news 2022

Although the response of various immune cells to SARS-CoV-2 infection has been relatively well studied, that of basophils (a category of white blood cells) had not been characterized yet - mainly because of their rarity in that they represent around 0.5% of the body's white blood cells. In a new study, researchers from Inserm, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, CNRS, Institut Pasteur and Efrei describe how basophils respond to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Publication of the LBMC in the journal Current biology on February 7, 2022. CNRS-INSB communication on February 21, 2022. Wolbachia are widespread endosymbiotic bacteria that manipulate the reproduction of arthropods through a diversity of cellular mechanisms. In cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a sterility syndrome originally discovered in the mosquito Culex pipiens , uninfected eggs fertilized by sperm from infected males are selectively killed during embryo development following the abortive segregation of paternal chromosomes in the zygote.

Brain microglia (green) initiating expression of cell division marker (red), but unable divide due to co-expression of a senescence marker (blue), due to the chemotherapy treatment (busulfan). K. Sailor/ PM Lledo, Institut Pasteur. Annually over 50,000 bone marrow transplantations occur worldwide as a therapy for multiple cancerous and non-cancerous diseases.

Thanks to their capacity for introspection, human beings are able to estimate the duration of their actions. When they perform a task - especially a time-based task - they can evaluate their performance and correct themselves in order to do better next time.

A team of geologists and palaeontologists has discovered that, some 50 million years ago, there was a low-lying continent separating Europe from Asia that they have named Balkanatolia. Geographical changes 40 to 34 million years ago connected this continent to its two neighbours, paving the way for the replacement of European mammals by Asian mammals.

Selective activation of the AMPK enzyme would lead to the death of leukaemia cells (in purple in this image). Jérôme Tamburini / UNIGE High resolution pictures A Swiss-French team that includes scientists has discovered how to trigger apoptosis in leukaemia cells by disrupting their energy maintenance mechanism.

Publication of the CRAL in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on Fabruary 8, 2022. CNRS-INSU communication on February 14, 2022. Context . Extreme adaptive optics systems, such as the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch facility (SPHERE), push forward the limits in high contrast and high resolution in direct imaging.

Monoclonal antibody therapy can be very effective in treating numerous illnesses, such as cancers, chronic inflammatory conditions, and infectious diseases. However, it is costly and uses molecules that are complicated to produce. Therefore, it is essential to identify new therapeutic alternatives so that as many patients as possible get the treatments they need.

Many mountain populations-in the Andes or Himalayas, for example-rely on glaciers for their water. Yet changes in glacial water reserves, like predictions of sea level rise, greatly depend on glacier volume and thickness, both of which have been poorly evaluated-until now. By analysing over 800,000 pairs of satellite images, researchers from the CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes (France), 1 and Dartmouth College (USA) have established the first global map of flow velocities for 98% (>200,000) of the world's glaciers.

Microscopic visualization of lymphocytes ( in green ) infiltrating a tumor HEV ( in red ) during combination anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapy. The white arrow indicates a lymphocyte that is leaving the bloodstream and entering the tumor ( Immunotherapy, a therapeutic strategy aimed at increasing the activity of the immune system in order to recognize and destroy cancer cells, has revolutionized cancer treatment over the past decade.

A major contributor to climate change, methane (CH4) has a global warming potential approximately 30 times higher than that of CO2, over a 100-year period. One quarter of anthropogenic emissions of this greenhouse gas originate in worldwide extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas (of which methane is the main component).

The temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, a remnant of the energy unleashed by the Big Bang, has for the first time been measured at a very early stage in the history of the Universe, a mere 880 million years after it first formed. This remarkable result was achieved by an international group of astrophysicists who used NOEMA to observe a massive starburst galaxy, HFLS3, which was active at that time in cosmic history.

SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 disease attached to human respiratory epithelial cells. ©M.Rosa-Calatraval/O.Terrier/A.Pizzorno/E.Errazuriz-Cerda Almost 60% of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have lymphopenia - a lower than normal number of lymphocytes in the blood circulation.

Disharmonious overgrowth syndromes are rare genetic diseases associated with a PIK3CA gene mutation. Since 2016, a team of researchers from Inserm, Paris Public Hospitals Group (AP-HP), Université de Paris, the Disharmonious Overgrowth and Vascular Abnormalities Unit of Institut Necker-Enfants Malades and the clinical departments of Hospices Civils of Lyon has demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of alpelisib, a molecule used to fight certain cancers, in treating a group of children and adults with severe forms of these diseases.

Teams from the AP-HP, University of Paris, Inserm, within the Imagine Institute, the University College of London, and Généthon, have carried out work on treatment by gene therapy consisting of transplanting the patient's own genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells as part of a phase I/II clinical trial, promoted by Genethon, in 8 patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS).

In collaboration with a Canadian team, scientists from Inserm and Université de Tours, at Unit 1253 Imaging & Brain1, have shown in post-mortem brain samples that victims of child abuse present specific brain characteristics. The teams have revealed for the first time in humans an increase in the number and maturation of perineuronal nets, dense protein structures surrounding the neurons.

Users of different transport types breathe in over twice the dose of black carbon per 30-minute period when traveling compared with when not traveling (when at home or at work, for example). Unsplash The measurements of individual exposure to pollution, which are generally taken at the place of residence, overlook two major parameters: the much higher exposure occurring during travel and the variations in air volumes, and consequently the varying levels of air pollutants, which are inhaled according to the intensity of physical exertion involved by the journey.

Every year in France, fine particle pollution (particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres 1 ) leads to the premature death of around 40,000 people. The associated cost is estimated at €100 billion per year. Despite this, public policies to combat air pollution are generally implemented without first assessing their future health and economic impacts.

In a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters, two scientists - Chloé Michaut from Ecole normale supérieure de Lyon 1 and Jerome A. Neufeld from University of Cambridge 2 , propose a new model of crystallization of the lunar magma ocean where the crystals remain suspended in the lunar interior and the formation of the crust only begins once a critical crystal content is reached.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow, with a life expectancy of less than 5 years post-diagnosis. Proteasome inhibitors, the therapeutic backbone of current treatments, are very effective in treating newly diagnosed cancers but resistance or intolerance to these molecules inevitably develop, leading to relapses.