Inserm Newsroom - Press room of the French national institute of health and medical research

Memory brain systems help resisting temptations

How can some people resist the attraction of immediate pleasures and pursue long-term goals, while others easily succumb and compromise their ultimate expectations? One secret factor might lie in the activity of a deep brain structure: the hippocampus.

A better evaluation of the body’s ability to fight tumours

Some individuals are better able to fight cancer for many years compared with others. This ability to fight tumours depends on the immune response, as observed for colorectal cancers by Jérôme Galon, Research Director at Inserm, and his team, the Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, at the Cordelier Research Centre (Inserm/UPMC/Paris Descartes University). The investigators show that the proportions of immune system cells in and around the tumour change with the stage of progression of the cancer, and demonstrate the importance of an increased concentration of some cell types to the survival of patients, namely, follicular T-helper cells (Tfh) and B lymphocytes.

Le profil des consommateurs de produits Bio en France

Le style de vie, les consommations alimentaires, les apports nutritionnels et l’état de santé des consommateurs de produits de l’agriculture biologique (Bio) n’ont fait l’objet que de peu d’études scientifiques au plan international, ainsi qu’en France, malgré l’intérêt et le nombre croissant des consommateurs de produits Bio. Dans ce protocole spécifique réalisé dans le cadre de l’étude NutriNet-Santé, l’attitude et la fréquence de consommation de 18 produits Bio, dont 16 aliments, ont été évalués dans un sous-échantillon de 54 311 nutrinautes adultes.

Air pollution classified as carcinogenic

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a specialised agency of the World Health Organization, announced on Thursday that it classified outdoor air everywhere in the world as carcinogenic. Several experts met in Lyon, France, to analyse studies on thousands of men and women followed over several decades. For the moment, the results have not […]

18 October : World Menopause Day

World Menopause Day organised on Friday 18 October by WHO calls on all nations to make post-menopausal health a priority in research and public health. Menopause is defined as the end of a woman’s reproductive period. Menopause causes dramatic changes in the emotional and physical life of women. It usually begins at around fifty. The […]

Large European study finds exposure to even low levels of air pollution during pregnancy increases risk of lower birthweight babies

Exposure to common air pollutants and traffic during pregnancy significantly increases the risk of restricted fetal growth, even at levels well below those stipulated in current European Union (EU) air-quality directives, according to one of the largest cohort studies of its kind published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Fine-tuning the approach to malaria and toxoplasmosis research

A study carried out by teams from the Institut Pasteur, the Institut Cochin (Inserm, CNRS, Paris Descartes University), and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Molecular Parasitology at the University of Glasgow, may very well redefine current approaches to malaria and toxoplasmosis research in terms of treatment development.

Collaboration ou concurrence : que se passe-t-il dans notre cerveau ?

(French) : Fête de la science 2013 : rendez-vous du 17 au 19 octobre 2013 pour « Sciences au Carré(e) »

Rendez-vous du 17 au 19 octobre 2013 Place Carrée au Forum des Halles pour « Sciences au Carré(e) »

Un événement grand public, gratuit et innovant proposé par les principaux organismes de recherche français pour éveiller la curiosité scientifique !

11 October: Huntington’s Disease Day in France

Huntington’s is a hereditary disease causing neurodegenerescence in adults who have the particular genetic defect. People with Huntingdon’s gradually develop psychiatric symptoms (depression, aggressiveness, agitation, etc.), cognitive disorders (loss of memory, confusion, etc.) and problems with movement such as balance, speech, swallowing etc. In France, it is estimated that 6,000 people have Huntington’s disease (and […]