Manuela Casasoli
LightNews LightNews
banner
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Manuela Casasoli
@manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
1.2K followers 300 following 310 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
Posts Replies Media Videos
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
"Hang in there."

"Globally, many wild habitats are being destroyed. This photo serves as a reminder for everyone to be more creative in how we steward Earth’s resources."
🧪 #SciComm #NaturePhotography
📷 Credit: E. Tardy-A. Hennighausen
The best #science images of 2025
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
December 15, 2025 at 5:35 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
This is just one of the unique views along the Dry Fork Trail.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Utah - 2023

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
December 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
“The Kunming–Montreal Global #Biodiversity Framework calls for rapid global expansion of protected areas in response to ongoing biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.”

🧪 #Science #Ecology
Protected area management has significant spillover effects on vegetation
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Image Source: https://www.unep.org/resources/kunming-montreal-global-biodiversity-framework Authors: Convention on Biological Diversity Sunbird The conclusion of the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity saw the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
December 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
The gorgeous and colorful landscape of the Needle District.

Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
December 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
About 130 million light-years from Earth...

"This view of NGC 2207 and IC 2163 takes a James Webb infrared image [...] and adds the X-ray view from Chandra [...]. Together, it is quite an eye-catching result."

🧪 #Science #Space #Astronomy
A Quartet of Autumn Images
chandra.si.edu/photo/2025/f...
Image Source: https://chandra.si.edu/photo/2025/fall/more.html A cornucopia is a horn-shaped basket that traditionally carries fruits and vegetables. There is nothing edible in this pair of galactic cornucopias but there are a bounty of stars, dust, and other ingredients than make up these two spiral galaxies, known as NGC 2207 (right) and IC 2163 (left), that we see face-on. This view of NGC 2207 and IC 2163 takes a James Webb infrared image (white, gray, and red) and adds the X-ray view from Chandra (blue). Together, it is quite an eye-catching result.
December 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Along the Wilhite Trail.

Canyonlands National Park.

Utah - 2024

🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography
December 10, 2025 at 3:48 PM
manuelacasasoli.bsky.social
Spectacular lava fountains on the U.S. Geological Survey’s webcams.

"Hawaii’s Kilauea, one of Earth’s most active volcanoes, sent lava fountains spewing into the air, obliterating a U.S. Geological Survey camera."

🧪 #Science #Geology #Volcanoes
www.scientificamerican.com/article/watc...
Image Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/watch-lava-from-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-obliterate-a-webcam/ Lava fountains are seen at both the north and south vents of Kilauea’s summit around 10:00 A.M. local time on December 6, 2025. Credit USGS photo by M. Zoeller
December 9, 2025 at 4:08 PM
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