After the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in March 2011, the Japanese authorities decided to clean up the region impacted by the radioactive plume. Olivier Evrard, a researcher in environmental science, visited the area regularly to conduct measurements. He explains what the decontamination effort involved, as well as the issues it raised.
In an official advice, the French academy of sciences sounds the alarm about the decline of insects. CNRS News talked to Philippe Grandcolas, head of the ISYEB, and co-author of the scientific report...
A French-Dutch team has reconstructed the evolution of the Central Asian steppe over the past 40 million years. This turbulent history, made up of major upheavals and mass extinctions, today serves...
Despite their size, weighing as much as hundreds of kilos, bluefin tuna are difficult to study. Researchers have developed instruments to monitor these animals’ migrations as well as various...
DNA analysis has revealed that, between 150,000 and 350,000 years ago, the Y chromosome of the Neanderthals was totally replaced by that of a population from which Homo sapiens is descended.
New mathematical tools have improved our ability to interpret the information contained in ancient DNA samples. Bioinformaticians have developed a model that can visualise the migrations and gene...
No fewer than 180 candidate vaccines against Covid-19 are being developed around the world and 40 are currently in clinical trials. How do these vaccines work? And how can we measure their...
Knowing how to look sideways can be crucial for professional football players, and goalkeepers in particular! A researcher in cognitive science recently conducted a study involving a number of them,...
As a historian specialising in the environment, Fabien Locher takes a particular interest in different concepts of property and how they are related to environmental or industrial disasters.
The relief of patients suffering from Covid-19 requires technical gestures that can contribute to the exhaustion of healthcare staff. The ExoTurn project seeks to help them through the use of...
A new method, as quick and simple as a breathalyser, was recently tested to detect Covid-19 via the molecules present in exhaled air. Beyond the current pandemic, this could open new avenues for the...
Can specially trained dogs be used for coronavirus screening? A research team in northeastern France is investigating the premise that the canine sense of smell can help prevent the emergence of new...
Highly flexible, environmentally friendly, with the agility of a human hand or the ability to interact in groups... Portraits of five incredibly talented robots that could soon make a debut in the...