Marine Biological Laboratory

06/15/2026

Happy !

This video shows the first few minutes in the life of a (Patiria miniata).

Here, an oocyte (or egg cell) has been hormonally activated to prepare for fertilization. The yellow flashes are calcium being released in response to that hormone, which are made visible with a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor called GCaMP. The cyan-colored signal is fluorescent histones, which allows us to see the DNA inside the nucleus.

Imaged with a Leica Stellaris Confocal by Colson Duncan and Feona Edwards, course participants of the 2026 Semester in Biological Discovery course, in the Embryology module taught by Assistant Scientist Zak Swartz.

06/12/2026

Back to Visit The MBL Visit The MBL Visit The MBL - Overview Tour The MBL Eel Pond Live Stream Home Visit The MBL Tour the MBL 2026 Tours The Marine Biological Laboratory offers free, guided seasonal tours Monday through Friday, from June 15 to September 14 at 10:30am and 1pm (excluding holidays)....

06/12/2026

When summer arrives at the MBL, something special happens.

In coffee chats, late-night experiments, and conversations that stretch far beyond the lab, connections form and ideas take shape.

We placed a microphone in the Swope Center and invited people to pause, set aside their to-do lists, and reflect on gratitude.

Who is someone you've met at the MBL who has had a lasting impact on you?

06/11/2026

The 75th cohort of Grass Fellows arrived in Woods Hole this week to begin their residency in the Grass Laboratory.

Boasting over 600 Fellows to date, the Grass Fellowship Program has created a vibrant and growing community whose members often credit their experiences at the MBL with their later successes.

More info here:

The 75th cohort of Grass Fellows arrived in Woods Hole this week to begin their residency in the Grass Laboratory. Since 1951, the Grass Fellowship Program has brought early-career investigators to the Grass Laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) for 14 weeks to pursue a self-designed,...

06/10/2026

We’re grateful for Representative Thomas Moakley of Falmouth who successfully secured an amendment providing $200,000 for the Marine Biological Laboratory as part of H.5264, the FY26 supplemental budget known as the “Fair Share” amendment.

The investment will enable the MBL to maintain its highly regarded, hands-on science courses for high school and undergraduate students across the Commonwealth—particularly those who may not otherwise have access to advanced scientific training.

Read more about it here:

BOSTON, MA — Representative Thomas Moakley of Falmouth successfully secured an amendment providing $200,000 for the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole as part of H.5264, the FY26 supplemental budget known as the “Fair Share” amendment.The funding supports research and education a...

06/09/2026

Since 1986, the MBL has hosted the Logan Science Journalism Program, bringing together cohorts of environmental and biomedical journalists for over a week of hands-on learning.

Meagan Cantwell, a senior video producer for Science Magazine, offers a behind-the-scenes look at a single day in the life of a biomedical fellow, providing a glimpse into the intensive experience.

06/08/2026

Happy !

This month and every month, we're proud to celebrate the many colors that make our community shine. 🌈

This live image captures a larval sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) that refracts light like a gemstone. Found in Falmouth’s Sippewissett Marsh, this local species is vital for studying biological development and regeneration.

The vibrant, true-color image highlights the organism’s birefringence, commonly known as double refraction. These colors are highly informative. Just like a gemstone, the specific hue depends on the orientation of the material as light hits it.

Spanning just 3 millimeters across, the picture was taken using an Olympus IX83 microscope paired with a DP74 color camera and a novel label-free rainbow microscopy technique—also known as polychromatic polarizing microscopy—developed at the Marine Biological Laboratory. This patented technology (US Patent 9,625,369) is now available from MBL for broader scientific and industrial use.

Imaged by Michael Shribak and Karen Echeverri from the MBL’s Bell Center.

06/06/2026

Our take on this trend.

Let us know what keeps you up at night.

06/05/2026

DEADLINE APPROACHING! ⏰

Apply to Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence (IHCIF) by June 16, 2026.

This six-day course is for graduate students, postdocs, research technicians and practitioners requiring hands-on wet lab training and the foundational knowledge required to design, validate and trouble shoot IHC and IF experiments in their labs.

Financial aid is available.

🔗 More info here: go.mbl.edu/IHCIF

06/04/2026

We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and MassDEP for awarding MBL and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution nearly $500,000 to advance research on carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas flux in Massachusetts eelgrass meadows. This award will help fill a data gap in our knowledge of the capacity for eelgrass meadows to sequester carbon along the Massachusetts coastline.