The Milinkovitch-Tzika lab
@LANEVOL
Our biologists, physicists, computer scientists & mathematicians investigate the evolution & development of Life’s complexity 🐊 🐍 🦎 @genevunige @UNIGEnews
🐊 Our multilingual video on the mechanics behind crocodile head scale patterning has now reached 25,000+ views! Discover how skin folds—not genes—shape these stunning patterns. 🎥 Watch here: youtube.com/playlist?list=… #CrocodileScales #Science #NaturePaper #Mechanobiology
🐢 The tortoise head is sculpted by physics and genes! Our new research shows that tortoise head scales form through two distinct processes: 👉 Chemical signaling shapes the sides 👉 Mechanical stress folds the top 🔗 cell.com/iscience/fullt… @UNIGEnews @CellPressNews
Animal appendages, such as feathers, hair, and scales, usually develop as genetically controlled units during embryo development. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as the head scales on crocodiles, which have been found to be produced by purely mechanical processes.
📻Interview du Prof. Milinkovitch @LANEVOL pour la #RTS : Les écailles de tortue se forment de deux façons 🐢 rts.ch/audio-podcast/… @genevunige @sciences_UNIGE @UNIGEnews
A UNIGE study reveals that turtles use both genetic signals and mechanical forces to develop the scales on their heads, highlighting a shared evolutionary heritage with crocodiles and dinosaurs. @LANEVOL #UNIGE #research #science ow.ly/yLVK50W6O2Q
Excited to share our new research in @iScience_CP ! We reveal that tortoise head scales are sculpted through two distinct developmental processes - chemical signalling and mechanical folding 🐢🔬 @LANEVOL @genevunige cell.com/iscience/fullt…
Hanging out with Stanislav Smirnov in 'Les Diablerets' (Switzerland). Great speakers at the workshop organised by Karsten Kruse and Jean-Pierre Eckmann. indico.global/event/9640/reg… Will we come up with a math theory of biology?
Can Turing and Ising models explain lizard skin patterns—and be reconciled? 🦎📐 We bridge microscopic cell interactions & macroscopic scale patterns across evolutionary divergent lizards. 👉 lanevol.org/news/article/m… #EvoDevo #TuringPatterns #IsingModel #MathematicalBiology
🚨 We make the cover of Open Biology! Boosting sonic hedgehog signalling in chicken embryos flips the script of skin patterning—chemical pre-patterns give way to mechanical folding. 🧬 From Turing to tissue mechanics. 🧪 ➡️ royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rs… @UNIGEnews @RSocPublishing
Thrilled to share that our light-sheet #microscopy image has been selected as @PLOSBiology's Featured Image for March 2025! This visualization captures the role of the sonic #hedgehog pathway in #feather morphogenesis. 🧬 Dive into the details: lanevol.org/news/article/p…
🦖➡️🕊️ From dinosaur simple proto-feathers to bird intricate feathers? Our latest study shows that feather development is highly resilient to perturbations. 🧐✨ Read more here 👉 lanevol.org/news/article/d… #evolution #feathers #dinosaurs #birds @UNIGEnews @Biologie_UNIGE
🔬 Conférence | Oncologie de précision : la révolution de l’IA Avec Pr. Olivier Michielin, médecin-chef, Département d’oncologie @hug_ge 📍 INGE, Rue Jean-F. Bartholoni 6, Genève — 1er étage, Les Salons 📅 Lu 24 mars, 18H30 ℹ️ Plus d'infos : inge.ch/evenements/onc…
🧐🔬 Les écailles des crocodiles ne sont pas programmées génétiquement, mais émergent sous l'effet de contraintes mécaniques ! Découvrez comment notre étude éclaire ce phénomène fascinant dans @PourlaScience 👉 pourlascience.fr/sd/biophysique…
Check out this baby crocodile emerging from its egg 🥚 🐊 and read our recent article in @Nature to learn how compressive forces sculpt their intricate head scales nature.com/articles/s4158… @LANEVOL @genevunige
A must read! science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… tunable metamaterial microwave absorber inspired by #chameleon’s color-changing mechanism (described in our work: nature.com/articles/ncomm…) @genevunige @Biologie_UNIGE
🐊 A stunning short movie summarizes our research on how the crocodile got its head scales. The following playlist gives you access to versions in English, Chinese, Japanese, German, French and Spanish youtube.com/playlist?list=… @Nature @UNIGEnews
How the Crocodile Got Its Scales 🐊 —we make the cover of @Nature ! Our research reveals that the crocodile head scale pattern isn’t genetically-controlled. It’s mechanically self-organized through compressive folding of the skin. 📖 lanevol.org/news/article/h… @UNIGEnews
Exciting news. We're expanding our online presence and we'd love for you to join us on our new Bluesky account. Follow us for the latest updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and exclusive content. Let's connect on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/lanevo…