- 2017
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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).
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Press releases - 22.11.2017
One Step Closer to Restoring Respiratory Function in Cystic Fibrosis?
A new study by Olivier Tabary and his colleagues at the Saint-Antoine Research Center (Inserm Unit 938/Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Sorbonne Universities) has revealed a new mechanism that makes it possible to restore the functioning of a cell channel found particularly in the lung mucosa of cystic fibrosis patients. This transfer, usually operated by the CFTR protein, is deficient in patients with cystic fibrosis and known for forming the basis of the disease. The findings, published in Nature Communications, open up the possibility of a therapy that would enable sufferers to recover their respiratory function.
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Press releases - 20.11.2017
A crucial enzyme finally revealed
After 40 years of research, researchers at the CEA, the CNRS, the University of Grenoble-Alps, the University of Montpellier and the Inserm have finally identified the enzyme responsible for the tubulin cycle. Surprisingly, it is not one enzyme but two which control the cycle of this essential component of the cytoskeletal structure. This work opens up new prospects for the improved understanding of the role of tubulin, changes in the cycle of which are associated with cancers, cardiac diseases and neural disorders. These results were published on 16th November 2017 in the review Science.
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Press releases - 20.11.2017
December 1, 2017: World AIDS Day
Introduced by the World Health Organization in 1988 and observed in many countries each year since, this day aims to inform and raise awareness of the prevention, treatment and management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS.