Matteo Ruggiu, PhD

Bonito skin.

Bonito skin with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Oven baked bonito skin with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Crispy oven baked bonito skin chip.

#scientistswhocook: I used the bonito skin to make crispy oven baked fish skin chips.

#bonito
#palamita
#FishChips

Bonito

Bonito

Diced bonito marinated in olive oil, rosé wine, salt, pepper.

Spaghetti with marinated bonito and bottarga.

#scientistswhocook: spaghetti with bonito (palamita in Italian) marinated in rosé wine, and bottarga.

#spaghetti
#bonito
#palamita
#bottarga

darth vader is wearing a helmet and holding a lightsaber in a dark room . ALT: darth vader is wearing a helmet and holding a lightsaber in a dark room .

I gave q.e.d. a try this week. I'm impressed.

a man and a woman are sitting at a news desk with the words `` go us '' written in front of them . ALT: a man and a woman are sitting at a news desk with the words `` go us '' written in front of them .

Done!

At least he is taking full responsibility for his actions, but yeah, FAFO.

a woman wearing a black turtleneck and gold hoop earrings is sitting in front of a red table talk logo ALT: a woman wearing a black turtleneck and gold hoop earrings is sitting in front of a red table talk logo

Yep

Rainbow trout.

Rainbow trout on a bed of sliced onions, potatoes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Rainbow trout on a bed of sliced onions, potatoes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

Rainbow trout on a bed of sliced onions, potatoes, peppers, and cherry tomatoes.

#scientistswhocook: oven roasted rainbow trout on a bed of sliced onions, potatoes, peppers and cherry tomatoes. The fish was marinated in olive oil and rosé wine.

#rainbowtrout

One question: does the server use only text, or also figures? I imagine one uploads an entire manuscript, figures included, but I also imagine that the algorithm cannot critically evaluate figures, only the authors' interpretation of the figures/results. Is that the case?

a man with his mouth open making a surprised face ALT: a man with his mouth open making a surprised face

Wow!

a man in a blue striped shirt and tie is saying oh my god wow ALT: a man in a blue striped shirt and tie is saying oh my god wow

Wow! Does it work for grant proposals too? Asking for a friend.

Finally, beautiful cover art created by @ella-maru.bsky.social. The image wasn't selected as image cover by JBC, but I love it.

Bonus: RNA editing of CaV1.3_43S also alters drug sensitivity—increasing responsiveness to DHP Ca²⁺ channel blockers.

⚡ Editing is not random—it can reshape both physiology and pharmacology.

#IonChannels #physiology #pharmacology #PrecisionMedicine

Why does this matter?

Neurons expressing CaV1.3_43S are at risk of Ca²⁺ toxicity, e.g. in Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and spinal cord injury.

RNA editing acts as a neuroprotective brake by dampening excessive Ca²⁺ influx.

#Parkinsons #Alzheimers #SpinalCordInjury #NeuroProtective

Editing of CaV1.3_43S produces loss-of-function changes:

👉 ↓ current density

👉 ↑ activation threshold

👉 Depolarized current window

Together, this converts the “short” splice variants into “long-like” channels, reducing Ca²⁺ overload.

CaV1.3 has long (CaV1.3L) and short (CaV1.3_43S) splice variants.

👉 We found that the short variant undergoes ~3x more RNA editing at its IQ domain (a crucial #calmodulin binding site in the C-terminus) than the long form.

This creates multiple edited isoforms with distinct channel properties.

We uncover an unexpected synergy between RNA editing & alternative splicing in the CaV1.3 calcium channel. This mechanism fine-tunes neuronal Ca²⁺ entry & may protect against excitotoxicity.

#IonChannels #CalciumChannel #CACNA1D #ExcitoToxicity

Synergy between RNA editing and alternative splicing modulates the biological properties of the voltage-gated calcium channel CaV1.3 Alternative splicing and adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing are post-transcriptional mechanisms that promote proteomic diversity in the brain. The impact of RNA editing on brain physiology is u...

🚨 New paper alert! 🚨

Our paper entitled: "Synergy between RNA editing and alternative splicing modulates the biological properties of the voltage-gated calcium channel CaV1.3" is out now on Journal of Biological Chemistry!

www.jbc.org/article/S002...

#AlternativeSplicing #RNAediting

🧵 👇

Fresh squid.

Spaghetti with squid (black ink included).

Swordfish steak.

Pan seared swordfish with grilled vegetables.

#scientistswhocook: spaghetti with squid 🦑 (ink 🫟 included) in a white wine, garlic, butter and parsley sauce; pan seared swordfish with a side of grilled vegetables.

#spaghetti #squid #swordfish

a man in a blue suit and tie is looking at something ALT: a man in a blue suit and tie is looking at something

Makes $100k/year but can't afford $800/month rent...? Even with child support something doesn't add up.

Why did this man chose to be a father 4 times, when he clearly never wanted to be involved in taking care of his own kids?

Flu shot

I just got my annual #FluShot 💉. Thanks to my employer, St. John's University, for organizing the Flu Clinic on campus every year.

#VaccinesWork
#VaccinesSaveLives

Spaghetti with fish collar meat from salmon and red snapper.

Salmon and red snapper fish collars.

Salmon and red snapper fish collars.

#scientistswhocook: spaghetti with fish collar meat from salmon and red snapper, in a while wine, garlic, mascarpone, and parsley sauce.

#spaghetti #salmon #RedSnapper

I listened to the article on the Nature podcast, Helen; Very timely. Too bad the scientifically unfounded claim that taking #acetaminophen #Tylenol during pregnancy is linked to autism came out just a few days later.

COVID vaccine shot

I'm grateful that I live in a state where I can still get the #CovidVaccine If I so choose.

Shot number 7 for me 💉 since January 2021.

#VaccinesWork
#VaccinesSaveLives

The worst part, apart from the selfish sister, is the mom scolding OP for something she, the mom, is also not willing to do.

a close up of a woman 's face with a necklace on her neck ALT: a close up of a woman 's face with a necklace on her neck

She can trust that he will do the same thing next time. This is the amount of support she will get:

a man with long curly hair is wearing a black suit and blue tie ALT: a man with long curly hair is wearing a black suit and blue tie

Same.

The husband is a sociopath. However, it sounds like they only dated for 6 months before getting married. Kinda short, I think?

Also, getting pregnant to make him "feel secure"...? What does that even mean?

I just downloaded the audiobook 📖