- 2017
- Press releases - 11.12.2017
Thierry Damerval is moving on to a new role after 10 years with Inserm’s Directorate General.
Thierry Damerval was appointed President and CEO of the French National Research Agency (ANR) by presidential decree on December 8, 2017, having been proposed for the role by the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
- Press releases - 08.12.2017
Combining Administration Routes for Tailor-made Vaccination
Combining multiple vaccine administration routes achieves a better immune response. This is the finding of a recent study conducted as part of the European CUT’HIVAC project, coordinated by Béhazine Combadière, Inserm Research Director at the Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases (CIMI-Paris, Inserm/Université Pierre et Marie Curie/ CNRS). This research opens new perspectives for “personalized” vaccination in which the immune system’s response to infection can be adapted. This research, performed as part of a candidate DNA vaccine against HIV, was published in Scientific Reports in October 2017.
- Press releases - 07.12.2017
What if meditation allowed us to age better?
And what if meditation enhanced the aging process? This is suggested by the results of a pilot study, conducted by Inserm researchers based in Caen and Lyon. 73 individuals, with an average age of 65 years, underwent brain imaging tests. Among these individuals, “meditation experts” (with 15,000 to 30,000 hours of meditation to their name) showed significant differences in certain regions of the brain. By reducing stress, anxiety, negative emotions and sleep problems, which tend to become more pronounced with age, meditation could reduce the harmful effects arising from these factors and have a positive effect on brain aging.
- Press releases - 06.12.2017
3D Objects of Unequaled Precision Made from DNA
A revolution in the field of nanotechnology! An Inserm researcher in collaboration with Harvard University has succeeded in creating 3D shapes of unprecedented sophistication, thanks to the four DNA bases A, T, C and G. In practice, these researchers can create nanoscopic (10-9 m) objects from 30,000 DNA sequences that fold and self-assemble like LEGO® bricks. In time, this will make it possible to manufacture new tools adapted to the size of our cells.
These results have been published in Nature. - Press releases - 06.12.2017
The Conscious and Unconscious Work in Unison to Sort Images in Our Brains
Our brains are constantly bombarded with sensory information. Far from being overloaded, the brain is an expert in managing this stream of information. Researchers from Neurospin (CEA/Inserm) have discovered how the brain incorporates and filters information.
- Press releases - 06.12.2017
An antioxidant protein to fight changes to the intestinal microbiota and control inflammation
Teams from Hôpital Paul-Brousse AP-HP, Inserm and Paris-Sud University have recently evidenced a mechanism which modulates the intestinal microbiota, involving a molecule with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, known as REG3A. The latter is thought to protect the intestinal barrier and the bacteria most sensitive to oxygen forming the microbiota, thus improving “good” bacterial survival and growth. Transplantation of fecal microbiota in mice models of severe colitis or administration of a REG3A recombinant protein to wild type mice evidences a marked reduction in their susceptibility to the disease. These results have been published in the journal Gastroenterology and represent a new approach to manipulation of the intestinal microbiota for therapeutic purposes, restoration of host-microbiota symbiosis, and alleviation of intestinal inflammation.
- Press releases - 04.12.2017
A New Look for www.inserm.fr
A new version of the Inserm website is now online. Designed and created by Inserm and the W* agency, the site has been rethought, not only in terms of graphics, but also from an ergonomic, technical, and editorial perspective. Objective: to consolidate the role of the Institute as an outlet for information on health and biomedical research, and to enhance the visibility of Inserm on the web.
- Press releases - 30.11.2017
Pancreatic Cancer: a “Multiomic” Study Identified Two Tumor Subtypes, and a Potential New Treatment Avenue
Juan Iovanna (Inserm Research Director) and his colleagues at the Marseille Cancer Research Center (Inserm/CNRS/Aix Marseille Université/Institut Paoli-Calmettes), in close collaboration with the “Tumor identity cards (CIT)” program run by the Ligue nationale contre le cancer and the University of Wisconsin (United States), have generated a “bank” of approximately 200 viable human pancreatic tumors, and cells derived from these tumors. The “multiomic” analysis of these tumors, i.e. the general characterization of all alterations in gene expression, epigenetic modifications of DNA methylation, has evidenced two main tumor subtypes. The specific characteristics of these subtypes, identified by the researchers, could open up new therapeutic approaches. The results of this research have been published in the journal Cell Reports.
- Press releases - 27.11.2017
An Edible Mushroom With Potential to Fight Human Genetic Diseases
Could a common mushroom help fight certain genetic diseases? Although surprising, this is indeed the new discovery made by French scientists from Inserm, the French National Museum of Natural History, the CNRS, Université de Lille, and the Institut Pasteur de Lille[1]. By examining numerous extracts, the scientists thus evidenced that the mushroom, Lepista inversa, acted significantly on three isolated cell lines taken from patients with cystic fibrosis. This research was published in .Plos One
- Press releases - 23.11.2017
Ribosome Plasticity: a New Avenue in Targeted Cancer Therapy
The “Nuclear Domains and Pathologies” team led by Jean-Jacques Diaz, Inserm Research Director at the Cancer Research Center of Lyon (Inserm/CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/Centre Léon Bérard), has recently demonstrated that one of the essential components of the “cellular machinery” that produces proteins – the ribosome – is altered in tumors. The researchers have observed that these modified ribosomes function differently in cancer cells, preferentially producing proteins that favor cancer cell proliferation and survival. This discovery opens up new possibilities for the development of innovative cancer therapies that target this abnormal machinery. This research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).