine-tube them in photoshop! Silly PhD students spending years learning to create good figures. Beginners!
Huang et al. 2020 (DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116650) shows us how it's done!
pubpeer.com/publications...
September 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
kowaeva.bsky.social
Postdoc positions in structural biology of RNA processing complexes.

An ERC-funded position will dissect pre-mRNA processing pathways in the infective organism Trypanosoma brucei. An ANR-funded position will characterise large complexes in RNA modification.

Details: tinyurl.com/postdoc-RNA-...
Postdoc in Structural Biology of RNA processing complexes
Postdoctoral positions in structural biology of macromolecular complexes are available in the laboratory of Dr. Eva Kowalinski at the EMBL Grenoble, France. We are looking for highly motivated and amb...
tinyurl.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
ijayas.bsky.social
Essay mills shamelessly advertising on the academia feed. CC @keithwilson.eu
July 21, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
haoyin.bsky.social
RMBase v3.0: decode the landscape, mechanisms & functions of RNA modifications
The Encyclopedia of RNA Epitranscriptome

More than m6A
"73 RNA modifications of 62 species"

bioinformaticsscience.cn/rmbase/

@narjournal.bsky.social 2024
academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
July 20, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
mpi-hlr.bsky.social
Scientists from our department 'Cardiac Development and Remodelling' discovered, that RBPMS and RBPMS2 regulate cell division and function during heart development, ensuring that the heart grows and matures correctly. Read the full paper in 'Developmental Cell' ➡️ lnkd.in/efwafKkE
July 17, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
smwadgymar.bsky.social
Please consider eliminating your paywall on articles containing important information relevant to our current scientific crisis.
April 17, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
science.org
The National Science Foundation has put a cork in its grantmaking pipeline after billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency set up shop at the agency this week. scim.ag/4iowX4t
NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review
Action comes after DOGE team arrives at science agency
scim.ag
April 17, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Maximilian Staps
paveltomancak.bsky.social
The @embo.org practical course on #lightsheet #microscopy is back!

Join us in #Dresden for 2 weeks with #your #samples, try the complete line-up of #lightsheet microscopes, tackle big data image analysis, sample prep, OA hardware & much more

Apply now!

Repost 🙏

meetings.embo.org/event/25-lsm
Light sheet microscopy
Light sheet microscopy is a technology that enables near-isotropic imaging of large biological specimens over time. It opens new avenues to study biological processes with unprecedented imaging speed…
meetings.embo.org
April 15, 2025 at 8:33 AM
maximilianstaps.bsky.social
🤔
nerdychristie.bsky.social Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · Apr 7
Acknowledgements sections of dissertations pay tribute to everyone that helped along the way. But what about those that made it harder to succeed? Rachel Los made a section just for them. That and more from @science.org & science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
The point I was trying to make is that it’s incessant. It never stops. —Rachel Los
April 7, 2025 at 4:22 PM