When it comes to recognizing a melody or understanding a spoken sentence, the human brain does not mobilize its hemispheres in an equivalent way. A team of researchers has been able to show that, due to different receptivities to the components of sound, the left auditory cortex neurons participate in the recognition of speech, whereas the right auditory cortex neurons participate in that of music.
Egypt, Algeria and Republic of South Africa are the African countries most at risk for coronavirus COVID-19 importation in the continent, due to high air traffic with the contaminated Chinese provinces. But these countries are also among the best equipped on the continent to quickly detect and deal with new cases. In other African countries, the risk of importation is lower, but health organization deficiencies raise concerns about rapid...
An organic compound produced by the gut flora – the metabolite 4-Cresol – is considered to have protective effects against both type 1 and 2 diabetes, notably by stimulating the growth of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. This is according to a new study led by Inserm researcher Dominique Gauguier. These findings open up new therapeutic avenues which could improve the situation of millions of patients.
The terrorist attacks committed in Paris and Saint-Denis on November 13, 2015 have left lasting marks, not only on the survivors and their loved ones, but also on French society as a whole. A vast transdisciplinary research program, the 13-Novembre project, seeks to understand the ongoing construction and evolution of the individual and collective memory of these traumatic events and improve our understanding of the factors that protect people...
The leading cause of mortality worldwide, cardiovascular diseases claim over 17 million lives each year, according to World Health Organization estimates. To open up new research avenues into this serious public health problem, Inserm researcher Nicolas L’Heureux and his team are developing "human textiles" from collagen in order to repair damaged blood vessels.
Malaria infection during pregnancy represents a major public health problem in the regions endemic for the disease, substantially increasing the risks to mothers and their unborn children. For newborns, malaria is linked to low birth weight and an excess risk of mortality. To protect this population, a team of researchers is developing a vaccine at the French National Institute of Blood Transfusion (INTS).
An Inserm team led by researcher Vittoria Colizza at Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health (Inserm/Sorbonne Université) has modeled the potential spread of 2019-nCoV in order to orient prevention and surveillance policies. A model which comes with one caveat: derived from research, its purpose is not to make predictions but rather be used as a theoretical tool to aid public decision-making.
Deadly outbreak in China linked to a novel form of coronavirus
Does the blood we thought to know so well contain elements that had been undetectable until now? The answer is yes, according to a team of researchers which has revealed the presence of whole functional mitochondria in the blood circulation. These organelles that are responsible for cellular respiration had hitherto only been found outside cells in very specific cases.
Glioblastomas are the most common type of brain tumor, and their prognosis is often highly unfavorable. A collaborative study by Jean-Léon Thomas, Inserm researcher at the Brain & Spine Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Sorbonne Université) and Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital AP-HP, and Akiko Iwasaki (Department of Immunology, Yale University School of Medicine, USA), has revealed the beneficial role played by the meningeal lymphatic vascular network in treating these tumors – in the short and...