Protists, microscopy, biophysics, evolution. Interested in how cells control shape and movement https://www.benlarson.org Natura in minimis maxima Asst Prof, RPI | Postdoc, UCSF, Wallace Marshall | PhD, UCBerkeley, Nicole King | BA, Physics, Reed College
Cell biology: Cytoplasmic rivers carry molecular cargo: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Cell biology: Cytoplasmic rivers carry molecular cargoMolecules in the cytoplasm of an animal cell move by diffusion, motor activity, and/or
fluid flow. A recent study demonstrates how directed, but often subtle, cytoplasmic
drift currents carry cytoskel...www.cell.com
Do #tintinnids dream of electric sheep? 🤯 Here is a single cell capable of building a lorica and living inside it for protection... it also swims, feeds, hunts Can even detect and habituate to mechanical cues! #celllearning #protistsonsky #cilia Read more in our preprint doi.org/10.64898/202...
If you haven't already, read their paper here: www.cell.com/current-biol... 3/3
An adaptable, self-organizing, single-cell morphology circuit optimizes suctorian predatory trap structureXu et al. investigate the morphological plasticity of tentacle feeding traps in the
suctorian ciliate Podophrya collini. They uncover a self-organizing morphology circuit
that adaptively rewires tenta...www.cell.com
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Semester in Biological Discovery (SBD) | Marine Biological LaboratoryThe MBL's Semester in Biological Discovery (SBD) is a 12-week program that provides an immersive research experience in discovery-driven biological sciences modeled on the MBL's world-renowned Advanced Research Training Courses. The SBD program is also ...mbl.edu
Excited to share our new paper, now published in Nature Cell Biology! 🎉 We asked a fundamental question in cell biology: How do cells maintain polarity while migrating? Especially how do cancer cells navigate confined spaces? www.nature.com/articles/s41556-026-01981-1
CD44 restricts EGFR mobility to polarize cytoskeletal signalling modules driving bleb-based migration - Nature Cell BiologyJha et al. show that the transmembrane protein CD44 restricts EGFR mobility to maintain an EGFR–PI3K–Rac gradient during bleb-based cell migration.www.nature.com
Had a blast putting this video abstract together with colleagues for @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social story in @currentbiology.bsky.social on how the "vampire cell" P. collini builds the perfect feeding trap 👀. Be sure to check out the full paper: www.cell.com/current-biol... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikzm...
A cellular vampire builds the perfect feeding trap / Curr. Biol., June 24, 2026 (Vol. 36, Issue 14)YouTube video by Cell Presswww.youtube.com
1/11 🤩Sooooo happy to see this work on a new new group #algae. Looks like #centrohelids - predatory ancient eukaryotic lineage sometimes harbor vertically-inherited plastids from #dictyochophytes. Amazing work, @annewalraven.bsky.social, glad to be on board! More below:
Anne WalravenVery excited that the preprint of the main paper of my PhD is now out! We show that Meringosphaera is the first centrohelid with permanent plastids: doi.org/10.64898/202... @zlatogursky.bsky.social, @pjkeelinglab.bsky.social, prof. Rachel A. Foster, and @fburki.bsky.social #protistsonsky
@zjmaggiexu.bsky.social's story on suctorian trap structure adaptation is now online in @currentbiology.bsky.social , with new evolutionary analyses and modeling! This fall, Maggie will keep exploring predatory protists as a PD in @nbellono.bsky.social group; keep an eye out for her she's amazing!
www.sciencedirect.comScott CoyleHow do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
Folks, mind the suctorian trap!
Zhejing (Maggie) XuOur updated full story on suctorian trap structure adaptation now online in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Huge thanks to Scott and all the co-authors for all the wow moments along the way! Also, if you’d like some new #protist #suctorian, let’s know! (They are surprisingly easy roommates/predators) 🤠
I had a ton of fun the other day talking with @nonresidentdesi.bsky.social and @scifri.bsky.social 's Flora Lichtman and Rasha Aridi about murderous microbes and the things that we are trying to learn from them. Happy for the opportunity to bring some new awareness to the world of protists!
Science FridayResearchers like Ben Larson and Glen D’Souza are piecing together the world of killer microbes, including why they turn on each other and if their tiny weapons could be harnessed to fight disease. Listen to the podcast now: www.sciencefriday.com/segments/kil...