I am excited to share our new publication in @pnas.org on the de novo nerve net assembly in Hydra embryos showing that neural circuits self-assemble through activity-driven processes, modulated by temperature and the microbiome. Thanks to all colleagues involved here! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Cnidarians are among the earliest animals to possess a nervous system. If you're interested in how neuronal circuits emerge and assemble in Hydra embryos, find me at the #NWG2025 @neurowissg.bsky.social conference and check out my poster on Saturday! (T23-3D). #Cnidaria #Hydra

7 PhD positions in Translational Evolutionary Research available @uni-kiel.de
Application deadline is March 27, 2025
Please spread the word!
www.kec.uni-kiel.de/news_events/...

Finally, the major part of my PhD is now available as preprint showing the de novo assembly of a functioning neural population in Hydra embryos!

Researchers challenged longhorn crazy ants and humans with the same task: maneuvering a T-shaped object through two consecutive open doorways. Single humans always outperformed single ants, but ant groups could beat human groups. In PNAS: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

@science.org isn't just a world-class scientific journal—it's also got the best science journalists in the world writing for it (I'm only a little biased😉). They've hand-picked the most memorable stories from 2024 for this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti...

The non-model organism “renaissance” has arrived
Meet 10 neuroscientists bringing model diversity back
@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...