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About Massimo
Massimo, molecular biologist, is constantly on a mission to inspire scientists and laypeople around him with his passion for science. During the time spent on the bench, he followed his natural all-around curiosity, investigating several topics from medical diseases to plant physiology. Head of TheScienceBreaker, Massimo proudly chases his naïve dream of an engaged society where scientists and citizens are facing together the upcoming challenges for human civilizations.
Massimo is the editor of 318 Breaks:
De-liver-ing blood and immune cells to the developing human
Little is known about how the human immune system develops before birth. However, with advances in sampling methods and gene mapping technologies, we have completed an atlas of the developing blood and immune systems. This will enable us to use this knowledge for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and to better understand diseases.
Aug 25, 2020 | 3 min readAquatic plants are influenced by the surrounding landscape
Have you ever had an aquarium with plants and failed to make it flourish? In this recent study published in Science, we show that the mineral composition of the soils in the surrounding landscape controls the aquatic vegetation in adjacent lakes, but not in streams, and there are lessons to be also learned for the hobbyist.
Aug 18, 2020 | 3 min readVicious Circles – how changes in the shape of DNA can drive cancer
One of the most iconic images in biology is the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human cell. It is central to the paradigm of inheritance. Our recent findings show that cancer breaks that rule. We have explained how changes in the shape of DNA, as it forms a circle, promotes cancer. This scenario makes cancer to evolve quickly and more resistant to treatments.
Aug 17, 2020 | 3.5 min readCarnivorous plants help uncover universal rules of plant development
From flowers to leaves and carnivorous plant traps, humble mounds of cells generate remarkably diverse plant organ shapes. How do plants coordinate growth to shape these blobs into fully-grown organs? By combining computational modelling with experiments in a carnivorous plant, we suggest a mechanism for how plants control growth patterns and how they can be modified to evolve new shapes.
Aug 14, 2020 | 4 min readT. rex growing pains: the king of dinosaurs was first a tyrannical teenager
Studying the bone microstructure of the skeletons of two medium-sized Tyrannosaurus rex, we investigated their early life. We discovered that they were teenagers, rather than a smaller ‘Nanotyrannus’ species. Additionally, we found that T. rex adjusted annual growth based on resource abundance; it exploited carnivore niches at the exclusion of other species.
Aug 13, 2020 | 4 min readThe biological reality of psychosomatic disease
The latest neurobiological research is revealing important and influential neural pathways between the brain to organ systems, indicating the potential power of mind-body medicine.
Aug 12, 2020 | 3.5 min read