Ticks that return with the spring can infect humans with both Lyme disease – which is very severe – and other disorders. To improve their understanding of these conditions and the treatments available, scientists now have access to a “tick library” of 80,000 specimens.

Perusing through a million matrimonial ads from the past hundred years or so reveals changes in the criteria for love over the 20th century, and hint at deeper transformations in societies themselves.

In 2015, archaeologists unearthed a unique artefact in Iraq: a kiln comprising two interconnected chambers dating from the Chalcolithic (7000 to 5000 BC). To find out how it worked, they decided to build a replica – with surprising results.

Researchers have revealed the existence of an infraslow physiological rhythm during sleep in reptiles. The discovery sheds light on the evolution of sleep… and its mysteries.

Sophie Germain’s name will soon be engraved on the Eiffel Tower. A brilliant self-taught mathematician, she had to fight throughout her life to gain equal recognition to her male contemporaries, and bore the full brunt of the sexism of her time.

The extraordinary odyssey of toxoplasmosis, a parasite that manipulates its hosts to turn them into cat food.

Mixing cake batter, following a recipe, cutting a Yule log. These everyday gestures in cooking actually conceal complex concepts from mathematics and computer science, as shown in an exhibition called "In My Kitchen" in southwest France.

The physicist Valentina Emiliani has been awarded the 2026 Irène Joliot-Curie Female Scientist of the Year prize, in recognition of her work in neurophotonics, at the intersection of optics and neuroscience.

Maïmouna Bocoum, a physicist specialising in acousto-optics at the Paris-based Langevin Institute, develops imaging technologies for the early detection of breast tumours. She was awarded this year’s Irène Joliot-Curie “Young Female Scientist” award.

Every year, the spring season heralds high-profile running events. As the Paris, Boston and London marathons have just come to a close, CNRS researchers explain why some runners experience a sudden drop in performance towards the end of the race.