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Miguel Soares

@elmiguelche.bsky.social
111 followers 210 following 73 posts

Antifascist&Scientist

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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
That’s IMPOSSIBLE!!!!
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
gulbenkian.pt/en/news/sele...
gulbenkian.pt
Selected Proposal for GIMM’s New Building
The project submitted by Atelier de Santa Catarina was awarded first place
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Metabolite-effector immunity against malaria: Trends in Parasitology www.cell.com/trends/paras...
cell.com
Metabolite-effector immunity against malaria
Jaundice, caused by the accumulation of bilirubin in plasma, is clinically interpreted as a maladaptive consequence of hemolysis or as indicative of hepatic failure. Drawing on genetic, biochemical, a...
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Bahtiyar Yilmaz @bahtiyil.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A stool transplant delivers billions of microbes into a sick gut. Almost none move in for good. We followed donor-recipient pairs from whole communities down to single nucleotides, and found the gut runs a ruthless strain-level filter. Out now in Cell Reports 🧵 www.cell.com/cell-reports...
cell.com
Strain-level ecological filtering governs microbial colonization of the human gut
Baertschi et al. demonstrate that microbiota transplantation functions as a selective ecological filter. Although donor species frequently appear, only specific lineages achieve stable strain integrat...
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Obituary: Susumu Tonegawa, Japan’s first Nobel prizewinner in physiology or medicine www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Obituary: Susumu Tonegawa, Japan’s first Nobel prizewinner in physiology or medicine
Fearless molecular biologist who revealed the workings of antibodies and memories.
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Ivan Zanoni @lozanzi.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Highly recommend 👇👇👇
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Huge thanks to the ERC, our lab, GIMM and out of GIMM collaborators who backed such a counterintuitive idea. Sometimes the body's oldest "warning sign" is really its deadliest defense. Bilirubin, consider yourself recruited. Not killed. 💛⚔️ #ERCAdG #malaria
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
This is our 2nd #ERCAdG, and impossible without the team & environment at @gimminstitute.bsky.social - immunology, parasite biology, heme metabolism, tissue repair & translation, all under one roof. Every great revenge plot needs a crew. 🙏
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
If KILLBILL delivers, it reaches beyond malaria. An ancient, widespread molecule deployed as a front-line assassin could inspire therapies rooted not in pharmacology - but in evolution itself. The oldest fighter in the body, finally given its due. 🌍
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Over the next 5 years, KILLBILL will map every move in bilirubin's repertoire: 🗡️ a Hattori Hanzo blade against the parasite 🛡️ a shield for host tissues 💉 a modulator of immunity
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
"For 2,500 years, jaundice has been described as a sign of disease. What we've shown is exactly the opposite: it is protection." The victim was not passive. 🔄
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Our work in @science_org & iScience shows bilirubin buildup in malaria may be an adaptive response, not a byproduct — the body raising bilirubin to hunt the parasite & shield its tissues. 🔗 doi.org/10.1126/scie... 🔗 www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
doi.org
A metabolite-based resistance mechanism against malaria
Jaundice is a common presentation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, which arises from the accumulation of circulating bilirubin. It is not understood whether it represents an adaptive or maladaptive r...
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
The whole twist of Kill Bill: the one who looks like a wounded victim is the deadliest fighter in the room. That's our hypothesis for jaundice. Not the body failing its the body suiting up. Something is going wrong? No. Something is about to get even. ⚔️
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
In the film, Beatrix Kiddo wears that unmistakable yellow tracksuit. In our biology, the body turns yellow too — jaundice, from rising bilirubin ("Bill"). For 2,500 years we've read that yellow as a victim's warning sign. We think it's the victim's outfit. 💛
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
🧬 Big news: our team at @gimminstitute.bsky.social and I have been awarded a €2.5M ERC Advanced Grant (#ERCAdG) for a project we couldn't resist naming KILLBILL. Yes, like the Tarantino film. Bear with me — the analogy runs deeper than the title. 🧵 ⚔️
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Christopher Hale @christopherjhale.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
An American leader who believes in science.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Bilirubin exerts major protective effects on the host, beyond its direct anti-plasmodial activity (science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq6741). Big plans ahead for the yellow guardian against malaria. If interested, send an email to: miguel.soares@gimm.pt
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
🙏 Thanks @gimmfoundation.bsky.social, @miguelmmesquita.bsky.social for TWO knock-ins, Moisés Mallo for mouse genetics wizardry, Ana Nóvoa for golden hands, Ana Figueiredo for discovering bilirubin's antimalarial effect & support.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
This defines a quantitative bilirubin threshold for malaria protection, with direct implications for therapeutic development and biomarker-guided strategies.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Infected with Plasmodium chabaudi, both mutant strains succumbed. Wild-type controls survived. The critical observation: mutants failed to reach circulating bilirubin levels of ~20-30 μM (~1-2 mg/dL). Below that threshold, no parasite control, no resolution.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
BVRA generates bilirubin from biliverdin. It also moonlights as a kinase and transcription factor. To isolate its enzymatic role, we made two mutant lines: BlvraG17A (~95% activity loss) and BlvraE97A (~80-90% loss), targeting the NAD(P)H-binding and reductase motifs.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
🧬 New findings from our lab @gimminstitute.bsky.social, out in iScience, led by PhD student Miguel Mesquita who defends his thesis very soon! We define a bilirubin threshold for malaria protection using catalytically deficient BVRA mouse mutants. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.115958
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GIMM Institute @gimminstitute.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
🎟️Do you want to be part of a dynamic platform for dialogue and discovery? Register your Early Bird acess for GIMM Festival 2026, taking place 17–19 September in Lisbon, and hear from Charles Rice, Yasmine Belkaid and many others speakers. 🔗Register now: linktr.ee/gimm_institute
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Iqbal Hamza @iqbalhamzalab.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Red blood cells don't always make their own heme - under stress, they scavange it from neighbors. Our new paper in @ScienceMagazine reveals a cell-nonautonomous heme acquisition pathway essential for erythroid hemoglobinization. #heme #erythropoiesis #anemia www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
A cell-nonautonomous heme acquisition pathway enables erythroid hemoglobinization under stress
Heme, an iron-containing cofactor, is synthesized in mitochondria by an eight-enzyme pathway. Although cells were thought to manage heme autonomously, more than 1000 proteins contribute to its product...
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Applications are open for the Master in Biomedical Research (MIB)! Hands-on training at GIMM & FMUL. Cancer Biology, Neurosciences, Cardiovascular, Infection & Immunity. English-taught. Deadline: May 31. (@gimminstitute.bsky.social) Please share! medicina.ulisboa.pt/en/biomedical-research
medicina.ulisboa.pt
Biomedical Research
We offer a multidisciplinary, transversal and integrated Master training from the bench to the bedside grounded on the four major areas of biomedical research: cell biology and cancer, neurosciences, ...
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Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
This is the front cover of the new edition of @thelancet.com (thanks to @profstevegriffin.bsky.social for sharing) #HealthPolicy #Science 🧪🧵
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Honoring immigrants in research: The Vilcek Prizes in Biomedical Science | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Honoring immigrants in research: The Vilcek Prizes in Biomedical Science
Diverse voices overcome scientific challenges
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
The biggest science breakthroughs in 2025 | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
The biggest science breakthroughs in 2025
From supercharged cancer cells to the first personalized gene-editing therapy, last year was full of scientific advances
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GIMM Institute @gimminstitute.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
@elmiguelche.bsky.social from GIMM and Daniel Costa Gomes from ULSSM and FMUL are leading a project aimed at developing a multi-omics atlas for sepsis patients to identify cellular mechanisms that lead to organ failure.
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GIMM Institute @gimminstitute.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Two days of scientific discussion and networking will be followed by a day open to the public — reinforcing our commitment to sharing research with society. Secure your ticket! 🔗 Get your ticket: fest.gimm.pt 🎟️ Early bird special rates
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GIMM Institute @gimminstitute.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
GIMM Fest returns September 17–19 with three days dedicated to the future of science and health, this year focusing on microbes. 🦠 Join researchers and innovators for a programme designed to promote scientific exchange and collaboration.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
The great Ruslan Medzhitov strikes again!
nature.com
On the balance of knowledge
Nature Reviews Immunology - Ruslan Medzhitov shares his thoughts on the balance between generating data and developing theories in immunology, with a focus on exploring the rules that govern...
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Iannacone Lab @iannaconelab.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Join us for the 2026 GRC Immunochemistry and Immunobiology "Immune Circuitry and Molecular Pathways in Tissue Homeostasis, Infection, and Disease" in beautiful Barcelona. June 28 - July 3, 2026. Great lineup of speakers! www.grc.org/immunochemis...
grc.org
2026 Immunochemistry and Immunobiology Conference GRC
The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Immunochemistry and Immunobiology will be held in Castelldefels, Barcelona Spain. Apply today to reserve your spot.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
What a ride! 🎉
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Congratulations to Madalena Pereira at the CAML-GIMM PhD Meeting 2026! Fantastic work mapping brain circuits that orchestrate infection responses and halt sepsis progression 🧠🧬 @gimmfoundation.bsky.social
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Congratulations to @soniatrikha.bsky.social at the CAML-GIMM PhD Meeting 2026! Amazing work uncovering a molecular basis of how aging affects COVID-19 mortality 🧬 @gimmfoundation.bsky.social
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Congratulations to @miguelmmesquita.bsky.social at the CAML-GIMM PhD Meeting 2026! Incredible work revealing how macrophages protect themselves from death while engulfing red blood cells 🔴🧬 @gimmfoundation.bsky.social
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Incredible science at the CAML-GIMM PhD Meeting 2026! So proud of the outstanding presentations from our GIMM students across both campuses. 🧬 The meeting showcased "home made" cutting-edge research! Congratulations to Sonia Trikha, Madalena Pereira and Miguel Mesquita! @gimmfoundation.bsky.social
From left to right: Sonia, Madalena and Miguel
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Ivan Zanoni @lozanzi.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
#DirtyIsBetter! @rmedzhitov.bsky.social, Erickson &co show @nature.com that pet shop mice are protected from #allergy thanks to cross reactive type I (or tolerogenic) immune memory that prevents type II allergen-driven responses! doi.org/10.1038/s415...
doi.org
Environmentally driven immune imprinting protects against allergy - Nature
In a mouse model, environmental immunostimulation in early life led to cross-reactive adaptive immune memory and reduced type II immune responses to allergens, indicating a mechanistic relationship be...
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
4/4: With @elisajentho #DiseaseTolerance #EvolutionaryMedicine #AntagonisticPleiotropy @gimmfoundation.bsky.social
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
3/4: This strengthens the evolutionary concept of antagonistic pleiotropy - the same genetic program that promotes survival early in life drives mortality later on.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
2/4: Stress responses that enhance disease tolerance through tissue-damage control during reproductive years can impose lethal costs in post-reproductive life.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
1/4:"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" - Dobzhansky An intriguing discovery by the Ayres laboratory reveals how evolution shapes our response to infection across the lifespan. 🧬 Research: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Disease tolerance and infection pathogenesis age-related tradeoffs in mice - Nature
Disease course and pathology an infection may cause can change owing to the structural and functional physiological changes that accumulate with age, but therapy can be tailored accordingly; disease t...
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Ageing rewires the body’s tolerance to infection www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Ageing rewires the body’s tolerance to infection
In life-threatening sepsis, the same signalling pathway that protects young mice from succumbing to organ dysfunction exacerbates damage and lethality in older animals.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
@gimmfoundation.bsky.social
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
With @elisajentho #DiseaseTolerance #EvolutionaryMedicine #AntagonisticPleiotropy
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
This strengthens the evolutionary concept of antagonistic pleiotropy - the same genetic program that promotes survival early in life drives mortality later on.
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Stress responses that enhance disease tolerance through tissue-damage control during reproductive years can impose lethal costs in post-reproductive life.
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Ivan Zanoni @lozanzi.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
#WeekendRead! #SameSameButDifferent! #FirstLove! Its discovery changed our understanding of the functioning of innate immunity and of the immune response in general, but actually not all TLR4s are equal, check this out @jimmunol.bsky.social 👇👇👇 academic.oup.com/jimmunol/art...
academic.oup.com
TLR4al senses heme as a key damage/danger-associated molecular pattern to activate immune responses in lower vertebrates
Abstract. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a critical pattern recognition receptor, detects microbe- and damage/danger-associated molecular patterns to trigger
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Miguel Soares @elmiguelche.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
This is not an anomaly. It is a method. Correction becomes harassment Public discourse becomes “stalking” Expertise becomes abuse Evidence is replaced by narrative Sex and victimhood are instrumentalised Reputation damage is the objective
marcveldhoen.substack.com
Disinformation: When falsehoods become a political identity
How storytelling is used as "investigation".
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