Making sense of science
Mixing cake batter, following a recipe, cutting a Yule log. These everyday gestures in cooking actually conceal complex concepts from mathematics and computer science, as shown in an exhibition called "In My Kitchen" in southwest France.
Article
05.06.2026
The physicist Valentina Emiliani has been awarded the 2026 Irène Joliot-Curie Female Scientist of the Year prize, in recognition of her work in neurophotonics, at the intersection of optics and neuroscience.
Article
04.30.2026
Maïmouna Bocoum, a physicist specialising in acousto-optics at the Paris-based Langevin Institute, develops imaging technologies for the early detection of breast tumours. She was awarded this year’s Irène Joliot-Curie “Young Female Scientist” award.
Article
04.28.2026
Slideshow
02.25.2026
Many everyday objects contain PFAS, synthetic molecules that are virtually indestructible. These thousands of compounds are accumulating in both nature and our organisms. One avenue for eradicating...
Article
10.27.2025
In August 2025, the Geneva Summit on plastic pollution once again failed to reach agreement on an international treaty, due in particular to a lack of consensus over recycling and its limits. This...
Slideshow
07.17.2025
The early 20th-century artist Robert Delaunay began painting at a pivotal moment in art history, namely during the chemical industry revolution, when the number of pigments available on the market...
Article
07.07.2025
Sand patches dot beaches and deserts, but their origin remains an enigma. Using measurements taken in the desert, physicists have created a model that explains how they form, with a few surprises...
Article
03.26.2025
The metabolism of astronauts, the behaviour of plants, the reactions of living beings to radiation and of foams to weightlessness… The International Space Station does not only observe Space, as...
Slideshow
03.19.2025
How to measure the dislocation of ice floes, the immense expanses of ice floating in polar seas? Easy! Create a model of the ice pack, find the best way to shake it, and watch as it breaks under the...
Article
01.29.2025
Based in Namibia, the H.E.S.S. telescope array monitors the showers of particles produced when the highest-energy cosmic rays ever observed in the Universe impact the Earth's atmosphere.
Article
01.14.2025
Light, soft, resistant, deformable, and sometimes tacky, knitted fabric is not just an everyday object, it is also a metamaterial whose extraordinary properties are of great interest to physicists.
Article
12.06.2024
Over 5 million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up, giving way to a salt flat stretching as far as the eye could see. A look back at the Mediterranean basin’s last great hydrological crisis. 
Article
11.15.2024
Astrochemistry, a relatively new field, focuses on exploring chemistry in interstellar spaces to uncover insights about the origins of life on Earth. This discipline has seen significant advancements...
10.18.2024
What do a wind turbine, an ocean swell, and a volcanic eruption have in common? All three emit infrasound, or sound whose frequency is below 20 hertz. These sound waves, which are wrongly considered...
07.09.2024
Cyril Aymonier, Lydéric Bocquet and Eleni Diamanti are the three recipients of the CNRS 2024 Innovation Medal, which rewards male and female scientists whose research has led to groundbreaking...