Half a billion years ago, plants, until then exclusively aquatic, set out to colonise the land. This transition transformed the Earth and its atmosphere, paving the way for terrestrial vertebrates. Researchers have been hard at work piecing together the scenario of this revolution.
Millions of people fear the onset of spring, because of the pollens that irritate their respiratory pathways and can trigger allergic reactions that cause sneezing, runny eyes and even asthma. The immunologist and CNRS research professor Sophie Laffont looks into the phenomenon.
What is consciousness? When does it begin? How can it be measured? Does AI have it? An update on an intimate, universal yet mysterious phenomenon that the neurosciences are only just starting to decipher.
Half a billion years ago, plants, until then exclusively aquatic, set out to colonise the land. This transition transformed the Earth and its atmosphere, paving the way for terrestrial vertebrates. Researchers have been hard at work piecing together the scenario of this revolution.
On 14 May, 2025, the Musée de la Musique in Paris unveiled a completely new presentation of the 9,000 items in its collections, highlighting the connections among the musical traditions of different cultures. After all, from the violin to the piano to the oud, no instrument has ever evolved in a vacuum.
In the contaminated area around Fukushima, Japan, scientists are studying the impact of radioactivity on the cognitive abilities of pollinating insects such as honeybees and giant hornets.
The first mapping of mitochondria in the brain has just been revealed. This is yet another step towards understanding these structures which supply their energy to brain cells and are involved in a variety of illnesses, including mitochondrial diseases whose diagnosis has been possible for the past ten years or so.
Why does a rose smell like a rose? Scientists have analysed the chemical composition of floral odours, whose volatile compounds serve not only to attract but also to repel.
Prehistoric sites across France, such as the famous Chauvet Cave or L’Ile d’Yeu, are being closely monitored so as to understand how they are being endangered by climate change, and avoid the disappearance of rock paintings.
Navigation tools, sales optimisation software, higher education platforms…Algorithms are not immune to ethical bias. Well before the tsunami of generative artificial intelligence, specialists on decision support systems were pondering the issue.
