Novara, 24 February 2023
In February, UPO organised an event “Snacks with Scientists” (Ricercatori a merenda), where Prof. Giuseppe Cappellano (ARCA) participated by giving a lecture. In that occasion the FLAMIN-GO project was also promoted. The event, aimed at undergraduate students from different schools, involved eleven researchers from UPO who lectured on their topic. The School Istituto Professionale di Stato “G. Ravizza” from Novara prepared snacks related to the topic. For example, there were antibody-shaped cookies.
Professor Giuseppe Cappellano found a wonderful way to explain scientific facts to students: he used music to present how our immune system works: He showed that our immune system is like an orchestra that creates a melody. But when you go out of tune, you develop a disease. In this orchestra, the master is represented by a specialized T cell called the helper T cell, while the violins and guitars are granulocytes or complement proteins, the choirs are chemokines, the tympani are cytokines, and finally the piano is the B lymphocyte.
He also explained to the students why joints can make sound. For example, when we crunch our fingers, we apply a pressure on the synovial fluid in the joint, which causes a small explosion and the sound of bubbles popping. Synovial fluid is a gel-like fluid that fills most of the joints of the body. This fluid is produced in excess in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and it leads to further swelling and inflammation causing pain and stiffness in the joint.
The event was very successful, the students were enthusiastic and very interested.