Italy

Octopus vulgarishas emerged as one of the most intriguing invertebrate models in zoological and neuroethological research. Its complex nervous system, remarkable behavioural plasticity, and advanced cognitive abilities make this species a powerful organism for investigating fundamental biological processes, including stress responses and resilience mechanisms. However, the same traits that make octopuses scientifically valuable also demand particular attention to their welfare in experimental settings. In recent years, increasing evidence has demonstrated that physiological and behavioural stress responses in cephalopods can significantly influence experimental outcomes, affecting metabolism, neural activity, immune responses, and behavioural performance. As a consequence, inadequate welfare conditions not only raise ethical concerns but may also compromise data reliability. Within the broader framework of cross-kingdom stress biology,O. vulgarisoffers a unique perspective on how organisms respond to environmental challenges through highly plastic physiological and neural systems. Studying stress regulation in octopuses can therefore contribute to a comparative understanding of resilience mechanisms across biological kingdoms. This contribution discusses the dual relationship between animal welfare and scientific quality in cephalopod research. Particular attention is given to behavioural and molecular indicators of stress, environmental enrichment strategies, and refined experimental protocols designed to reduce distress and improve data robustness. By integrating welfare-centred approaches into experimental design, research onO. vulgariscan not only comply with evolving ethical frameworks but also enhance the reproducibility of scientific findings. Ultimately, recognising welfare as a central component of experimental methodology may represent a key step towards more rigorous and responsible research on complex invertebrate models.

SEB Conference 2026

Octopus vulgarisas an animal model: Integrating Animal Welfare, Neural Plasticity, and Experimental Reliability in Zoological Research

We are pleased to announce the Thirty-Eighth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-24), which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia at the Vancouver Convention Centre – West Building from 20-27 February, 2024.

The purpose of the AAAI conference series is to promote research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and foster scientific exchange between researchers, practitioners, scientists, students, and engineers across the entirety of AI and its affiliated disciplines. AAAI-24 will feature technical paper presentations, special tracks, invited speakers, workshops, tutorials, poster sessions, senior member presentations, competitions, and exhibit programs, and a range of other activities to be announced.

We expect for AAAI-24 to be an in-person conference – one author of all accepted papers will be expected to present work in person unless there are exceptional circumstances that prevent this.<br><br><br><br>

In order to access the AAAI-24 event page you need to register [here](https://aaai.org/aaai-conference/registration/)

AAAI 2024

The purpose of the AAAI conference series is to promote research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and foster scientific exchange between researchers, practitioners, scientists, students, and engineers across the entirety of AI and its affiliated disciplines. 

SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries, and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world.

**This year’s theme is “Resilience.”**

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SEB’s Annual Conference is celebrated for creating the perfect composition of research, new discoveries and collaborative connections. Be creative and innovative by exchanging ideas and knowledge with masters of biology from all over the world. 

Linking Iron Homeostasis and Hypoxia Responses in Arabidopsis thaliana

Butterflies present a stunning diversity of wing size and shape, yet the evolutionary drivers of this diversity are poorly known. In particular, many species harbour tails on their hindwings, differing in number, length and shape. Surprisingly, little is known about the selective forces affecting their evolution. Here we explore the hypothesis that tails might contribute to flight performance, which might influence fitness, since flight is involved in escape, patrolling and foraging in butterflies.
Here we focus on a genus of fast flying paleotropical butterflies,Charaxes, displaying a high diversity of wing shapes, including species with no tail, one pair of tails, or two pairs of tails. We compared the flight of 20 morphologically diverse and sympatricCharaxesspecies in central Côte d'Ivoire, using stereographic videography in semi natural conditions (an outdoor flight insectary).
We filmed several individuals from each species (leading to a total of 230 individual flights) with high speed cameras (120 frames per second), and reconstructed their 3D flight trajectories using a custom tracking tool. We then extracted flight variables to quantify the variation in flight behaviour across species.
We are now using phylogenetic comparative analyses to assess how flight parameters correlate with morphology, including mass, wing loading and wing shape quantified through geometric morphometrics. By contrasting tailed and tailless species, we aim at identifying the effect of wing tails on flight, allowing to better understand the drivers of their morphological evolution, and contribute unraveling the link between wing morphology and flight performance.

Why do Charaxes butterflies have tails : assessing the effect of wing shape on flight performance in a fast flying butterfly genus

This study investigates the aerodynamic effects of localized surface heating inspired by black wingtip coloration in long-distance flying seabirds. Long-distance flying seabirds frequently exhibit distinctive black-and-white wing patterns, with dark pigmentation concentrated near the wingtips. Because darker surfaces absorb greater solar radiation, localized heating may occur during prolonged flight. Such temperature differences could influence boundary-layer behavior and potentially contribute to aerodynamic efficiency. In our previous wind-tunnel experiments using 3D-printed NACA0012 and NACA2412 airfoils with embedded film heaters, surface heating improved the lift-to-drag ratio at specific angles of attack, and oil flow visualization suggested delayed flow separation under heated conditions. These findings raise the possibility that wing pigmentation may function as a passive flow-control mechanism. To examine the generality of this effect, we extended the experiments to additional cambered NACA airfoils (NACA3412 and NACA4412) under identical thermal conditions. Force measurements and oil flow visualization were compared systematically across airfoil geometries. Preliminary results indicate that the aerodynamic response to heating depends on airfoil camber, with larger camber leading to greater performance improvements under certain flow conditions. The study is further expanded to include additional camber configurations and a morphologically inspired wing model of the streaked shearwater. By progressively transitioning from simplified airfoil models to biologically representative geometries, this work aims to clarify whether black wingtip coloration may provide functional aerodynamic benefits during sustained flight in seabirds.

Effects of Wing Surface Temperature on Aerodynamic Performance Inspired by Seabird Wing Coloration

Beak morphology in songbirds is often shaped by feeding ecology. Granivorous species for example, have evolved larger, stronger beaks to crack hard seeds. Song production, however, favours rapid beak movements associated with high trill rates. This creates a functional trade-off between bite force and movement speed. The biomechanical mechanisms underlying this force–velocity trade-off remain unclear but may primarily involve differences in muscle contraction kinetics. We therefore hypothesise that species with higher bite forces exhibit longer contraction and relaxation times in their jaw muscles. To test this, tetanic contraction and relaxation times were measured in vitro for an opener and a closer muscle in five granivorous songbird species. We found that the stronger biting species indeed had slower muscle force kinetics, and especially a longer force rise time, compared to the weaker biters. These differences were more pronounced in the closer muscles. Because muscle contraction kinetics are influenced by fibre type composition, the slower contraction kinetics observed in strong biting species may reflect a greater proportion of slow fibres. Future work will test this by examining fibre type composition in jaw muscles.

Need for speed: Do jaw muscle contraction kinetics differ among songbirds with varying bite forces?

Turbulence is ubiquitous in the natural environment, yet little is understood about how flapping fliers maintain flight control in variable flows. Unlocking the characteristics of avian gust response may lead improved flow-control technologies for a rapidly evolving aviation industry. With this aim, we investigated gust responses in pigeons, Columba livia, flying in a custom-built avian wind tunnel that can be operated in level or tilted configurations. Dual-vein gust generators were used to produce gusts of different lengths and magnitudes during flapping and gliding flight. Pigeon responses to gusts were characterised using seven Motion Capture cameras to record wing and body motions at 200 Hz. Tests were conducted over a period of a month and the resulting data were analysed using a custom-built Principal Component Analysis. The principal components differed depending on whether birds were (i) gliding or flapping and (ii) exposed to singular or continuous gusts. Initial analyses were unable to identify differences in gust responses according to the gust length and magnitude. While it may be that much greater sample size are needed, our initial results suggest that birds are unlikely to rely on singular gust response modes.

Flying in a turbulent world: how do pigeons respond to gusts?

Neuropeptide Y (NPY)-related signaling, which is a major regulator of energy expenditure and homeostasis, is evolutionarily ancient with multiple ligands and receptors found across animals. One of the more recently discovered NPY-related neuropeptide families in arthropods, known as RYamides, have been shown to play roles in reducing feeding motivation in insects, including suppressing host-seeking behavior by female mosquitoes. Here, we highlight our recent progress in elucidating additional physiological roles of RYamide signaling in this important human disease vector. This includes examining RYamide expression and immunoreactivity in the nervous system and peripheral organs, deorphanizing two RYamide receptors, analyzing their evolutionary origins across bilaterians, and investigating their role in regulating ion transport across the adult mosquito hindgut. Through heterologous expression, we identified two orphan G protein-coupled receptors as bona fide RYamide receptors, exhibiting highly selective ligand activation in the pico- to nanomolar range. Our phylogenetic analysis reveals that, despite most arthropods retaining only a single ancestral RYamide receptor, a subset of mosquito species have two RYamide receptors, suggesting subtype-specific functional specialization. Abundant RYamide expression was detected in the nervous system, corroborating RYamide immunoreactivity localized to the brain and terminal abdominal ganglion, while the hindgut appears to be a key target of RYamide signaling. Finally, we demonstrate that RYamide signaling functions in an anti-diuretic regulatory strategy, as supported by elevated K⁺ reabsorption across the hindgut of wild type mosquitoes exposed to RYamide, whereas RYaR2-knockout mosquitoes showed no response following RYamide treatment. Thus, these recent findings reveal RYamide signaling also participates in hindgut-related physiology.

RYamide signaling regulates hindgut-associated physiology in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

In highly dispersing species, gene flow can obscure or constrain adaptation, complicating efforts to predict genomic vulnerability to climate change. When such species span broad and highly dynamic environments, this challenge is amplified. To address this problem, we leveraged whole genome sequence data from 140 individuals of the highly dispersing ecosystem engineer, the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) spanning 1700 km along the eastern Pacific ocean. Using bayesian selection scans, we tested for genomic associations with 17 ecologically-relevant environmental gradients and revealed evidence of adaptation to variation in pH and oxygen minimum levels among a latitudinal cline. Genes associated with these conditions primarily perform functions related to morphogenesis and cell signaling, respectively. Outlier SNPs were enriched for nonsynonymous and intragenic variants and were in proteins related to transport and cell adhesion. Integrating forward predicting models with future environmental data, we found low genomic offset scores, i.e., low maladaptation, in these populations and relatively little difference in genomic offset between populations. However, these patterns depended on the year, 2050 vs. 2100, and the global change model with more subtle differences among populations in models of lower environmental change, i.e., sustainability models. We show that some degree of adaptation to local low pH and low oxygen conditions translates to relatively limited maladaptation under future climatic conditions for this high dispersal species. The prediction of limited vulnerability could have cascading implications for the kelp forest ecosystem purple sea urchins inhabit, potentially foreshadowing more dramatic shifts towards urchin barrens with concurrent losses in biodiversity.

Back to the Future: Predicting Adaptation Across a Heterogenous Seascape

Undergraduate students entering Year 3 of Life Sciences degrees at the University of Glasgow commonly report that they lack a sense of belonging to their degree programme, partly as a result of large class sizes in years 1 and 2. To encourage collaboration and promote a sense of community within the Year 3 neuroscience class, we designed a workshop style session based on creative learning to engage students and promote confidence in their identity as neuroscientists.
In each 90-minute session, 25 neuroscience students were tasked with creating a model relating to course content on neuron structure and/or synaptic transmission, using sustainable playdough. Students were encouraged to work within small groups of 2-4 previously unfamiliar classmates. They were given the option of creating a scientifically accurate model, or a more creative interpretation. They were also encouraged to engage with their classmates’ models and explain the rationale behind their creations.
The sessions successfully created a sense of belonging within the cohort and encouraged collaboration among new classmates. Student feedback indicated that they appreciated being given the autonomy to choose the focus and style of their models, and that they felt a stronger sense of community within the class. Students also reported that the relaxed, and creative nature of the modelling activity facilitated engagement both with their classmates, and the underlying scientific concepts.
Embedding creativity within science-based curricula is becoming increasingly utilised and we have demonstrated that it can also be used to foster collegiality within undergraduate student cohorts.

Using creative modelling to encourage confidence, collaboration, and community in undergraduate life sciences teaching.

Virtual reality is a digital learning tool in Higher Education where users benefit from immersion within interactive environments. Peer-to-peer learning is a well-established pedagogical approach known to improve academic outcomes, social skills, and cost-saving. While both VR and peer learning have demonstrated benefits individually, limited research has examined how these approaches can be meaningfully integrated. This study implemented an evidence-based, peer-to-peer learning strategy within a VR lesson and proposes a supportive framework for its broad implementation within HE teaching. A staff-student partnership was funded by an SEB Education and Research development grant to use a bespoke Disease Diagnostic VR simulation which focuses on quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction to evaluate the research. Student participants were randomly assigned into two groups: those who worked individually through the VR lesson and those who worked in pairs and shared a single VR headset. We investigated the effects each approach had on learning, engagement and student confidence through pre- and post- activity questionnaires. The results of the pilot study will be presented during the session. This pilot study highlights the needs for a structured learning framework to scaffold student learning while participating in VR lessons. These insights inform the development of a pedagogical framework for embedding peer learning in VR lessons which can be evaluated in the future.

Virtual Reality peer-to-peer learning: a pilot study investigating peer-to-peer VR supported lessons in Higher Education through a staff-student partnership

Plant robustness to pathogens may be elicited by activators of plant immunity. Acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), a synthetic analog of salicylic acid (SA), is a long-standing plant resistance inducer capable of activating systemic acquired resistance.ASM effectively protects apple plants againstErwinia amylovora(the fire blight bacterium) orVenturia inaequalis(the apple scab fungus). However, we recently showed (10.1111/pce.70256) that pre-exposing apple plants to a short heatwave (max. 35°C) strongly impedes the protective effect of ASM against both pathogens, compromising plant robustness under challenging environmental conditions. Contrary to Arabidopsis, we found no evidence that SA metabolism is thermosusceptible in apple. Moreover, we identify no major alterations in the ASM-induced transcriptional activation of known defense genes upon heatwave. Here, we further investigated whether metabolic regulation could underlie the loss of ASM-induced plant robustness at high temperature. Untargeted metabolomic profiling of leaf extracts revealed more than 1,000 metabolic features, among which a subset displayed distinct accumulation patterns associated with temperature regime, ASM treatment, and their interaction. Focusing on features affected by the temperature × ASM interaction, we identified one purine whose accumulation correlates with disease susceptibility in ASM-treated plants exposed to high temperature. We explored to what extent this purine may serve as a substrate for the pathogen’s growth or virulence. Our current findings rather suggest that part of the purine enzymatic machinery is blocked by ASM at high temperature, which drives pleiotropic effects on plant immunity. Our unpublished results highlight metabolism as a key for plant robustness to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses.

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