Manuela Casasoli

@manuelacasasoli

Maths and science teacher, keen on hiking. "Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty." Bertrand Russell CV: Website: X:

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Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· 25d

Breathtaking, endless views. The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· 26d

Sunda clouded leopard: the "ghosts of the forest". "New, never-before-seen images provide a glimpse into the secretive lives of a clouded leopard species found in the dense rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Ecology #Animals #SciComm www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· 27d

A stunning view during my hike. Kodachrome Basin State Park Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· 28d

Gravitational, mechanical forces & mitochondrial translation. An interesting research describes how exposure to microgravity aboard the International #Space Station causes mitochondria to produce fewer proteins. 🧪 #Science #Biology 1- www.nature.com/articles/d41... 2- www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Image Source:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02089-0

The mitochondrion (green in this false-colour transmission electron micrograph) could have a role in the physiological effects of microgravity.

Credit: Jose Calvo/Science Photo Library

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 15

A natural and wild version of the inclined plane... Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...

A natural and wild version of the inclined plane...

The picture shows an inclined sandstone wall and a small rock above, like falling bodies on an inclined plane.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Utah - 2023

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 14

Precious #biodiversity... "Forest ecosystems provide key ecological, social, and climate benefits, [...]." Read "how forests resist and recover from compound heat and moisture extremes and how tree diversity mediates these responses". 🧪 #Science #Ecology #Biology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Image Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_view_of_the_Amazon_Rainforest.jpg

Airplane vision of Solimões River on the Brazilian Amazon. Looking like a giant snake, as it is called by the indigenous.

Credit
Catedral Verde - Floresta Amazonica
lubasi

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 13

This really looks like a layer cake to me. What do you think? The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
A multilayer and colorful sandstone rock formation.
This really looks like a layer cake to me. What do you think?
The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park
Utah - 2024

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 12

Dazzling... "This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope showcases Messier 3 (M3), one of the Milky Way galaxy’s most massive globular clusters, or spherical collections of gravitationally bound stars." 🧪 #Science #Space #Astronomy Hubble Captures Star-Studded Cluster www.nasa.gov/image-articl...

Image Source:
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-captures-star-studded-cluster/

This image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shows Messier 3, a densely packed cluster of stars whose origins may be a merger between globular clusters in the early universe.
NASA, ESA, and A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 11

Oops... Falling rocks. San Rafael Swell Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hilkes...
Oops...
Falling rocks (within the canyon).
San Rafael Swell
Utah - 2023

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 10

When #Science meets #Art "Coral reefs are experiencing unprecedented rapid decline. Art can act as a beacon to engage audiences, influence policy, and inspire global action." 🧪 #SciComm #Ecology 1- www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 2- coralartscience.org 🎨 Image Credit: Courtney Mattison

Image Source:
https://coralartscience.org/?page_id=440

Coral Art Science Consortium

Courtney Mattison is an internationally recognized artist and ocean advocate whose large-scale ceramic sculptures bring attention to the beauty and vulnerability of coral reef ecosystems. Combining her background in marine ecology, environmental studies, and ceramic sculpture, Mattison creates intricate works inspired by coral formations and marine biodiversity to visualize the impacts of climate change on the oceans.

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 9

Stunning rock formations on the way to Druid Arch. The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 8

"Climate warming increasingly disrupts plant–pollinator interactions through changes in floral chemical cues, particularly volatile organic compounds." Read about plant–pollinator interactions under #climate warming in the tropics. 🧪 #Science #Biology #Ecology academic.oup.com/aob/article/...

Image Source:
https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/137/7/2055/8541414

Fig. 2.Couroupita guianensis Aubl. (Lecythidaceae). (A) Cauliflorous clusters of flowers and large, lignified fruits arising directly from the trunk. (B) Fully open flower showing the zygomorphic perianth, prominent staminal hood of sterile stamens, and central fertile androecium.

Photograph credit: Dennis Tenorio.

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 7

Today's little friend...🦋 Italy - Umbria - 2026 🥾 #hiking #nature #butterfly #naturephotography

From my hikes...
Today's little friend...🦋
Italy - Umbria - 2026

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 6

"New creepy crawlies. A crowned crab spider (Smodicinus gen. nov.) that fluoresces blue under ultraviolet light is one of dozens of creatures that have just been discovered in Angola." 🧪 #Science #SciComm #Photography 1- www.nature.com/immersive/d4... 2- www.thewildernessproject.org/news/cassai-...

Image Source:
https://www.thewildernessproject.org/news/cassai-life-atlas

Dozens of New Species Discovered in Angola

New creepy crawlies. A crowned crab spider (Smodicinus gen. nov.) that fluoresces blue under ultraviolet light is one of dozens of creatures that have just been discovered in Angola. In February, the Cassai Life Atlas expedition surveyed the bustling ecosystem of the remote Lisima plateau. The plateau feeds into the streams that feed four rivers and has remained mostly unexplored by scientists. Last month, the expedition team announced its findings, which included eight undescribed dragonfly and damselfly species and around 60 moths and butterflies that could be new to science. Many other species had also not previously been recorded in Lisima.

Credit: Nicky Bay/Courtesy of The Wilderness Project

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 5

Towards Zebra Slot Canyon. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
Towards Zebra Slot Canyon.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Utah - 2023

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 3

Earth is home to 20 million insect species! "Some creative calculations using bug traps, epidemiology and trees suggest there are some 20 million unique insect species on Earth." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Biodiversity #Ecology 1- www.scientificamerican.com/article/eart... 2- www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Image Source:
Earth is home to 20 million insect species—three times more than we thought

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-is-home-to-20-million-insect-species-three-times-more-than-we-thought/

Alcohol works as effective fuel for this hornet species.

Credit
JossK/Getty Images

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jul 2

The gorgeous Crack Canyon. San Rafael Swell Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
The gorgeous Crack Canyon.
San Rafael Swell
Utah - 2023

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 30

Don't laugh, just read! "Behavioral and clinical evidence distinguish two major forms of human laughter: spontaneous, emotionally driven vocalizations and volitional expressions used in social communication." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Neuroscience The neural basis of laughter www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

Image Source:
https://www.cell.com/trends/neurosciences/fulltext/S0166-2236(26)00099-8

Figure 1 A dual-system neural framework for laughter.

Cortical and subcortical hubs of the spontaneous network (red) and the voluntary network (blue) are depicted. Regions shown in bold are sites where direct electrical stimulation (DES) has been reported to elicit laughter (see main text for details). Regions shown in regular type are anatomically connected to these core sites and may contribute to laughter production, although DES has not been reported to evoke laughter when applied there. Fiber tracts are indicated in italics. The connection between the temporal pole and the rolandic operculum is present only in the left hemisphere. AI: anterior insula; amy: amygdala; hyp: hypothalamus; OFC: orbitofrontal cortex; PAG: periaqueductal gray; RO: rolandic operculum; TP: temporal pole. Modified from [67].

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 29

Waiting for desert rain. The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
Waiting for desert rain.
The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park
Utah - 2024

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 28

Our galaxy... "This image by ESA’s Euclid (with color added using ground-based images) provides an earlier snapshot of a region of our galaxy that NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will repeatedly observe during the upcoming years." 🧪 #Science #Space #Astronomy www.nasa.gov/missions/rom...

Image Source:
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/euclid-view-of-milky-way-heart-previews-core-survey-by-nasas-roman/

This image by ESA’s (European Space Agency) Euclid (with color added using ground-based images) provides an earlier snapshot of a region of our galaxy that NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will repeatedly observe during the upcoming years. Euclid spent one day taking a series of nine individual images near the heart of the Milky Way. Its wider image has resolution similar to Roman’s, though it’s also shallower and lacks some of the colors Roman will see. At the right of the frame, Euclid looks through the dense foreground of the Milky Way’s galactic plane, where thick molecular clouds appear as dark patches that obscure parts of the galactic bulge beyond. Toward the left, the view rises to higher galactic latitudes: the yellow glow of the bulge becomes clearer, with fewer and more isolated foreground clouds interrupting the starlight.
ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CFHT, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre and E. Bertin (CEA Paris-Saclay)

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 27

Beautiful views descending the Gooseberry Trail. Island in the Sky - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
Beautiful views descending the Gooseberry Trail.
Island in the Sky - Canyonlands National Park
Utah - 2024

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 25

About perception in the lower #animals. Discover how turtles find their way to that speck of land in the midst of the great Atlantic Ocean. 🧪 #Science #Biology #Ecology Migrating sea turtles only sort of know where they’re going 1- www.science.org/content/arti... 2- www.nature.com/articles/007...

Image Source:
https://www.science.org/content/article/migrating-sea-turtles-only-sort-know-where-they-re-going

This green sea turtle’s navigation system may not be perfect, but it gets the job done.

Credit
RD and BS Kirkby

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 23

The sky over Death Hollow Canyon. Boulder Mail Trail. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
The sky over Death Hollow Canyon.
Boulder Mail Trail.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Utah - 2023

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 22

Longevity and ageing in a tropical butterfly. "Species in the Heliconius genus are among the longest-lived butterflies, thanks to a diet of pollen." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Ecology A long-lived butterfly’s secret to graceful ageing 1- www.nature.com/articles/d41... 2- www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Image Source:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01948-0

Pollen grains coat the proboscis of a Heliconius butterfly.

Credit: Louise Bestea

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 21

A slice of summer. Italy - Umbria - 2026 🥾 #hiking #nature #flowers #insects #naturephotography

From my hikes...
A slice of summer.
A flower and a butterfly.
Italy - Umbria - 2026

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 20

"Researchers — using [...] NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster [...], offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time." 🧪 #Science #Space #Astronomy #Galaxy science.nasa.gov/missions/web...

Image Source:
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasa-webb-hubble-reveal-history-of-relic-of-milky-ways-formation/

New observations from Webb combined with multiple observations from Hubble prove that Terzan 5 is a self-contained, self-enriching stellar system that contains up to four distinct star populations. It orbits within our Milky Way galaxy’s central bulge.

Credits: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Giorgia Zullo (University of Bologna), Francesco Ferraro (University of Bologna); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 19

Colorful rock layers. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Utah - 2023 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 18

"The amount of heat stored in oceans in Asia reached the highest level on record last year, [...]. Ocean heat has risen sharply in the region since the 1990s, destabilizing ocean currents and marine life and driving up sea levels." 🧪 #Science #Biology #Ecology #Climate www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Image Source:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01938-2

During cyclone Ditwah Sri Lanka received 10% of its yearly rainfall in a single day.

Credit: © Cyrielle Beaubois/Getty

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 16

"The wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned to ask." Nancy Newhall The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park Utah - 2024 🥾 #hiking #nature #landscapes #desert #naturephotography

From my hikes...
Morning in the desert.
The Needles District - Canyonlands National Park
Utah - 2024

Manuela Casasoli@manuelacasasoli· Jun 15

"Richard #Feynman described a decision-making problem and its solution in handwritten notes, but the meaning of the notes has been a mystery for almost 50 y." Explanation...⬇️ #Science Resolving Feynman’s restaurant problem reveals optimal solutions and human strategies www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...