In March 2020, France was one of the countries that adopted the strictest lockdown measures in an attempt to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. The historian and sociologist Nicolas Mariot looks back at this experiment in mass obedience.
A series of remarkable linear urban settlements have been uncovered in Ecuador's Upano Valley. The size, organisation, age, longevity and location of these sites has caused considerable surprise...
As a result of climate change, a third of the world's population is likely to be affected by dwindling water reserves. This will inevitably lead to growing tensions, both internationally and...
The sociologist Bernard Lahire feels that it is time for his discipline to identify the fundamental structures of human societies as universal mechanisms, as indisputable as the laws of physics and...
From dependence to addiction to the dogma of abstinence, the CNRS neuro-addictologist Serge Ahmed talks about the way our societies view the loss of control over consumption.
The capture and storage of water are an integral part of the development of human societies. The geoarchaeologist Louise Purdue studies the history of hydraulic systems, from simple wells to complex...
As the COP28 gets under way in Dubai, the climatologist Robert Vautard talks to CNRS News about the issues at stake and his new mandate as co-chair of IPCC Working Group I, which assesses the...
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...
“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...
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.
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!
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.
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...