Étiquette : sciences
Silicon Valley, a sociologist in the tech kingdom
Behind its easy-going, accessible appearance, Silicon Valley is a black box that is difficult to grasp. The sociologist Olivier Alexandre provides some keys for doing so, after spending several years there.
A brighter shade of red
The Natufian culture developed between 13,000 and 9,650 years ago in northern Israel, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Recent discoveries suggest that these hunter-gatherers used red pigments of organic origin for the first time.
Investigating the origins of life
How do planets form? How did life emerge from lifeless matter? Does it exist elsewhere? These are just some of the questions that the multidisciplinary Origins programme will attempt to answer.
Unlocking the secrets of marine genomes
Launched on 26 September, the ATLASea research programme will investigate marine biodiversity in mainland France and its overseas territories over a period of eight years. The aim is to collect as many organisms as possible in order to set up the world…
Amazing animal cultures
As this month saw the celebration of World Animal Day, more and more studies demonstrate the existence of animal cultures and social transmission within a given species. Discover another instalment from our series devoted to animal intelligence.
Does thought have its own language?
How do our ideas, perceptions and emotions take form to produce a thought? To answer this question, researchers and philosophers are investigating the hypothesis of a specific language of thought. The psycholinguist Isabelle Dautriche offers a few expl…
Inside the mind of a baby
How does a baby’s mind work? They may be small, but from their very first moments, human beings are always absorbing information. And while they may not learn to stand up until they’re roughly a year old, they start to learn language much sooner. But h…
Inside the mind of a baby
How does a baby’s mind work? They may be small, but from their very first moments, human beings are always absorbing information. And while they may not learn to stand up until they’re roughly a year old, they start to learn language much sooner. But h…
Designing more energy-efficient data centres
As the volume of digital data increases at dizzying speed, the Genesis project is exploring new avenues for reducing its energy impact.
Dark matter: time for axion
Following the disappointing results from other candidates for explaining dark matter, a particle hypothesised over 40 years ago, the axion, has come back to the forefront.
Sandra Lavorel, an ecologist at the peak
The CNRS Gold Medal has been awarded to Sandra Lavorel for her pioneering work in functional ecology. Her research focuses on the functions of ecosystems and their benefits for human societies. She carries it out in the Alps, where she models the effec…
Using our hands to see
It was thought for a long time that the visually-impaired had no mental representation of space. Luckily, this is wrong. Yet this capacity must be developed from the youngest age. In Toulouse (southwestern France), researchers are working in collaborat…
Taming air resistance in marathons
A team of researchers focused on the benefits of drafting for a marathon runner preceded by a “pacer”.
Four CNRS innovators honoured
Patricia Rousselle, Marc Antonini, Jacques Gierak, and Claire Hellio are this year’s recipients of the CNRS Innovation Medal. On 14 November, they will be presented with this distinction, which rewards scientists whose research work has enabled outstan…
Making humans more creative
Marie-Paule Cani sculpts 3D forms and creates animated virtual worlds. Her intelligent systems for visual creation can be used for research, as well as for producing video games, animated films, and special effects. CNRS News puts the spotlight on this…
Animals: from mechanical objects to sentient subjects
Over the last century, ethology has transformed our understanding of the cognitive abilities of animals. CNRS News takes a look at this conceptual revolution in the first part of our series featuring animal intelligence.
Los Ñetas, empowerment through crime?
“We’re a gang, but not like you think: we’re revolutionaries.” The kind of statement that sparked the curiosity of the anthropologist Martin Lamotte, who has spent four years investigating the international gang Los Ñetas, its rules and metamorphoses, …
Touching on vacuum energy
According to quantum theory, a vacuum is actually packed full of energy. Scientists are currently working on an experiment designed to show that it can even slow light down and deflect it.
A gigantic hydrogen deposit in northeast France?
Researchers have discovered a potential natural hydrogen deposit under the coalfields of the northeastern French Lorraine region – possibly the world’s largest reserve of this gas!
The dawn of digital oncology
In the southwestern French town of Toulouse, a team of experts in computer science and oncology is developing software to improve the management of patients and accelerate research.
Wanda Diaz-Merced, the astronomer who listens to the stars
Blind since her teenage years, Wanda Diaz-Merced has developed a technique called “sonification” to convert astrophysical signals into sounds. Building on the success of this impressive tool for research and inclusion, she is an eloquent advocate for m…
Hydrogen The green revolution ?
In the quest for a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, hydrogen is a serious contender. But it still has to be tamed… In this report, a number of researchers and industrialists retrace the long scientific and technical history of hydrogen, a pro…
Cryptocurrencies beyond the buzz
An amazing invention or a public danger? In their soon-to-be fifteen years of existence, cryptoassets have shown that they are a source of opportunity as well as risk, and pose challenges for regulators. These issues have drawn the attention of researc…
The endless cycle of pandemics
Conditions remain conducive to the emergence of new pathogens capable of triggering pandemics. Environmental degradation and the ever-faster movement of people and goods are compounded by the extraordinary adaptability of bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Euclid on a quest to understand dark energy
The expansion of the Universe is accelerating as a result of an enigmatic phenomenon called dark energy. To try to discover what this really is, the Euclid space telescope has been launched on a six-year observation mission that could totally change th…
Urbex, the thrill of urban exploration
Exploring disused sites such as factories, barracks, and former sanatoriums – regardless of danger or whether it is permitted – has become a social phenomenon. The historian Nicolas Offenstadt, an urbex specialist and enthusiast, has delved into this g…
Bodily waste: matter for thought
How do wealthy industrialised societies dispose of their excrement? Research led by the anthropologist Marine Legrand on contemporary management methods for human urine and faecal matter provides an overview. A subject that is both surprising and fasci…
The history of the Amazonian climate lies on the seabed
Until 3 July, a major oceanographic campaign is being conducted off the coast of Brazil. Among other things, the researchers are coring marine sediments, collecting atmospheric dust, and sampling water, all with the aim of elucidating the role of the …
Neanderthals were artists too
Engravings discovered in France, in the Loire valley, are the work of Neanderthals, confirming that our distant cousins were not cognitively inferior to modern humans of that period.
Amazonians face the dilemma of deforestation
Whether urban or rural, younger or older, inhabitants of the Amazon basin are torn between protecting the forest and promoting economic development. The CNRS researcher Lauriane Mouysset has launched the Amazonas project, which combines science and pho…
Boarding the ships of the APERO campaign
APERO, one of the most ambitious oceanographic campaigns in recent memory, takes on the challenge of studying the biological carbon pump in the mesopelagic zone, located between 200 and 1,000 metres below the ocean surface.
Modelling the lungs for personalised medicine
Modelling lung mechanics on all of the scales characteristic of the organ is currently lacking, especially when it comes to understanding the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. To meet this need, researchers are developing an algorithm that…
The deep seabed, a little-known world under threat
Deep sea mining in international waters could be authorised as early as this year. And yet by affecting the ocean’s ability to store carbon, there is a risk this industry could endanger ecosystems whose value and importance scientists are only just beg…
The deep seabed, a little-known world under threat
Deep sea mining in international waters could be authorised as early as this year. And yet by affecting the ocean’s ability to store carbon, there is a risk this industry could endanger ecosystems whose value and importance scientists are only just beg…
The birth of exoplanets
Located at an altitude of 2,500 metres on the Bure plateau in the Alps, the Noema international observatory is the most powerful radio telescope in the northern hemisphere. Thanks to the data collected by its twelve antennas pointed in the same directi…
Political propaganda on record
Political speeches, militant or folk songs… discover a few priceless gems from the over 900 propaganda records produced in France in the twentieth century by political organisations of all stripes. The brand new PSXX platform brings together this for…