http://www.cnrs.fr Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique fr CNRS Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:44:43 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3182.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3182.htm Researchers at the CNRS, Université Paris Diderot and Université Paris Descartes have demonstrated how the growth of veins and arteries unfolds in embryonic development. Their findings prove that, contrary to prevailing opinion, blood exits arteries at an upstream point of the vessel, not its end. Additionally, veins develop in an interlaced pattern between arteries, where blood passes through the capillaries. Results appear in the December 21, 2018 edition of Communications Biology. Fri, 21 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3191.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3191.htm Researchers at CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur and Inserm have demonstrated a new mechanism related to the onset of migraine. In fact, they found how a mutation, causes dysfunction in a protein which inhibits neuronal electrical activity, induces migraines. These results, published in Neuron on December 17, 2018, open a new path for the development of anti-migraine medicines. Mon, 17 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3190.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3190.htm Researchers, intellectuals and spiritual leaders jointly call for swift and just climate action. Together, they formulate the Katowice Memorandum at a symposium co-organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) during the 24th UN Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) in Katowice, Poland. Mon, 10 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3189.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3189.htm Teams at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have begun checking out InSight on Mars after the excitement and tension of its successful landing on Monday 26 November. These operations have revealed what wind sounds like on Mars—a world first—thanks to recordings by two instruments on the lander, one of them the French SEIS seismometer. Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3186.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3186.htm Researchers from the CNRS, the University of Orléans, and the company Artimmune, in collaboration with Turkish clinicians from Atatürk University, have identified a key mechanism of lung inflammation induced by silica exposure, which leads to silicosis, an incurable disease. Their study in mice and patients, published in Nature Communications (December 6th, 2018), shows that this inflammation can be prevented by extracellular DNA degradation, suggesting a new therapeutic target. Thu, 06 Dec 2018 11:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3183.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3183.htm Researchers from the CNRS¹ and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) have prepared the first global map of the distribution of atmospheric ammonia (NH₃) by analyzing measurements taken by satellites between 2008 and 2016. The IASI interferometer developed by the CNES allowed them to catalog more than 200 ammonia sources, two-thirds of which had never been identified before. These sources are essentially sites of intensive livestock production and industrial activity. The team's findings are published in Nature (December 5). Wed, 05 Dec 2018 19:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3187.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3187.htm After the excitement and tension of its successful landing on Mars on Monday 26 November, InSight has started powering up and checking out its subsystems. The SEIS¹ seismometer, supplied by CNES as lead contractor with the IPGP global physics institute in Paris as principal investigator working with teams at the French national scientific research centre CNRS, was tested out on Friday 30 November. Everything is nominal and the instrument is in great shape. Wed, 05 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3181.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3181.htm About 75% of amputees exhibit mobility of their phantom limb. Using this information, in collaboration with physicians¹, researchers from CNRS, Aix-Marseille University and Sorbonne University have developed a prototype capable of detecting these movements and activating a prosthetic arm. The prosthesis does not require any surgery and patients do not need training. The results are published on November 29, 2018 in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. Thu, 29 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3184.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3184.htm Researchers from the CNRS and université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier (UT3) show that fruit flies possess all of the cognitive capacities needed to culturally transmit their sexual preferences across generations. The study, published on November 30, 2018 in Science, provides the first experimental toolbox for studying the existence of animal cultures, thereby opening up an entire field of research. Thu, 29 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3185.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3185.htm Scientists have revealed, for the first time outside our Galaxy, the properties of rapidly moving gas clouds in the immediate vicinity of a super-massive black hole, enabling the mass of the black hole to be measured with unprecedented accuracy. The measurement was carried out using the GRAVITY instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT, European Southern Observatory) by an international team led by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and including researchers from the CNRS, Observatoire de Paris - PSL, Université Grenoble-Alpes and Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur. The findings are published in Nature on 29 November 2018. Thu, 29 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3188.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3188.htm Monday 26 November at 20:54 CET, InSight (INterior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) landed on Mars with the French SEIS seismometer (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure), the mission's main instrument, in the western portion of Elysium Planitia. Launched on the night of 5 May from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, InSight is now all set to begin its two-year mission to probe the red planet's deep interior and attempt to answer the question taxing the minds of planetologists everywhere: Mars may have been habitable, but did it ever actually support life? Mon, 26 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3180.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3180.htm Asymmetry plays a major role in biology at every scale: think of DNA spirals, the fact that the human heart is positioned on the left, our preference to use our left or right hand … A team from the Institute of biology Valrose (CNRS/Inserm/Université Côte d'Azur), in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania, has shown how a single protein induces a spiral motion in another molecule. Through a domino effect, this causes cells, organs, and indeed the entire body to twist, triggering lateralized behaviour. This research is published in the journal Science on November 23, 2018. Thu, 22 Nov 2018 20:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3179.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3179.htm To protect neurons and limit the damage after a stroke, researchers from the CNRS, the University of Caen-Normandie, University Paris-Est Créteil, and the company OTR3 have pursued an innovative path: targeting the matrix that surrounds and supports brain cells. Their results, just published in the journal Theranostics, have confirmed this strategy on rats, and will lead to a clinical study between now and late 2019. Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3177.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3177.htm A research team from CNRS, Université PSL, the Collège de France and Inserm has just lifted part of the veil surrounding brain activity during sleep. Though we know that some neurons are reactivated then to consolidate our memories, we did not know how these cells could “remember” which order to turn on in. The researchers have discovered that reactivating neurons during sleep relies on activation that occurs during the day: “nested” theta sequences. These results were published on November 9, 2018 in Science. Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3178.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3178.htm Wednesday 7 November 2018 officially launches the European Plate Observing System (EPOS) for the pooling and streamlining of data and services of all kinds for the study of our planet. This initiative, for which the CNRS and BRGM are working together with the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, in part aims to better understand the mechanisms behind earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Developed in line with the principles of open science, EPOS infrastructure will henceforth be a legal entity, in the form of a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3176.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3176.htm On October 29, 2018 the European Union announced the projects selected for the FET Flagship on Quantum Technologies, a European research program of unprecedented scope, with funding of one billion euros over ten years. Its objective is to develop quantum technology applications by strengthening partnerships between research and industry, in the fields of measurement, computation, simulation, and information processing and communication. The EU selected twenty projects, nineteen of which are research projects: ten of these research projects are based on French teams, and among these teams thirteen are laboratories affiliated with the CNRS, while two are coordinated by French organizations, Sorbonne Université and Thales. Mon, 29 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3175.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3175.htm After two and a half years navigating the Pacific, where over 40% of our planet's coral reefs are found, the schooner Tara returned to Lorient, its home port in Brittany, on October 27. Led by the Tara Expeditions Foundation, the Tara Pacific expedition deserves a round of applause: it has allowed scientists to study the impact of anthropogenic pressures on Pacific coral reefs using a novel approach on an unprecedented scale. Initial observations reveal very diverse reef states due to a varying mix of global and local stress factors. At certain sites, like the Chesterfield Islands, reefs were intact, but global warming has marred those at many other sites, like the Samoan Islands and some islands of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. With the 36,000+ samples collected, scientists are now carrying out analyses for a precise understanding of corals and their capacity for adaptation to climatic and other environmental changes. Tara Pacific has received support from the CNRS, Paris Sciences et Lettres, the CEA, the Scientific Centre of Monaco, and many other public and private sponsors, including agnès b., the Veolia Foundation, and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, to name but a few. Fri, 26 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3174.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3174.htm In 2016, researchers at CNRS (members of TSE – Université Toulouse Capitole), MIT, Harvard University and the University of British Columbia launched the “Moral Machine” online platform to ask users about moral dilemmas facing us in the development of autonomous vehicles. The researchers gathered 40 million decisions from millions of web users worldwide. The results show global moral preferences that may guide decision makers and companies in the future. The analysis of this data was published in Nature on October 24, 2018. Wed, 24 Oct 2018 19:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3173.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3173.htm While stem cells have the most therapeutic potential, the benefits of regenerative medicine may best be mobilised using extracellular vesicles (EVs), also known in the past as “cellular dust”. A team of researchers from CNRS, AP-HP, INSERM and Paris Descartes and Paris Diderot Universities have tested these vesicles for the first time in a porcine model for the treatment of post-operative digestive fistulas. Their results, which yielded a 100% success rate and appear in the 23 October 2018 edition of ACS Nano, open the door to testing in humans and broader possibilities for applications. Tue, 23 Oct 2018 06:01:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3171.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3171.htm Amid a plan announced by the United Nations to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030, a new study has revealed the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of the disease which go undetected by WHO-endorsed tests. These findings, from an international research team co-directed by CNRS researcher Philip Supply at the Center of Infection and Immunity of Lille (CNRS/Inserm/Institut Pasteur de Lille/Université de Lille), are published in the 18 October 2018 edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases. This follows another article, published in the 26 September edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, proposing a new algorithm to detect resistant strains of tuberculosis. Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3172.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3172.htm The goal of the PRIME-DE¹ data exchange is to make primate brain imaging datasets acquired in laboratories available to the entire scientific community. PRIME-DE was created by an international consortium of 22 teams—including six from the CNRS, INSERM, and the CEA—all working with macaques. Because the brains of macaques are organized so similarly to our own, these animals are crucial to the study of human brain function and pathology. The PRIME-DE initiative, presented in an article published in Neuron on September 27, 2018, should enhance the statistical relevance of acquired data and limit the number of animals used in research. Wed, 17 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3162.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3162.htm Researchers from the Sleep Team at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CNRS / INSERM / Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University / Université Jean Monnet), together with a colleague from the MECADEV research laboratory (CNRS / Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle)¹ have confirmed that lizards exhibit two sleep states, just like humans, other mammals, and birds. They corroborated the conclusions of a 2016 study on the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) and conducted the same sleep investigation on another lizard, the Argentine tegu (Salvator merianae). Their findings, published in PLOS Biology (October 11, 2018), nevertheless point out differences between species, which raises new questions about the origin of sleep states. Thu, 11 Oct 2018 20:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3167.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3167.htm Researchers from the CNRS and Université de Rennes 1¹, in collaboration with Airbus, have designed a visual pattern that elicits long-term avoidance of high-risk areas by raptors. The scientists' work clears the way for further investigation into the visual cognition of these birds, and it has applications for conservation, because raptors are among the most common victims of collisions with planes and wind turbines. Their findings are published in PLOS ONE (October 11, 2018). Thu, 11 Oct 2018 20:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3168.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3168.htm A 2016 study¹ showed that exposure to urban pollution involving magnetite particles played a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. It began from the hypothesis that magnetite particles would generate chemical reactions that could cause oxidative stress for neurons. CNRS researchers have now called this connection into question, showing that it is very unlikely that magnetite is involved in neuron degeneration. Their work was published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on October 11, 2018. Wed, 10 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0100 http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3170.htm http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/3170.htm Valérie Castellani, Thierry Chartier, and Daniel Le Berre are the recipients of the 2018 CNRS Innovation Medals. All three will be handed their medals during a ceremony held on October 10 in Paris. Since 2011, CNRS Innovation Medals have recognized scientists whose outstanding research has led to innovations having notable technological, economic, therapeutic, or social impacts. Wed, 10 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0100