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Life Sciences - Health - 08.01.2025
Post-traumatic stress: brain plasticity, a key mechanism for trauma resilience
The Remember project provides new insights into post-traumatic stress disorder © Inserm Following a shocking, dangerous or frightening experience, such as a terrorist attack, many people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In order to improve its management, numerous scientific studies are examining the neurobiological processes underlying the development of this disorder.
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 16.12.2024
Influenza virus genome: finally discovered in its coat
To fight the virus that causes influenza, one of the avenues being explored by scientists is the development of drugs capable of destabilising its genome, made up of eight RNA 1 molecules.
Environment - Life Sciences - 03.12.2024
Bioethanol: optimising wood pre-treatment for profitable production
Various complex processes enable the release of the sugars contained in wood, which are used in particular to produce second-generation bioethanol. Scientists from INRAE, the University of Reims-Champagne-Ardenne and the company Européenne de Biomasse have identified ranges of technological trade-off (temperature and pre-treatment time) that enable oak and poplar residues to be reclaimed while minimising the economic investment.
Health - Life Sciences - 21.11.2024
Bacteriophages: a targeted alternative to antibiotics
With the rise of antibiotics in the 1930s, phage therapy (i.e. the use of viruses called bacteriophages to fight bacterial infections) was abandoned. Today, with the rise of antibiotic resistance making the treatment of bacterial infections increasingly difficult, phage therapy is once again attracting the interest of doctors and researchers, despite the complexity of its application due to the great diversity and specificity of bacteriophages.
Life Sciences - Environment - 13.11.2024
Maritime pine seeds remember temperature conditions
The seeds of maritime pines remember the temperatures they experienced during early development. This memory persists in young trees for at least two years after germination. The above discovery was made by researchers at INRAE, CEA, FCBA, the University of Orléans, the University of Perpignan, and the University of Lisbon.
Environment - Life Sciences - 29.10.2024
Monitoring biodiversity: an embedded camera that captures even the most elusive organisms
Observe almost any animal or plant, in any weather, day or night. This has been made possible thanks to the work of an international team, led by researchers from Westlake University, China in collaboration with INRAE, who have designed an embedded vision camera capable of analysing images in real time.
Health - Life Sciences - 29.10.2024
Vitamin supplementation could improve some symptoms of severe myopathy
Myotubular myopathy is a rare genetic disease caused by mutations in the MTM1 gene. A study carried out in animals by researchers from Inserm, CNRS and the University of Strasbourg at the IGBMC, in collaboration with American teams, has shed light on the underlying mechanisms of this disease. Published in the journal Science , these studies suggest that vitamin K supplementation could improve certain symptoms of the disease, opening up new therapeutic prospects.
Life Sciences - Health - 24.10.2024
Predominance of zoonotic transmission of the mpox virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Central Africa, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is highly affected by successive mpox outbreaks. Until now, the extent of genetic diversity of the virus had not been well characterised in this region of the world. For the first time, as part of the AFROSCREEN project and the PANAFPOX project , teams from the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in DRC, IRD and Inserm have provided important new information on the genetic diversity of mpox virus circulating in DRC and on the predominant route of transmission.
Life Sciences - 15.10.2024
Why birds do not fall while sleeping
The only permanent bipeds of the animal kingdom alongside humans, birds have an extraordinary sense of balance. How do these direct descendants of the dinosaurs maintain this stability, especially when sleeping? Scientists recently succeeded in solving the mystery. It may sound like a tall tale, but that is more or less the one recounted in a recent publication by a team of scientists at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) and the CNRS, which explains in the pages of the Journal of the Royal Society Interface 1 how birds can sleep while standing, without losing their balance.
Environment - Life Sciences - 07.10.2024
Biomass: a source of innovative molecules & materials
INRAE scientists are exploring how products and byproducts can be transformed into new molecules and biomaterials with utility in a wide range of sectors, including the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, medical, chemical, agricultural, food processing, automotive, and construction industries. Building a strong bioeconomy is crucial if we wish to achieve carbon neutrality and limit greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Health - Life Sciences - 02.10.2024
Unravelling the mystery of dormancy in food pathogens for more effective elimination
Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that causes listeriosis, a serious disease, can go into dormancy when confronted with environmental stress, for example in the presence of detergents or in water devoid of nutrients. It then becomes undetectable by the tests commonly used in the food industry and hospitals, thus representing a major health risk.
Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 30.09.2024
Data science for cattle health: an innovative method reveals 33 previously invisible genetic anomalies
French cattle breeding faces a major challenge: the management of inbreeding and its corollary, the appearance of recessive genetic anomalies affecting the health and sustainability of herds. A proof-of-concept study conducted by INRAE geneticists, in partnership with the Institut de l'élevage (IDELE), ELIANCE, the 4 French veterinary schools (ENVF) and the main French breeding organizations and companies, proposes a new approach to identifying and countering these anomalies.
Environment - Life Sciences - 27.09.2024
How climate change affects deer
A European study, led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences with the participation of INRAE, reviewed 20 years of research into the effects of climate change on deer populations in Europe, Asia and North America. The review, published in Global Change Biology, covered 218 scientific articles and showed that while many deer populations benefit from warmer winters, they may not be able to adapt to hotter and drier summers, which could push the animals towards more northerly areas.
Life Sciences - Health - 19.09.2024
COVID-19: animal species identified as potential sources of the pandemic
In a study published in the journal Cell on 19 September, an international research team led by scientists from CNRS 1 , the University of Arizona and Scripps Research in California has identified animal species likely to have served as intermediate hosts for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health - Life Sciences - 27.08.2024
Scientists identify immune cells responsible for cancer
Nearly one in three cancers develops following chronic inflammation, whose origin remains unclear. In a new study, researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Université Claude-Bernard Lyon 1 and the Léon Bérard Centre at the Cancer Research Center of Lyon identified lymphocytes involved in the inflammatory processes and that are thought to be implicated in the generation of these cancers.
Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 27.08.2024
Covid-19 and hepatitis C: a key discovery for effective drug treatments
Scientists have deciphered the activation pathway of bemnifosbuvir 1 , a drug candidate initially in development to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV). The findings of the research team, led by CNRS scientists 2 , unlock new opportunities to boost the efficacy of this type of drug against other RNA viruses, such as the ones that cause Covid-19 and dengue fever.
Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 09.08.2024
PDO cheeses and milks harbour startling microbial diversity
In France, 46 regional cheeses possess protected designation of origin (PDO) status. France's rich regional landscapes, terroirs, shape the microbial diversity of PDO cheeses, giving rise to their unique flavours. Researchers from INRAE, CEA, CNAOL, and CNIEL made this remarkable discovery after analysing the bacteria, yeasts, and moulds found in over 2,000 samples of French PDO cheeses and in nearly 400 milk sources.
Life Sciences - 02.08.2024
Why do roses have thorns?
Prickles, wrongly named "thorns" for roses, have appeared in various plant species over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. An international research consortium, led by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the USA and involving INRAE, has discovered the gene responsible for the presence of prickles in various plant species, including Roses.
Health - Life Sciences - 24.07.2024
Fighting leukaemia by targeting its stem cells
Acute myeloid leukaemia is one of the deadliest cancers. Leukaemic stem cells responsible for the disease are highly resistant to treatment. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), and Inserm has made a breakthrough by identifying some of the genetic and energetic characteristics of these stem cells.
Life Sciences - Health - 10.07.2024
Discovery of a new defence mechanism in bacteria
When confronted with an antibiotic, toxic substance, or other source of considerable stress, bacteria are able to activate a defence mechanism using cell-to-cell communication to 'warn' unaffected bacteria, which can then anticipate, shield themselves and spread the warning signal. This mechanism 1 has just been described for the first time by a team of scientists 2 from CNRS and Université de Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier.