news 2018

Bacteria make use of a number of natural resistance strategies to overcome antibiotics. And it seems that this bacterial toolbox may be much more varied than previously thought. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur, in collaboration with Inserm, INRA, the CNRS and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have recently revealed an entirely unknown resistance mechanism in Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

PARIS, 17 december 2018 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.

A diet based on MON 810 or NK603 transgenic maize does not affect the health or metabolism of rats, under the conditions of the GMO 90+1 project 1 . This unprecedented study performed by a research consortium led by Inra brought together a number of partners 2 , including Inserm. For six months, rats were fed a diet containing either GM maize (MON 810 or NK603) or non-GM maize, in varying concentrations.

Paris, 6 December 2018 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 (December 6th, 2018), shows that this inflammation can be prevented by extracellular DNA degradation, suggesting a new therapeutic target.

Paris, December 5, 2018 Researchers from the CNRS 1 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.

Paris, 29 November 2018 About 75% of amputees exhibit mobility of their phantom limb. Using this information, in collaboration with physicians 1 , researchers from CNRS and Aix-Marseille 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.

Paris, November 29, 2018 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.

Paris, 22 November 2018 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.

Paris, 15 November 2018 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.

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.

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.

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.

Researchers from the CNRS and Université de Rennes 1 1 , 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.

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.

A 2016 study 1 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.

To understand why some cancer cells resist radiotherapy, an international team of researchers has used crystallography to “photograph” the first moments of the molecular ballet that allows these cells to repair their DNA. The study involved teams from the CEA, CNRS, SOLEIL (French synchrotron facility), University of Paris-Sud, Gustave Roussy, Aix-Marseille University and University Paul Sabatier - Toulouse III 1 .

Over the last few years, scientists have discovered connections between gut microbiota imbalances and various diseases. Now, in a study using mice, biologists from the CNRS, INSERM, and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University -together with colleagues from the Institut Pasteur de Lille and the NIH (USA)- have revealed a surprising relationship between a viral detection system, the composition of the gut microbiota, and the development of skin allergies.

Plant genome editing is a technology that attracts much social and regulatory debate: INRA has defined a strategy for the use of these new techniques to acquire new knowledge and in plant breeding. The principles underlying this strategy are in line with the Institute's values and with its ambition to contribute to environmental, social and economic progress.

Abstract: Roses have high cultural and economic importance as ornamental plants and in the perfume industry. We report the rose whole-genome sequencing and assembly and resequencing of major genotypes that contributed to rose domestication. We generated a homozygous genotype from a heterozygous diploid modern rose progenitor, Rosa chinensis 'Old Blush'.

What if social behavior affected the progression of even noncontagious diseases' This is precisely what has been demonstrated by French CNRS teams, 1 with support from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Paris-Sud University, the University of Montpellier, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), and colleagues from Spain and Australia.