Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Great workshop, I really value how the night science project is unfolding. They are able to talk about scientific creativity in a precise and yet inspiring way! Looking forward to bring this spirit to Barcelona 051
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 11/09/2026I 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.orgNoncoding transcription controls the developmental dynamics of long-range gene regulationThe 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 ... 29035
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Marc Abrahams @marcabrahams.mstdn.science.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026TODAY! 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] 1815
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... 04010
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Was 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.beLa termodinamica delle miscele liquide, dalla biologia cellulare alla cucina italiana-G. BartolucciYouTube video by UniTrento Fisica 050
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Ricard Alert Zenón @ricardalert.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Our 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.comHamiltonian description of non-reciprocal interactions - Nature PhysicsMany 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... 1239
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)FocalPlane @focalplane.bsky.social · 29/05/2026We 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 BSTfocalplane.biologists.comNew webinar series on cell migration - FocalPlaneNew webinar series on cell migration - News 02515
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Science Magazine @science.org · 28/05/2026Researchers 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 12520196
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Another 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/... 083
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Artemy Kolchinsky @artemyte.bsky.social · 05/05/2026How 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... 1112
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 05/02/2026Congrats 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/... 042
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 15/11/2025Active 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... 1267
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 11/11/2025A 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. 335398
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Julia Eckert @juliaeckert.bsky.social · 23/10/2025Exciting 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! 14314
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Marija Matejčić (mateytch-itch) @marija-matejcic.bsky.social · 04/07/2025On 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... 55922
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 03/10/2025Good 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... 0123
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)epithelial mechanics fan club @epimechfc.bsky.social · 21/09/2025Ever 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. 13411
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Mesoscopic Physics of Life (MPoL) @m-pol.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Great to see the role of phase separation in the culinary world being recognised. 🧀🍝 A huge congratulations to @gbart.bsky.social and collaborators! 1102
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 22/09/2025Thanks a lot Chris and all the Augsburg crew 🥹🥹 020
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Max-Planck-Gesellschaft @maxplanck.de · 19/09/2025Truly 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.comThe Secret to a Smooth Pasta Sauce Wins Ig Nobel PrizeItalian 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. 06417
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 19/09/2025Still can't believe this: WE WON THE IG NOBEL PHYSICS PRIZE www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...washingtonpost.comWith painted cows and a perfect pasta sauce, ‘Ig Nobel’ winners claim glorySome 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.” 4494
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Lars Hubatsch @larshubatsch.bsky.social · 19/09/2025Amazing!!! 🧪 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👇 1357
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems @mpipks.bsky.social · 19/09/2025IG 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/d41586-025-03045-0nature.comTipsy bats and perfect pasta: Ig Nobels celebrate ‘improbable’ researchThe annual awards are a celebration of weird but thought-provoking science. 14416
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Ricard Alert Zenón @ricardalert.bsky.social · 02/08/2025Dreaming 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.comCapillary interactions drive the self-organization of bacterial colonies - Nature PhysicsBacteria 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. 35613
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025Finally, we move to the opposite limit: fast reactions! We observe spirals of droplets, but, perhaps surprisingly, phase equilibrium still holds on the mesoscale. Indeed, local averages show that the concentrations in and outside of drops still lie on the binodal manifold! 010
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025This framework even allows for a new kind of stability analysis of an inhomogeneous state 🥹 010
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025By imposing timescale separation between slow reactions and fast diffusion, we define a dynamics at phase equilibrium. We exploit it to study the effects of localisation of B and C in the A-rich and A-poor phases, showing dampening and amplification of the oscillations. 000
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025As expected, we see a periodic emergence of droplets: 000
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025The model: Cahn–Hilliard dynamics for three solutes and a solvent, where the three solutes (ABC) convert into each other according to the Rock-Paper-Scissors (RPS) reaction network. We break the symmetry and let A drive phase separation while B, C can localize in the A-rich or A-poor phase. 000
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 01/08/2025Proud 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 5154
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.orgPhase 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 0264
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 0134
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Elisa Nerli @nerlielisa.bsky.social · 09/04/2025How 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 314337
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)Özge Özgüç @oozguc.bsky.social · 27/03/2025Whaaat?! Cell-estial Bloom took 1st place in the Node–FocalPlane image competition! 🤯🤯🤯 1183
Reposted by Giacomo Bartolucci (he)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. 1308
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 28/01/2025It takes a lot of cheese to become a Ragazzone ;) 010
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025But, most importantly, we became a meme! Thanks a lot to "La scienza coatta" <3 www.instagram.com/p/DEXJ-iKNiq...instagram.comLogin • InstagramWelcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world. 020
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025Also La repubblica and Il corriere www.repubblica.it/il-gusto/202... www.corriere.it/cook/news/25...repubblica.itCacio e pepe, la ricetta perfetta esiste: i segreti svelati da un team di ricercatoriUn gruppo di studiosi ha portato avanti un’analisi scientifica su uno dei piatti italiani più amati. La scoperta: cruciale il rapporto fra amido e formaggio. E… 010
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025The new scientist also wrote about us: www.newscientist.com/article/2463...newscientist.comPhysicists discover the secret to perfect cacio e pepe pastaThe classic Italian cacio e pepe pasta is notoriously tricky to get right, but physicists have come up with a trick to achieve a perfectly smooth cheese sauce 020
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025BBC podcast in which the host cooks cacio e pepe live (!) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, UK AI & science-optimised pastaThe positives and pitfalls of AI in medicine and a pasta recipe with added physics. 030
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025The full article: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/s...nytimes.comThe Perfect Cacio e Pepe Recipe, According to ScienceItalian scientists have drawn from thermodynamic principles to prevent a famous pasta from turning into a gooey mess. 040
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 27/01/2025Thanks 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.socialnytimes.comQuotation of the Day: The Perfect Cacio e Pepe Recipe Does Exist. Just Ask Scientists.Quotation of the Day for Saturday, January 25, 2025. 9236
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 06/01/2025In the meantime some of the authors joined Bluesky! @ivanditerlizzi.bsky.social @vicioms.bsky.social 060
Giacomo Bartolucci (he) @gbart.bsky.social · 05/01/2025Thanks! If I remember correctly corn starch is gluten-free, and will do the job ;) 150