Chew Chai

The paper shows that conserved motif vocabularies constrain genome access in cell type evolution across species.

This study identifies conserved and clade-specific hypothalamic cell types across vertebrates using single-cell transcriptomics, revealing conserved transcription factors and rewired regulatory linkages.

The paper identifies ruptoblasts, a novel cytotoxic cell type in planarians, showing they use explosive cell death to release cytotoxic agents in response to activin, linking hormonal regulation to immune defense.

This study shows that whole-body regeneration in a flatworm occurs without conventional neoblasts, challenging the idea that neoblasts are essential for regeneration.

This paper develops a toolkit for live imaging of whole-body regeneration in flatworms, revealing neuron regenerative limitations and independent nerve cord reconnection.

The paper shows planarians use incoherent signaling mechanisms involving neuropeptides and neuromodulators to maintain behavioral robustness during brain regeneration.

The paper shows that injury triggers ultrafast Erk signal propagation in planarians, mediated by body-wall muscles, which is essential for regeneration.

This paper introduces Expansion Spatial Transcriptomics to improve spatial resolution and capture efficiency in spatial transcriptomics by expanding tissue before transcriptome capture, demonstrated on mouse brain samples.