't was lovely to host @julianolab.bsky.social here @uniofgalway.bsky.social. Great presentation and lots of fun later on a pint with @jgahan.bsky.social @rmacgabhann.bsky.social @hrhorkan.bsky.social and friends.

I am looking for a new postdoc to join the lab. Interested in pluripotency, germ cells, and in investigating these in a genetically tractable cnidarian? Get in touch! We offer a long-term contract, excellent research environment, and a lovely city #Galway. www.urifranklab.org

The Hydractinia cell atlas is out. This remarkable animal has those cells, i-cells, that are pluripotent just like mammalian blastocyst inner cell mass. There is a difference, though––inner cell mass cells persist for only a few cell cycles before they differentiate; i-cells are adult cells.

Thrilled to receive a Discovery Award from @wellcometrust.bsky.social. We are working on adult, pluripotent stem cells in #Hydractinia. This animal is among the most regenerative creatures and does not succumb to age. Thanks to my team members and colleague at chromosome.ie @uniofgalway.bsky.social

Cycling in Ireland without mudguards is not a great idea. Fixed now 😎

This is cool, Andy. But it might even be a bit older. Here is an image from Muller et al. (2007), showing Wnt3 expression at the tip of the #Hydractinia male sporosac. this is the point from which they spawn. Would be interesting to look at some other genes.

Gonads and germ cells have an interdependent relationship in the cnidarian #Hydractinia. Germ cells secrete a TGF-beta ligand (called Gonadless) to induce and maintain the somatic gonad; gonads activate Tfap2 in pluripotent stem cells (i-cells) to commit them to germ fate
tinyurl.com/245rw699

#Hydractinia takes regeneration to the extreme¬in a new preprint, Curantz et al. show that dissociated, reaggregated cells can form a new individual. We also show how they do it and which cells types actually contribute to the new individual (tip: not many of them).
tinyurl.com/mr2s9zyf

Delighted with my lab's contribution to this study. We show that this feature of #miRNA is a general cnidarian trait. It has implications for understanding the evolution of miRNAs in animals. Was great to work with @yehumoran.bsky.social and his team!

Our friendly 6-years old kitten

Big congrats to Áine Varley on her PhD! Áine's fantastic work was published here: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

Happy #FluorescenceFriday (image by Áine Varley)