Kevin Thiessen, PhD's Avatar

Kevin Thiessen, PhD

@kevinthiessen

Scientist at University of Bristol. Creator and Admin of @zebrafishrock.bsky.social across social media and Slack. Creighton Alumnus. πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈβœˆοΈπŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺπŸš˜πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§

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09.11.2024
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Latest posts by Kevin Thiessen, PhD @kevinthiessen

Big day today! I'm so excited to potentially tell you about it. Wish me luck! 🀞

09.03.2026 06:54 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm fortunate to work on the same floor with three amazing women at University of Bristol: @beckrichardson.bsky.social @hammofish.bsky.social @helenweavers.bsky.social πŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬ Give them a follow! 😊 #InternationalWomensDay

08.03.2026 13:21 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ‘€

07.03.2026 14:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Same year as the special issue! I'll never forget this now πŸ˜‰

07.03.2026 10:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I think I've got enough on my plate at the moment but I'd be happy to promote it on @zebrafishrock.bsky.social. Always happy to support @biologists.bsky.social

07.03.2026 09:05 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not sure if you meant to do this but the trend is under the hashtag #FluorescenceFriday FYI. Just trying to increase your reach! πŸ˜€

07.03.2026 09:00 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This gives me an amazing idea for science communication and outreach! 🀩 #CtenophoresRock

07.03.2026 05:52 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
DIC images of developing Mnemiopsis embryos at various stages, beginning with a zygote in (A) until 9 hpf in (P). (A) Zygote. (B) 2-cell stage. (C) 4-cell stage. (D) 8-cell stage. (E) 16-cell stage. (F, G, H) 32- to 60-cell stages. (I, J, K, L) Gastrulation. (M, N, O, P) Post-gastrulation. The aboral side is up. hpf, hours post fertilization. Additional file 1 shows the embryonic development of the same specimen in a time-lapse movie. Taken from Figure 2 in Fischer et al. EvoDevo 2014

DIC images of developing Mnemiopsis embryos at various stages, beginning with a zygote in (A) until 9 hpf in (P). (A) Zygote. (B) 2-cell stage. (C) 4-cell stage. (D) 8-cell stage. (E) 16-cell stage. (F, G, H) 32- to 60-cell stages. (I, J, K, L) Gastrulation. (M, N, O, P) Post-gastrulation. The aboral side is up. hpf, hours post fertilization. Additional file 1 shows the embryonic development of the same specimen in a time-lapse movie. Taken from Figure 2 in Fischer et al. EvoDevo 2014

The part in this video can happen to a degree in other phyla but it's the asymmetric cleavages at later stages that really sets Ctenophores apart (see images below). You can read more about the process in this 2014 research paper from the Mark Q. Martindale Lab: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

04.03.2026 15:26 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

The comb jelly or sea walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi) undergoes a Ctenophore-specific cleavage program that is characterized as unipolar and holoblastic (total cleavage). This offspring came from a specimen found in Eel Pond in Woods Hole, USA. Credit to 2017 Embryology Course at @mblscience.bsky.social.

04.03.2026 12:57 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

It took me four years to switch to the UK language/dictionary on Word πŸ™ˆ Keep calling it estrogen!

04.03.2026 08:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

People get paid to do this?! 🀦 If you ever need a niche zebrafish-specific editor, you know where to look πŸ‘€

02.03.2026 16:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
a cartoon dog is sitting in front of a fire and saying i 'm fine this is fine everything is fine Alt: a cartoon dog is sitting in front of a fire and saying i 'm fine this is fine everything is fine

Me: Trying to get work done as an American living abroad

02.03.2026 11:52 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Cute lil' globby guy 😍

02.03.2026 09:02 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Happy #RareDiseaseDay! I had fun putting this thread together. It’s just a small morsel of the amazing #zebrafish work done by the Undiagnosed Diseases Network. For a full list of fishy publications from the UDN, see: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov?term=Undiagn... @zdmsociety.bsky.social @izfs.bsky.social

28.02.2026 14:23 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

@hammofish.bsky.social Check this out!

28.02.2026 05:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Turn down the brightness, please and thank you. πŸ˜‰

27.02.2026 09:16 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
a man in a suit and tie is smiling and says you sound unhinged Alt: a man in a suit and tie is smiling and says you sound unhinged

Usually that’s the kind of thing you keep to yourself πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜‚

26.02.2026 14:22 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Do you really have notifications set for all zebrafish papers? 😳

26.02.2026 12:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

This looks like a fantastic course! And Woods Hole is lovely, too 😍

25.02.2026 09:28 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

That’s very German of them. I miss those traditions and the unique culture of the region 😩

23.02.2026 06:33 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

They have an ethics statement in their paper that says β€œSampling in Greenland was carried out following laws and regulations and with authorization from the Government of Greenland” so it wasn’t illegal. Personally I just can’t imagine killing something that old. It’s like chopping down a great oak.

21.02.2026 12:39 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The preprint says β€œSampling in Greenland was carried out following laws and regulations and with authorization from the Government of Greenland” but doesn’t mention bycatch just long-line fishing. I’m becoming more and more cynical 🀨

21.02.2026 08:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Don’t get me wrong, I am a believer in the benefits of animal research but doesn’t this raise a lot of ethical issues related to capturing and harvesting of a nearly-endangered species?

21.02.2026 07:26 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

So exciting! Keep us fin-formed πŸ˜‰

20.02.2026 16:52 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I'm curious! Are you testing different temperatures or oxygen gradients this time around or something new? Any spoilers you can share?

20.02.2026 16:23 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Please help Zebrafish Husbandry Association get their measure over the line πŸ™ #ThatsHowWeShoal

More details ⬇️
πŸ”— to become ZHA member: www.zhaonline.org/membership
πŸ”— to vote (Please don't spam): docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
πŸ”— to current Constitution and Bylaws: www.zhaonline.org/constitution...

20.02.2026 09:09 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Could also be bad timing with AWS (US mirror site) using Cloudflare (which has been down sporadically).

19.02.2026 19:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Is this restricted to the US? It works fine in the UK. Could you try another mirror site and see if that works?

19.02.2026 19:51 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Very jealous! Do you find any other species in the shoal other than conspecifics?

19.02.2026 06:24 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Happy to have contributed the member news as part of @zebrafishrock.bsky.social πŸ˜€ Do check out the other features in the News Splash when you've got a few minutes to spare!

πŸ”— to member news: www.izfs.org/newssplash/n...

17.02.2026 12:56 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0