#FossilFriday
Here are 3 beautiful Pentremites sp. Blastoids I collected from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous, Serpukhovian) Lower Bangor Limestone in Russellville, Alabama.
Here are 3 beautiful Pentremites sp. Blastoids I collected from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous, Serpukhovian) Lower Bangor Limestone in Russellville, Alabama.
November 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM
#FossilFriday
Here are 3 beautiful Pentremites sp. Blastoids I collected from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous, Serpukhovian) Lower Bangor Limestone in Russellville, Alabama.
Here are 3 beautiful Pentremites sp. Blastoids I collected from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous, Serpukhovian) Lower Bangor Limestone in Russellville, Alabama.
This is a Mississippian aged crinoid, Taxocrinus, from the Indian Shale Fm. of Indiana.
I've collected this site a few times and found lots of blastoids. Crinoids are much less common.
#FossilFriday
I've collected this site a few times and found lots of blastoids. Crinoids are much less common.
#FossilFriday
May 8, 2026 at 3:35 PM
This is a Mississippian aged crinoid, Taxocrinus, from the Indian Shale Fm. of Indiana.
I've collected this site a few times and found lots of blastoids. Crinoids are much less common.
#FossilFriday
I've collected this site a few times and found lots of blastoids. Crinoids are much less common.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday I got blastoids! Should be Deltoblastus from Permian Timor.
July 17, 2026 at 12:12 PM
#FossilFriday I got blastoids! Should be Deltoblastus from Permian Timor.
How about some Mississippian Burlington Limestone blastoids?
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sand dollars and crinoids with 5 point symmetry. These are Cryptoblastus, Poroblastus and Carpenteroblastus from Missouri and Illinois
#FossilFriday
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sand dollars and crinoids with 5 point symmetry. These are Cryptoblastus, Poroblastus and Carpenteroblastus from Missouri and Illinois
#FossilFriday
September 12, 2025 at 7:57 PM
How about some Mississippian Burlington Limestone blastoids?
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sand dollars and crinoids with 5 point symmetry. These are Cryptoblastus, Poroblastus and Carpenteroblastus from Missouri and Illinois
#FossilFriday
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sand dollars and crinoids with 5 point symmetry. These are Cryptoblastus, Poroblastus and Carpenteroblastus from Missouri and Illinois
#FossilFriday
I picked up 4 Pentremites blastoids from an old collection. These are special because they show color patterns and a couple even have preserved brachioles (tiny hair-like structures that would filter the water for food). These are from the Miss. Glen Dean Fm. of Kentucky.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
February 27, 2026 at 10:20 PM
I picked up 4 Pentremites blastoids from an old collection. These are special because they show color patterns and a couple even have preserved brachioles (tiny hair-like structures that would filter the water for food). These are from the Miss. Glen Dean Fm. of Kentucky.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model
Nature - Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.
rdcu.be
October 1, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
First human blastoids since I started my lab at Max Planck! Yes, I´m thrilled! 🔬
April 29, 2026 at 4:10 PM
First human blastoids since I started my lab at Max Planck! Yes, I´m thrilled! 🔬
Very happy to share the updated version of our bioRxiv preprint. New experiments further support a role for SWI/SNF in regulating epiblast and trophectoderm specification in early human embryos and blastoids. Congrats Sam van Knippenberg, Maria Tryfonos & all involved
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
September 25, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Very happy to share the updated version of our bioRxiv preprint. New experiments further support a role for SWI/SNF in regulating epiblast and trophectoderm specification in early human embryos and blastoids. Congrats Sam van Knippenberg, Maria Tryfonos & all involved
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
We are excited to share our new preprint:
SMARCA2/4-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling Establishes Gene Regulatory Programs in Early Human Embryos and Blastoids.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.01.691499v1
SMARCA2/4-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling Establishes Gene Regulatory Programs in Early Human Embryos and Blastoids.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.01.691499v1
December 3, 2025 at 6:53 PM
We are excited to share our new preprint:
SMARCA2/4-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling Establishes Gene Regulatory Programs in Early Human Embryos and Blastoids.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.01.691499v1
SMARCA2/4-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling Establishes Gene Regulatory Programs in Early Human Embryos and Blastoids.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.01.691499v1
I am thrilled to share our preprint where we take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism potentially playing a role in preimplantation 🧵. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
May 12, 2025 at 8:25 PM
I am thrilled to share our preprint where we take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism potentially playing a role in preimplantation 🧵. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
On the 8th day of fossils, my true love gave to me...
8 Hyperoblastus blastoids from Milan, Michigan.
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins and crinoids. At some localities they are common. They are very rare at the Devonian Silica Shale Milan location.
#12DaysofFossils
8 Hyperoblastus blastoids from Milan, Michigan.
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins and crinoids. At some localities they are common. They are very rare at the Devonian Silica Shale Milan location.
#12DaysofFossils
December 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
On the 8th day of fossils, my true love gave to me...
8 Hyperoblastus blastoids from Milan, Michigan.
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins and crinoids. At some localities they are common. They are very rare at the Devonian Silica Shale Milan location.
#12DaysofFossils
8 Hyperoblastus blastoids from Milan, Michigan.
Blastoids are echinoderms related to starfish, sea urchins and crinoids. At some localities they are common. They are very rare at the Devonian Silica Shale Milan location.
#12DaysofFossils
WHAT DID THE BLASTOIDS KNOW #FossilFriday
"Presumably, blastoids did not disappear at the close of the Guadalupian from stress over anoxic oceans 5 million years in the future." --Erwin [The Great Paleozoic Crisis]
"Presumably, blastoids did not disappear at the close of the Guadalupian from stress over anoxic oceans 5 million years in the future." --Erwin [The Great Paleozoic Crisis]
April 4, 2025 at 2:13 PM
WHAT DID THE BLASTOIDS KNOW #FossilFriday
"Presumably, blastoids did not disappear at the close of the Guadalupian from stress over anoxic oceans 5 million years in the future." --Erwin [The Great Paleozoic Crisis]
"Presumably, blastoids did not disappear at the close of the Guadalupian from stress over anoxic oceans 5 million years in the future." --Erwin [The Great Paleozoic Crisis]
Y’ALL THERE IS PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH NOW
JUST PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2024
“Human pluripotent cells are capable of entering a reversible dormant state” I AM SCREAMING
JUST PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2024
“Human pluripotent cells are capable of entering a reversible dormant state” I AM SCREAMING
February 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Y’ALL THERE IS PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH NOW
JUST PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2024
“Human pluripotent cells are capable of entering a reversible dormant state” I AM SCREAMING
JUST PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 2024
“Human pluripotent cells are capable of entering a reversible dormant state” I AM SCREAMING
Someone referred to blastoids as “blastoids from the pastoid” when I was in undergrad and now many, many years later I cannot see one without thinking “blastoid from the pastoid”.
Anyway, these are some pretty cool ones.
Anyway, these are some pretty cool ones.
I picked up 4 Pentremites blastoids from an old collection. These are special because they show color patterns and a couple even have preserved brachioles (tiny hair-like structures that would filter the water for food). These are from the Miss. Glen Dean Fm. of Kentucky.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
February 27, 2026 at 11:16 PM
Someone referred to blastoids as “blastoids from the pastoid” when I was in undergrad and now many, many years later I cannot see one without thinking “blastoid from the pastoid”.
Anyway, these are some pretty cool ones.
Anyway, these are some pretty cool ones.
@sarahlsheffield.bsky.social works on *blastozoans*, which include blastoids, although Sarah's specialization is on the "pentamerish" groups paraphyletic relative to the blastoids. She also sells a blastoid needlework piece.
Jennifer Bauer works on blastoids, but I don't think that she's here.
Jennifer Bauer works on blastoids, but I don't think that she's here.
July 11, 2026 at 6:40 PM
@sarahlsheffield.bsky.social works on *blastozoans*, which include blastoids, although Sarah's specialization is on the "pentamerish" groups paraphyletic relative to the blastoids. She also sells a blastoid needlework piece.
Jennifer Bauer works on blastoids, but I don't think that she's here.
Jennifer Bauer works on blastoids, but I don't think that she's here.
Its weird to think of this as 17 years old- BLASTOIDS FROM BELGIUM! A song about blastoids! #fossilechinoderms youtu.be/9kRH5fInKx0?...
BLASTOIDS FROM BELGIUM
YouTube video by Asa Kaplan
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Its weird to think of this as 17 years old- BLASTOIDS FROM BELGIUM! A song about blastoids! #fossilechinoderms youtu.be/9kRH5fInKx0?...
I took my son on a short 3 day fossil trip and we had lots of fun. It was my first collecting trip of the year. We found lots of blastoids and a few crinoid calyxes. Everything was Mississippian aged.
March 30, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I took my son on a short 3 day fossil trip and we had lots of fun. It was my first collecting trip of the year. We found lots of blastoids and a few crinoid calyxes. Everything was Mississippian aged.
Blastoids, an extinct group of stemmed echinoderms (marine invertebrates related to starfish & sea urchins) that lived from the Silurian to the Permian depicted in Kunstformen der Natur
(1904) by Ernst Haeckel. Echinoderms are the only animal phylum with pentamerous symmetry. 🦑
#fossilfriday
(1904) by Ernst Haeckel. Echinoderms are the only animal phylum with pentamerous symmetry. 🦑
#fossilfriday
January 16, 2026 at 10:22 PM
Blastoids, an extinct group of stemmed echinoderms (marine invertebrates related to starfish & sea urchins) that lived from the Silurian to the Permian depicted in Kunstformen der Natur
(1904) by Ernst Haeckel. Echinoderms are the only animal phylum with pentamerous symmetry. 🦑
#fossilfriday
(1904) by Ernst Haeckel. Echinoderms are the only animal phylum with pentamerous symmetry. 🦑
#fossilfriday
Welcome to the first
#Fossilfriday
of 2025!
Here is the Blastoid Penteremites godi. This comes from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Ridenhower Formation from Floraville, Illinois. Blastoids are an extinct group of Echinoderms that were sessile filter feeders.
#Fossilfriday
of 2025!
Here is the Blastoid Penteremites godi. This comes from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Ridenhower Formation from Floraville, Illinois. Blastoids are an extinct group of Echinoderms that were sessile filter feeders.
January 3, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Welcome to the first
#Fossilfriday
of 2025!
Here is the Blastoid Penteremites godi. This comes from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Ridenhower Formation from Floraville, Illinois. Blastoids are an extinct group of Echinoderms that were sessile filter feeders.
#Fossilfriday
of 2025!
Here is the Blastoid Penteremites godi. This comes from the Upper Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) Ridenhower Formation from Floraville, Illinois. Blastoids are an extinct group of Echinoderms that were sessile filter feeders.
Last weekend I found a handful of Heteroschisma blastoids from the Thunder Bay Limestone near Alpena. Many were loose and a bit beach weathered. The best ones were barely exposed in matrix. They cleaned up pretty quick.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
June 6, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Last weekend I found a handful of Heteroschisma blastoids from the Thunder Bay Limestone near Alpena. Many were loose and a bit beach weathered. The best ones were barely exposed in matrix. They cleaned up pretty quick.
#FossilFriday
#FossilFriday
I 💜 blastoids. They're the fossils that got me interested in fossils. Specifically, the Mississippian species Pentremites godoni. ~25 yrs ago, I acquired this specimen and, using a microscope, made this pen and ink stipple drawing. Of my own work, it is one of my favorites.
#sciart #FossilFriday
#sciart #FossilFriday
February 7, 2025 at 1:52 PM
I 💜 blastoids. They're the fossils that got me interested in fossils. Specifically, the Mississippian species Pentremites godoni. ~25 yrs ago, I acquired this specimen and, using a microscope, made this pen and ink stipple drawing. Of my own work, it is one of my favorites.
#sciart #FossilFriday
#sciart #FossilFriday
Modeling early gastrulation in human blastoids with DNA methylation patterns of natural blastocysts. www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
Modeling early gastrulation in human blastoids with DNA methylation patterns of natural blastocysts
Xie et al. generate 4CL blastoids with morphology, transcriptional profiles, and DNA
methylation patterns similar to those of blastocysts while maintaining gene imprinting
and showing potential for po...
www.cell.com
January 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Modeling early gastrulation in human blastoids with DNA methylation patterns of natural blastocysts. www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...
We wrote a protocol article detailing induction of dormancy in stem cells, embryos, and blastoids. We hope that it is useful to the community. As usual fun to work with @nicolasrivron.bsky.social, Heidar and Dhanur.
January 26, 2026 at 6:55 PM
We wrote a protocol article detailing induction of dormancy in stem cells, embryos, and blastoids. We hope that it is useful to the community. As usual fun to work with @nicolasrivron.bsky.social, Heidar and Dhanur.
I love finding blastoids. It is great when you can see the mouth and anus that clearly.
February 28, 2026 at 1:14 AM
I love finding blastoids. It is great when you can see the mouth and anus that clearly.