- 2018
- Press releases - 11.06.2018
Pandoravirus: giant viruses invent their own genes
Three new members have been isolated and added to the Pandoravirus family by researchers at the Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory (CNRS/Aix‐Marseille Université), working with partners at the Large Scale Biology Laboratory (CEA/Inserm/Université Grenoble‐Alpes) and at CEA-Genoscope. This strange family of viruses, with their giant genomes and many genes with no known equivalents, surprised the scientists when they were discovered a few years ago. In the 11 June 2018 edition of Nature Communications, researchers offer an explanation: pandoviruses appear to be factories for new genes – and therefore new functions. From freaks of nature to evolutionary innovators, giant viruses continue to shake branches on the tree of life!
- Press releases - 11.06.2018
A Computer Program Able to Automatically Detect and Identify Brain Lesions
Will the radiology of the future come from machine learning? That is the view of Inserm and Inria researchers working in collaboration at the Université Grenoble Alpes who have developed a program able to localize and diagnose various types of brain tumors via MRI image analysis. These analyses have produced highly reliable results, with tumor localizations and tumor-type diagnoses accurate in 100% and over 90% of cases, respectively. This innovative method and its results are the subject of a study published in IEEE-TMI.
- Press releases - 07.06.2018
Our Food Choices Predicted by our Brain Anatomy
Do you tend to go for cake or vegetables? If you sometimes find it difficult to eat healthily, a study conducted by a team of researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Sorbonne Université, including Liane Schmidt and Hilke Plassmann, at the Brain & Spine Institute (ICM) has established a link between the anatomy of certain regions of our brain and our ability to control our food choices. These results were published in The Journal of Neuroscience on June 4, 2018.
- Press releases - 04.06.2018
Reducing the Impact of Emergency Room Stress
A visit to the emergency room is no picnic. Irrespective of the reason for their consultation, around 1 in 5 people will experience various symptoms (headache, difficulty concentrating, irritability, sensory disturbances, etc.) for several months afterwards. To address this phenomenon, Inserm researchers from Unit 1219 Bordeaux Population Health Center have demonstrated the benefits of an EMDR session performed within 6 hours of the event responsible for the visit. Such sessions are effective in reducing post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder by up to 75%. These results have been published in The Journal of Psychiatric Research.
- Press releases - 01.06.2018
Immunoscore: a test to improve the care and treatment of colon cancer
With Immunoscore, a test devised by a team of researchers from Inserm and Université Paris Descartes and doctors from the Paris AP-HP hospitals, disease progression in patients with colon cancer can now be defined more accurately. According to an international study conducted in more than 2,500 patients, Immunoscore has proved effective in predicting which patients are at high risk of tumor recurrence and, as such, would benefit from intensified treatment following surgery. These results have been published in The Lancet.
- Press releases - 01.06.2018
The search for the origin of mast cells
A team of researchers from CNRS, INSERM and Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) at the Centre of immunology (Marseille-Luminy (CIML), together with the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)1, has proven that not all of the immune system’s important mast cells are produced in bone marrow, as was previously thought. Scientists found embryonic mast cells in mice with functions that are likely to be different than the mast cells found in adults. The study appears in the June 2018 edition of Immunity.
- Press releases - 25.05.2018
World multiple sclerosis Day
Monday, May 28 is World MS Day. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. It causes the progressive destruction of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve cells, which is essential for their protection and for the transmission of nerve impulses, leading to motor, sensory, and cognitive disruption. Inserm […]
- What's on? - 25.05.2018
World multiple sclerosis Day
Monday, May 28 is World MS Day. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system. It causes the progressive destruction of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve cells, which is essential for their protection and for the transmission of nerve impulses, leading to motor, sensory, and cognitive disruption. Inserm […]
- Press releases - 25.05.2018
Nosocomial infections can also be caused by the Bacillus cereus bacterium
While Bacillus cereus is well known as a source of food infections, researchers from INRA and ANSES, working with doctors at nine French hospitals[1] including those in the Paris Public Hospital System (AP-HP), have demonstrated for the first time that this bacterium is also responsible for inter- and intra-hospital nosocomial contamination. This study, conducted in 39 patients between 2008 and 2012, also found strains of B. cereus in the hospital environment capable of causing infections that can sometimes be fatal. These results, published in PLOS ONE, suggest that more attention should be paid to these hospital infections, in order to improve patient care.
- Press releases - 24.05.2018
Ebola: Inserm Committed to Fighting this Epidemic
According to a recent report published by WHO on 05/23/2018, the death toll of the Ebola epidemic in the northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 20 is 27 – out of 58 confirmed or suspected cases. The public health risk can be considered high due to its potential to spread into urban areas and neighboring countries.