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About Massimo
Harnessing his dual expertise in molecular biology and digital communications, Massimo is a steadfast advocate for science, striving to weave it into the fabric of everyday life. As the founder and editor-in-chief of TheScienceBreaker, he is not just chasing a dream, but actively building a reality where society and science walk hand-in-hand. His aspiration is not one of distant admiration, but of close collaboration: empowering every individual with scientific understanding and fostering a collective enthusiasm for discovery. His vision is one of unity, where society acknowledges the integral role of science and technology in shaping our shared future.
Massimo is the editor of 352 Breaks:
Back off predators!! Herbivorous dinosaur with spiny neck
The finding of Bajadasaurus pronuspinax allowed us to better understand the composition of the dinosaur fauna in the lowermost Cretaceous of Patagonia and to show that the evolution of a fence of long neural spines over the neck of these herbivorous dinosaurs was likely adaptive over at least 20 million years.
Aug 19, 2019 | 3.5 min readFighting food pathogens with the help of a soil bacterium
E. coll O157 (EHEC) is a foodborne pathogen associated with limited treatment options. The University of Glasgow and The University of Strathclyde are exploring natural products from the soil bacteria Streptomyces as novel drugs for these infections.
Aug 16, 2019 | 3 min readAncient origins of monogamy: do you tolerate your partner because of your genes?
Monogamy has evolved independently in all of the major lineages of vertebrates. We investigated the gene activity in the brains of monogamous male mice, voles, birds, frogs, and fish and found similar changes in gene expression each time monogamy evolves. This finding suggests that the basic molecular and neural machinery of monogamy has ancient origins in the common ancestor of vertebrates.
Aug 14, 2019 | 3.5 min readCity living and psychotic experiences: exploring the role of air pollution
City living increases the risk for psychosis, but little is known about the role of air pollution in this relationship. We explored the link between outdoor air pollutants and sub-clinical psychotic experiences in a study of over 2000 UK teenagers.
Aug 13, 2019 | 4 min readTen cigarettes in a bottle of wine for cancer
In contrast to our knowledge about the relationship between smoking and cancer, the public’s understanding of the link between alcohol and cancer is poor. We therefore used cigarettes as a ‘yard-stick’ to communicate the cancer risks associated with alcohol and found that drinking one bottle of wine/week carries an equivalent cancer risk to smoking 10 cigarettes per week for women, and 5 for men.
Aug 9, 2019 | 3.5 min readWhy do immune cells have a spider web inside their nucleus?
A meshwork in some immune cells controls genes that are important for the immune system. This new phenomenon might be linked to diseases and introduces a new concept by which a biological structure, reminiscent of a spider web, controls genes.
Aug 5, 2019 | 4 min read