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About Massimo
With a degree in molecular biology and one in digital communications, Massimo is constantly on a mission to inspire scientists and laypeople around him with his passion for science. Head of TheScienceBreaker, he proudly chases his naïve dream of an engaged society where science and technology are part of the solution to the challenges ahead of human civilization.
Massimo is the editor of 330 Breaks:
Ouch, that needle hurts! How some viruses inject their DNA
Some viruses infect their bacterial hosts by injecting their DNA using a nano-injection machine that resembles a hypodermic needle. They then hijack their host into reproducing new copies of the virus and to unleash those copies to infect other hosts. To understand how this injection machine works in real-time, we developed a model to simulate the injection process.
Sep 25, 2020 | 3.5 min readWhy so aggressive? Bringing the past into the present
Animals change their aggressive behaviour across contexts, potentially due to lingering effects of past experiences. We tested the aggression in fruit flies before and after they were placed in a vial for 4-days, varying the group composition and the intensity of food competition. Male aggression changed after the 4-day period, showing how specific past experiences can alter future aggressiveness.
Sep 23, 2020 | 3.5 min readStop all the clocks: the hidden long-term consequences of sleep loss
Sleep loss perturbs the molecular circadian clock inside our cells. This effect persists long after the organism has recovered from sleep loss at the behavioral level.
Sep 22, 2020 | 4 min readThe Janus-Faced Nature of Cancer Immunity
In this study, we demonstrated that the immune response in cancer patients could sometimes inhibit, but other times enhance tumor cells' growth.
Sep 21, 2020 | 3.5 min readOur cell's “protein factory” can decrease fats to promote lifespan
Aging is a shared phenomenon amongst all organisms, and it’s well understood that stress hastens aging. However, the knowledge of how aging affects our capacity to deal with stress is less widespread. It turns out that our ability to deal with stress loses function in aging, and hyperactivating stress responses that usually decline during aging can extend lifespan.
Sep 18, 2020 | 3.5 min readThe secrets hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet
Antarctica is losing ice. The shape of the bed under the ice sheet may explain why some sectors are more vulnerable to climate change than others. It is, however, extremely difficult to see through thousands of meters of ice. By combining measurements at the surface with math, we find the deepest canyon on Earth and ridges that have important consequences for its future stability.
Sep 17, 2020 | 3.5 min read