Manuela Casasoli
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manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Manuela Casasoli
@manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
1.1K followers 290 following 300 posts
Maths and science teacher, keen on hiking.

"Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty."
Bertrand Russell

CV: http://bit.ly/3RpUdSF
Website: https://www.manuelacasasoli.altervista.org/
X: https://x.com/manuelacasasoli
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manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Manuela Casasoli @manuelacasasoli.bsky.social · Feb 23
Who am I?🧪🌳🥾😉

- I am a proud teacher, loving my students.
- I have worked for 12 years as a molecular biologist and geneticist, mainly studying forest trees.
- I am vegetarian because I love Earth.
- I voraciously read about science.
- I spend all my spare time hiking. I like mountains and canyons.
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon - 2023 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Utah
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
The unforgettable Wilhite Trail.

Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
December 7, 2025 at 12:23 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
"The thymus is the primary site of T cell development, central to the establishment of self-tolerance and adaptive immune function."

Read about therapeutic approaches for promoting thymus regeneration from studies on juvenile axolotls.
🧪 #Science #Biology #Immunology
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Axolotl2.jpg Axolotl
December 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Colorful layers of sandstone.

Big Horn Canyon.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
December 5, 2025 at 4:19 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Do not miss it!

"Shared Wonder" by Mary Schrader.

"As the butterfly circled the gorilla, it seemed to embody the delicate balance and fragile interconnectedness of our natural world."

#SciComm #NaturePhotography
1- www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
2- naturephotographeroftheyear.com/previous-edi...
Image Source: https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-025-03903-x/index.html This is the world’s largest spider web — November’s best science images CATEGORY WINNER CATEGORY ANIMAL PORTRAITS | "Shared Wonder" by Mary Schrader. Mary Schrader/NPOTY 2025
December 4, 2025 at 7:04 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Here is a picture that I took last August, starting the trail towards the "Pico Sagrado Corazón".

Picos de Europa National Park
Spain - 2025

🥾 #hiking #nature #mountains #landscapes #naturephotography
December 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Plastic ingestion as a cause of mortality across taxa.

Read an interesting article that estimates "the likelihood of mortality due to the gastrointestinal load of various #plastic materials [...] for seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles".
🧪 #Science #Ecology #Earth
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
December 2, 2025 at 4:47 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
The spectacular geology of the Waterpocket Fold.

Capitol Reef National Park.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
November 30, 2025 at 5:11 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Read about the cat diaspora out of Africa: an interesting story of domestication.

"Ancient #DNA illuminates the origin and spread of the domestic cat."

🧪 #Science #Biology #Animals
1- www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
2- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
3- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt2642 The introduction of domestic cats to Europe. The genomes of ancient cats from archaeological sites across Europe and Anatolia (dark circles in the map) revealed that domestic cats were introduced to Europe from North Africa starting at ~2 thousand years ago (kya), several millennia after the onset of the Neolithic in Europe. African wildcats in Sardinia originate from a distinct wildcat population in Northwest Africa.
November 29, 2025 at 5:01 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Just after the confluence between the Colorado and the Green Rivers.

Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
November 28, 2025 at 5:02 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
"Scientists in Argentina are raising the alarm about a move to modify the country’s landmark glacier protection law."

"Researchers fear the change could result in severe damage to sensitive ecosystems and key water sources."

🧪 #Science #Ecology #Environment #Earth
www.science.org/content/arti...
Image Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/plan-alter-argentina-s-glacier-protection-law-draws-criticism The Perito Moreno Glacier in the Patagonian region of Argentina Credit Reuters TV/via REUTERS
November 27, 2025 at 5:09 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
The stunning colors of the Kodachrome Basin State Park.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
November 26, 2025 at 5:12 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Extracellular #RNAs play an important role in plants' communication with other organisms in their environment.

Read here about the secretion of extracellular (ex)RNA in plant–bacterial interaction.

🧪 #Science #Biology #Genetics
1- www.cell.com/trends/genet...
2- www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Image Source: https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(25)00168-4 Figure 1 Examples of cross-kingdom RNAi observed in plants interacting with prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. This schematic view illustrates that plants communicate via extracellular small RNA (sRNA) with various eukaryotic organisms, such as fungi, oomycetes, animals, and parasitic plants, highlighting that cross-kingdom RNAi also occurs in plant–bacteria interaction. Cross-kingdom RNAi acts bidirectionally, from plant hosts to pathogens, pest, and parasites, and vice versa.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Surrounded by amazing smooth rocks.
Beautiful sandstone!

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
November 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
"How animals detect the Earth’s magnetic field remains a mystery in sensory biology."

Read here how pigeons can detect magnetic fields.

🧪 #Science #Biology #Brain
Pigeons sense Earth’s magnetic field in an entirely new way
1- www.science.org/content/arti...
2- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/pigeons-sense-earth-s-magnetic-field-entirely-new-way Pigeons can detect magnetic fields in a laboratory experiment. It’s not yet known exactly how that helps them navigate. Credit Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
November 22, 2025 at 3:02 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Lost in a wonderful path.

Murphy Loop Trail.
Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
November 21, 2025 at 1:48 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
An effective recombinant antivenom.
Read about "an experimental polyvalent recombinant antivenom that was capable of neutralizing seven toxin families or subfamilies".
🧪 #Science #Biology #Biotech
Nanobody-based recombinant antivenom for cobra, mamba and rinkhals bites
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Green_mamba.jpg Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps). Author: David~O
November 19, 2025 at 5:47 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
This is the stunning entrance to Zebra Canyon.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert
November 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
A fascinating topic: the interesting minimizing surfaces.

"Soap films [...] should always take up the smallest area possible. They’re what mathematicians call area-minimizing surfaces."

🧪 #Science #Mathematics #Physics
New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities
www.quantamagazine.org/new-proofs-p...
Image Source: https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-proofs-probe-soap-film-singularities-20251112/ The gyroid is an area-minimizing surface that has been used in materials design and drug delivery. Credit Paul Nylander
November 15, 2025 at 3:26 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
A wonderful sandstone hill.

Along the Zebra Canyon Trail.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert
November 14, 2025 at 3:49 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
"Astrocytes functionally integrate multiple synapses via specialized leaflet domains."
These domains "coordinate [...] multiple synapses and circuits active at different spatiotemporal scales, executing computations distinct from neurons".
🧪 #Science #Neuroscience #Brain
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Image Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01028-1 Graphical abstract In brief Volumetric high-resolution electron microscopy reveals thin astrocyte leaflets form gap-junction-interconnected domains that contain minuscule endoplasmic reticulum saccules and enwrap synapses in clusters. Twophoton calcium imaging reveals how leaflets integrate incoming neuronal inputs occurring at different spatiotemporal scales, thereby contributing to an additional layer of circuit computations.
November 13, 2025 at 5:05 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Amazing sandstone!

Along the Zebra Canyon Trail.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert
November 12, 2025 at 12:43 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Threats to aquatic life due to #climate change.

"In 2023, an unprecedented #drought and heat wave severely affected #Amazon waters, leading to high mortality of fishes and river dolphins."

🧪 #Science #Ecology
Extreme warming of Amazon waters in a changing climate
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Image Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr4029 Fig. 1. Major drought and heating of Tefé Lake waters in 2023, reaching >40°C in the entire water column at the monitoring site. (A and B) Changes in lake surface area from early September 2023 (A) to October 2023 (B) in Tefé Lake based on Planet (https://www.planet.com/) satellite imagery. The Amazon mainstem is visible in the upper right. (C) Aerial photograph of the Tefé Lake in October. (D) Water temperature and level changes [location of sensors is shown in (B)] in Tefé Lake during the 2023 drought showing the extreme values. (E and F) Lake bathymetry (E) and profile of surface-water temperatures (F) for a survey on 18 October 2023 revealing the longitudinal gradient of temperature along the channel enlargement of the dotted rectangle in (E). (G and H) Photos of the drought in Tefé Lake showing a dead Amazon River dolphin (G) and surface scum of the phytoplanktonic Euglena sanguinea (H) in Tefé Lake
November 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
How insignificant are we in comparison to the majestic nature?

Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert
November 8, 2025 at 3:09 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Our Milky Way galaxy disk is not really flat...

"Observations show the disk of our galaxy is not flat but warped and waving. Astronomers are still working out the reasons why".

🧪 #Science #Space #Astronomy
Our Milky Way’s Warped Disk Keeps Getting Weirder
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...
Image Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-the-milky-way-warped/ Observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission have revealed a giant wave rippling through the disk of the Milky Way. This image derived from Gaia data shows an edge-on view of our galaxy; the data points for the newfound wave are plotted in red (above the disk) and blue (below the disk). Credit ESA/Gaia/DPAC, S. Payne-Wardenaar, E. Poggio et al (2025)
November 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Approaching the clouds is like winning freedom.

Dolomiti - 2021

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #mountains
November 5, 2025 at 12:54 PM