Máté Varga
@mvargam.bsky.social
Developmental geneticist by training, science-blogger by choice. Interested in all things #zebrafish, #devbio and #scicomm.
Lab webpage: http://danio.elte.hu/index.html
Lab webpage: http://danio.elte.hu/index.html
And in case you wonder, why should you know about her: if you ever did a “blue-white” screen, you are taking advantage of the principle of α-complementation that she has discovered in Monod’s lab: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5339877/
Characterization by in vitro complementation of a peptide corresponding to an operator-proximal segment of the beta-galactosidase structural gene of Escherichia coli - PubMed
Characterization by in vitro complementation of a peptide corresponding to an operator-proximal segment of the beta-galactosidase structural gene of Escherichia coli
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM
And in case you wonder, why should you know about her: if you ever did a “blue-white” screen, you are taking advantage of the principle of α-complementation that she has discovered in Monod’s lab: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5339877/
1956 was also the moment when Ágnes Ullmann decided to leave Hungary - it would be another four years until she was able to manage to escape, under conditions that are just surreal, with the help of Jacques Monod - see Sean B. Carrol’s ‘Brave Genius’ or this: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...)
A Fortunate Journey on Uneven Grounds
I was surprised to be invited to write a prefatory chapter for the Annual Review of Microbiology. Indeed, I did not feel that I belonged to that class of eminent scientists who had written such chapte...
www.annualreviews.org
November 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM
1956 was also the moment when Ágnes Ullmann decided to leave Hungary - it would be another four years until she was able to manage to escape, under conditions that are just surreal, with the help of Jacques Monod - see Sean B. Carrol’s ‘Brave Genius’ or this: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...)
Emigrant Hungarians had an unexpected effect not only on the history of physics (Szilárd, Wiegner and Teller) but also on model organism biology: see also George Streisinger, whose family fled Hungary some 18 years earlier: thenode.biologists.com/doctor-delay...
The Doctor of Delayed Publications - the remarkable life of George Streisinger - the Node
It seemed like an ordinary morning, with the lecture on Drosophila genetics due to start at 8 o’clock. But when the professor walked in something
thenode.biologists.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Emigrant Hungarians had an unexpected effect not only on the history of physics (Szilárd, Wiegner and Teller) but also on model organism biology: see also George Streisinger, whose family fled Hungary some 18 years earlier: thenode.biologists.com/doctor-delay...
We used to have the iGluSnFR line, but not anymore (I think we got them originally from Champalimaud). Also, we have UAS:GCaMP5, I believe, and perhaps also UAS:GCaMP7, but in both cases crossed with some specific drivers. If you need, I can check next week.
October 31, 2025 at 7:41 PM
We used to have the iGluSnFR line, but not anymore (I think we got them originally from Champalimaud). Also, we have UAS:GCaMP5, I believe, and perhaps also UAS:GCaMP7, but in both cases crossed with some specific drivers. If you need, I can check next week.
For 2025 we went back to the high Tatra mountains - this was our second attempt for Slavkovský štít 🇸🇰 (2452 m) as the first one the previous day failed due to heavy rains.
We choose the Tatras so we can easily hop over to the @v4sdb.bsky.social conference in Stará Lesná (v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz).
We choose the Tatras so we can easily hop over to the @v4sdb.bsky.social conference in Stará Lesná (v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz).
September 5, 2025 at 7:34 AM
For 2025 we went back to the high Tatra mountains - this was our second attempt for Slavkovský štít 🇸🇰 (2452 m) as the first one the previous day failed due to heavy rains.
We choose the Tatras so we can easily hop over to the @v4sdb.bsky.social conference in Stará Lesná (v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz).
We choose the Tatras so we can easily hop over to the @v4sdb.bsky.social conference in Stará Lesná (v4sdb2025.img.cas.cz).
Ummm... a better version of our summary figure, with alt text.
August 30, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Ummm... a better version of our summary figure, with alt text.
Making a long story short: whereas zebrafish are happy with their buddies in the shoal, paradise fish are loners, who do not care (much) about the presence of their conspecifics. This makes them a more reliable test subject when tested alone in different behavioral paradigms, and during exploration.
August 30, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Making a long story short: whereas zebrafish are happy with their buddies in the shoal, paradise fish are loners, who do not care (much) about the presence of their conspecifics. This makes them a more reliable test subject when tested alone in different behavioral paradigms, and during exploration.