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Giacomo Bartolucci (he)

@gbart.bsky.social
667 followers 1.2K following 56 posts

giacobarto.github.io I love biophysics, jazz, poetry, and activism, especially when mixed together! Into phase separation, and active nematics. JdC postdoc at University of Barcelona, previously at MPI PKS Dresden and Uni Augsburg

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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I am rather delighted by this paper. So here’s a thread to tell you why, and why it matters. /1 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Noncoding transcription controls the developmental dynamics of long-range gene regulation
The genomic regions regulating gene expression are often themselves transcribed into a variety of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). However, the regulatory roles of this noncoding transcription remain largely unknown. By using live imaging, we reveal that the ...
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Great opportunity!!
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Friends on the cover!
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Marc Abrahams @marcabrahams.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026
TODAY! The 2026 Ig Nobel Prizes will be awarded at the 36th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, on Thursday evening, September 3, 2026. The ceremony itself begins at 7:00 pm (Central European time). The pre-show dance performance begins at 6:45 pm. The […] [Original post on mstdn.science]
Drawing, by artist Becky Moon, of a person who is the happy target of 1500 happy people throwing paper airplanes at him.
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Ricard Solé @ricardsole.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"Solé reveals a paradox: death is not merely life’s opposite but also one of its organizing forces, a constant cycle of removal and renewal". Delighted to see my new @princetonupress.bsky.social book on the @newyorker.com book review list. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Was a pleasure and an honour to deliver a lectio magistralis at the University of Trento, where I did my master 🥹🥹 I shared my research journey on the phase behaviour of liquid mixtures such as the cytoplasm, the primordial soup and, of course, the cacio e pepe sauce! Here's an clip (in Italian)
youtu.be
La termodinamica delle miscele liquide, dalla biologia cellulare alla cucina italiana-G. Bartolucci
YouTube video by UniTrento Fisica
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Ricard Alert Zenón @ricardalert.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Our paper on a Hamiltonian description of non-reciprocal interactions is out @natphys.nature.com! With Yubo Shi, Roderich Moessner, and @marinbukov.bsky.social @mpipks.bsky.social @ub.edu @icreacommunity.bsky.social Check it out, and read more in the thread below! 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Hamiltonian description of non-reciprocal interactions - Nature Physics
Many active and driven systems exhibit non-reciprocal interactions, making them hard to describe with standard methods. Now a constrained Hamiltonian embedding with auxiliary variables reproduces thes...
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
FocalPlane @focalplane.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
We are excited to announce another new webinar series, this time on cell migration, hosted by @pjsaez.bsky.social & @valeriaventurini.bsky.social. In our 1st webinar, we’ll hear talks from @juanmagararc.bsky.social, @kyohalie.bsky.social & @djcohen.bsky.social. 🗓️11 June, 15:00 BST
focalplane.biologists.com
New webinar series on cell migration - FocalPlane
New webinar series on cell migration - News
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Science Magazine @science.org · 28/05/2026
Researchers have identified superparamagnetic macrophages in the livers of rock pigeons to be crucial for magnetic sensing. The finding uncovers an unexpected role for immune cells in sensory perception and may fundamentally change our understanding of animal navigation. scim.ag/4nTQ3nq
How animals sense Earth’s magnetic field is one of biology’s enduring mysteries. Researchers have now identified superparamagnetic macrophages in the livers of rock pigeons (Columba livia) to be crucial for magnetic sensing. The finding uncovers an unexpected role for immune cells in sensory perception and may fundamentally change our understanding of animal navigation.

Photo: Andreas Teichmann/laif/Redux
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Another incredible chapter of this cheesy story: @vicioms.bsky.social Ivan and Daniel wrote a piece about the physics of cacio e pepe that got to the cover of @physicstoday.aip.org!! physicstoday.aip.org/quick-study/...
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Artemy Kolchinsky @artemyte.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
How does phase separation, a key mechanism of equilibrium self-organization, interact with nonlinear nonequilibrium dynamics? In our paper with Jonathan Bauermann and Giacomo Bartolucci @gbart.bsky.social, we look at phase separation in chemical oscillators journals.aps.org/prl/abstrac...
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Congrats to Dr. @ivarhaugerud.bsky.social who just defended his PhD AND published in PNAS his work studying how droplets influence polymerization of sequences, while, in turn, sequence polymerization affects droplet dynamics! With @m-pol.bsky.social + Dieter Braun www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
Active droplets are fundamental in cell biology and origin of life. With Jonathan Bauermann, @boekhovenlab.bsky.social, Frank Jülicher, and @m-pol.bsky.social, we show that a critical transition influences their size, morphology, ripening and division propensity journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
A biologist at the American Museum of Natural History, Jonathan Coddington, cataloged a new genus of South American spiders in 1986. Two things about the spider were unique: they lived in caves & laid cubic eggs. So he called them genus 'Plato', and that's the nerdiest thing I have read all year.
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Julia Eckert @juliaeckert.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
Exciting News! 🥳 Our Epithelial Mechanics Fan Club website is now live! 🎉 👉 epithelialmechanics.github.io Discover our #EpithelialMechanics threads and get to know our amazing delegates behind them. Would you like to share your story? Please DM us!
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Marija Matejčić (mateytch-itch) @marija-matejcic.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
On cell extrusion in the #intestine! After 80 years of observations, we finally took a deeper look thanks to 2D #organoids. We report: 3D #forces, #extrusion still only in the villus even without curvature, #lamellipodia generate 3D force.. and more. Have a look! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Good news in rough times: Our work on generalising Lifshitz-Slyosov-Wagner (LSW) theory to active systems, led by the all-mighty Jonathan Bauermann, is out on PRL!! Special thanks to Christoph Weber @m-pol.bsky.social and Frank Jülicher. doi-org.sire.ub.edu/10.1103/f5x9...
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
epithelial mechanics fan club @epimechfc.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Ever wondered how to control stretch/compression in your epithelial system? Do you know why it’s important, which mechanotransduction mechanisms could be involved? I am @valeriaventurini.bsky.social and today I will guide you through this journey.
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Mesoscopic Physics of Life (MPoL) @m-pol.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Great to see the role of phase separation in the culinary world being recognised. 🧀🍝 A huge congratulations to @gbart.bsky.social and collaborators!
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Can't wait to see you at UB!
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · 19/09/2025
Truly chuffed for our fearless food physicists @mpipks.bsky.social + collabs from AT @istaresearch.bsky.social, IT & ES who won this year’s Ig Nobel - the #NobelPrize of hearts❤️for cracking the science of perfect pasta !🍝Kudos to all for intrepidly consuming lots of cheese in the name of science!😋
the-scientist.com
The Secret to a Smooth Pasta Sauce Wins Ig Nobel Prize
Italian researchers studied how the ingredients of the traditional Roman dish cacio e pepe emulsify into a creamy sauce, winning the 2025 Physics Ig Nobel Prize.
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Still can't believe this: WE WON THE IG NOBEL PHYSICS PRIZE www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
washingtonpost.com
With painted cows and a perfect pasta sauce, ‘Ig Nobel’ winners claim glory
Some of the world’s most imaginative scientific minds have been celebrated at the Ig Nobel awards, which recognize discoveries that make people “laugh, then think.”
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Lars Hubatsch @larshubatsch.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Amazing!!! 🧪 The 2025 Ig Nobel prize goes to scientists from the @mpipks.bsky.social for discovering a bullet proof version to make the classic pasta alla cacio e pepe! Including a deep understanding of the pasta sauce in terms of phase separation physics 😃 Congrats @gbart.bsky.social et al! Links👇
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Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems @mpipks.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
IG Nobel Prize in #Physics 2025 to @mpipks.bsky.social researchers for elucidating the phase behaviour of cacio e pepe sauce. The work highlights how physics can also be applied to solve daily-life problems! nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03045-0
nature.com
Tipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ research
The annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science.
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Ricard Alert Zenón @ricardalert.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Dreaming of a swimming pool? Bacteria are surrounded by water! Water capillary forces organize bacterial colonies into gas, nematic streams, or droplet states. New paper @natphys.nature.com led by Matt Black and Chenyi Fei, with Ned Wingreen and Josh Shaevitz! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Capillary interactions drive the self-organization of bacterial colonies - Nature Physics
Bacteria tend to live in thin layers of water on surfaces. Now the capillary forces in these layers are shown to help organize the bacteria into dense packs.
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Proud of this preprint with my friends Jonathan Bauermann and @artemyte.bsky.social, about chemical oscillators & phase separation! Main findings: 1. Phase separation controls frequency and amplitude of oscillations 2. If reactions are fast, spirals of droplets emerge! arxiv.org/abs/2507.16030
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
"Phase behaviour of Cacio e Pepe sauce" got published in Physics of Fluids as part of the "kitchen flows" series! An important addition to the preprint is the analysis of trisodium citrate preventing clumps What a crazy journey, thanks everyone for the support!! pubs.aip.org/aip/pof/arti...
pubs.aip.org
Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce
“Pasta alla Cacio e pepe” is a traditional Italian dish made with pasta, pecorino cheese, and pepper. Despite its simple ingredient list, achieving the perfect
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Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)
Physics of Life Dresden @poldresden.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
🎉Visit our COSMO event this Friday 🎉 Calling all music and science lovers! @jesseveenvliet.bsky.social from @mpi-cbg.de will give a fascinating talk on how new stem cell models shed light on the fundamentals of life, followed by a musical journey from the 80s to now. Learn more: tud.link/fktb9k
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Elisa Nerli @nerlielisa.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
How can organs regenerate fast? Bioelectricity helps -- by coupling sub-second electrical injury signals to regenerative proliferation. First preprint from my potsdoc :D with @liujinghui.bsky.social @ritamateus.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de and collaborators @mpipks.bsky.social @csbdresden.bsky.social
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Özge Özgüç @oozguc.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Whaaat?! Cell-estial Bloom took 1st place in the Node–FocalPlane image competition! 🤯🤯🤯
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Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems @mpipks.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
"Cacio e pepe" physics: In arxiv.org/abs/2501.00536v1, eight Italian scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems explain the physics behind a perfect dish of "cacio e pepe" and how to eschew the dreaded "mozzarella phase" - work featured @nytimes.com.
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Thanks everyone for the immense interest and great feedback on our preprint! We are super happy (and a bit shocked) that a simple project developed among friends had such a resonance ending up in the New York Times and BBC! @ivanditerlizzi.bsky.social @vicioms.bsky.social @dmbusiello.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Quotation of the Day: The Perfect Cacio e Pepe Recipe Does Exist. Just Ask Scientists.
Quotation of the Day for Saturday, January 25, 2025.
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
1/n Some time ago my colleague, excellent cook, and friend Ivan told me: "Cacio e pepe is the recipe that I screw up more often. Let's make a project studying systematically the physics of that sauce". Prepare to get cheesy, I'm glad to share the Cacio e paper preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2501.00536
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
Proud to see our preprint circulating 🥹
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David Kuster @rnadavid.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Biomolecular condensate starter pack! Trying to compile & to bring together biomolecular condensate enthusiasts & critics! Please join this non-exhaustive (sorry!) collection & just ping me for addition. #condensates, #phaseseparation, #granules, #IDPs go.bsky.app/NFqmffa
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Lars Hubatsch @larshubatsch.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Starting a theoretical biophysics starter pack, feel free to (self-) nominate, I’ll keep updating this in the next days/weeks! go.bsky.app/RMF7jUK
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
What sets the size of active droplets? Which factors affect their ripening and facilitate division? In a project led by the brilliant mind of Jonathan Bauermann, we delve into these profound questions together with Christoph Weber, Frank Jülicher, and Job Boekhoven arxiv.org/abs/2409.03629
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Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Beginning my studies on cell migration with a social media migration youtu.be/e_2lvjZYLL4?...
youtu.be
Olicía - Blue Hour (live at Albertinum Lichthof)
YouTube video by Olicía Music
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