• The FONDECYT Postdoctoral Research call is open and we are searching for candidates who may propose postdoctoral research projects. Our PI is always happy to hear from enthusiastic, ambitious, hardworking researchers who are interested in bringing their ideas to the lab and learning about the beauty of evolutionary developmental biology and marine invertebrates. We also have research topics that you might like. To know more, visit our RESEARCH section and our Twitter/X account. 

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• One of the few universal developmental processes across animals is the transcriptional awakening of the zygotic genome in early embryos. Thus, zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is fundamental for subsequent cell differentiation and organogenesis. In every species, ZGA involves the partly clearing (passively and actively) of the maternal contribution and the activation through a first minor wave of transcription of a few key genes, followed by a second major wave in which hundreds or thousands of genes are switched on. Nonetheless, there is still controversy about whether ZGA varies among species and to what extent this is a conserved evolutionary process in animals. With this in mind, our PI, Christina Zakas, and Rodrigo Nunes da Fonseca organized the Special Issue at the JEZ-B journal entitled "The evo-devo of the zygotic genome activation". We welcome contributions (brief comm, review, research article, hypothesis) to provide unprecedented information about the tempos, modes, and evolution of the key early developmental process of ZGA in animals. We also thank our undergraduate student (Ingrid Pinto) for this amazing artwork of the Special Issue. To know more, visit the JEZ-B Journal Website and our Twitter/X account. 

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• We begin March with excellent news! Claudio, our bioinformatician, got a super competitive scholarship from the Chilean government to conduct a Master's in Biochemistry and Bioinformatics at the University of Concepcion. Claudio´s thesis will focus on sequencing and annotation of a chromosome-level genome of Boccardia wellingtonensis, an annelid species inhabiting the intertidal zone of New Zealand, South Africa, and Chile. This species is one of the few examples of poecilogony, where two distinct developmental modes occur within a single species, producing different larval types. It also has a high regenerative capacity in its adult stage, able to regenerate all the sensory and muscular cells of its anterior area and all the circulatory and digestive ones of its posterior area. These features make B. wellingtonensis a delightful system for developmental biology and regenerative medicine. To know more, visit our MODEL SYSTEMS section and our Twitter/X account. 

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