Marine Biological Laboratory

It's #WorldOctopusDay! ?? Scientists at the MBL study the California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) as a model for development, neuroscience, and behavior. Bimacs are one of two species of octopus cultured at the MBL. In 2015, Octopus bimaculoides became the first cephalopod to have its genome fully sequenced. MBL scientists are studying how its genome compares to the human genome and are developing tools to test the genetics behind octopus brain, behavior, and their strange, alien-like systems for changing color and jet propulsion. Credit: Tom Kleindinst

A huge congratulations to Gary Ruvkun, former director of the MBL Biology of Aging Course, who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Victor Ambros for their discovery of a fundamental principle governing how gene activity is regulated.

It's #MicroscopyMonday, so let's take a peek into the ?? This image placed 18th in the 2023 Nikon Small World Competition! You're looking at a cryptocystalline micrometeorite resting on a #80 testing sieve. It was produced with image stacking and take at 20x objective lens magnification. Credit: Scott Peterson

Reminder: The MBL will be at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago this weekend. Come say “hi” to the MBL Education team in booth #1838 and the Grass Foundation booth at #1840. We will have a daily raffle of MBL swag and are cohosting a social on Monday, Oct. 7 at Fatpour Tap Works from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. See you there!

Your legs may help you get around, but what if they could also help you sniff out a snack? That’s a trick achieved by a fish called the sea robin. The fish, which lives on the seafloor, has an unusual appearance, with wing-like fins and leg-like appendages that it uses to walk along the ocean bottom. But in work published this week in the journal Current Biology, researchers report that those legs are also chemical sensing organs that can taste for prey buried under the sand. Check out the feature in Science Friday!

In case you missed it: This year, more than 500 students from 31 countries and 273 different institutions headed to Woods Hole to take part in one of the MBL’s Advanced Research Training Courses (ARTCs). Joining the students were 305 faculty, 206 guest lecturers, 269 teaching assistants, 216 visiting scientists and 554 graduate students!

It's #MicroscopyMonday, so let's take a look into the ?? Today's post comes to you from the Nikon Small World Competition. This polarized light image of the stomata peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) leaf epidermis came in 19th place in the 2023 competition. (40x magnification) Credit: Marek Mi? Photography

Learn how the scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole are studying novel research organisms to help unlock fundamental secrets of biology to understand the world and ourselves. Video produced by Jessica Rotondo. Footage: BioQuest Studios / MBL

Through our Whitman Center Fellowships, the Marine Biological Laboratory convenes biologists from around the world each year to advance the mission of biological discovery. Support is available for scientists to come to the Marine Biological Laboratory for 4 to 10 weeks to conduct research, year-round. Applications due Nov. 1, 2024.

The longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii), often called the “Woods Hole squid” by locals, has been helping scientists reveal the mysteries of neuroscience for decades. This 3D reconstruction of the giant axon in D. pealeii was taken at the Imaging Innovation Lab at the MBL. Squid giant axons are visible with the naked eye and can be kept alive for days after dissection, allowing scientists to answer fundamental questions about how neurons function, transmit signals, and more.