By combining theoretical abstraction with practical impact, Stéphane Mallat has left a lasting mark on mathematics and computer science. From the JPEG 2000 image compression standard to the mathematical foundations of artificial intelligence, he has shaped tools that have become essential. He is the 2025 recipient of the CNRS Gold Medal.
Few weapons are available to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which continue to cause millions of deaths. However, scientists are currently resuscitating a century-old solution, bacteriophages, which are viruses that only attack bacteria.
The disappearance of non-avian dinosaurs didn’t mark the end of giant organisms in the living world. From enormous mammals to oversized insects and plants, CNRS News takes a closer look at some of the mammoth creatures that have inhabited our planet, and whose huge size often masked numerous weaknesses.
Steven Spielberg’s "Jaws" is back in cinemas worldwide 50 years after its original release. The specialist Éric Clua talks about the negative image of sharks conveyed by the film and a new strategy for preventing attacks.
Digital cemeteries, deadbots… Is the development of digital tools changing the way we cope with death and mourning, as depicted in David Cronenberg’s latest film "The Shrouds"?
The early 20th-century artist Robert Delaunay began painting at a pivotal moment in art history, namely during the chemical industry revolution, when the number of pigments available on the market increased. Today scientists are trying to solve the mystery of the painter’s colours, his purples in particular. One of the objectives of this research is to generate knowledge essential to conserving the works.
A name frequently associated with plate tectonics is that of the German meteorologist Alfred Wegener. However, another one would deserve recognition: that of the American cartographer Marie Tharp, who made a major contribution to the development of the theory that revolutionised the Earth sciences.
During his “miraculous year” 120 years ago, Albert Einstein explained the photoelectric effect, laying the foundations of quantum mechanics. The historian of science Christian Bracco provides an insight.
Sand patches dot beaches and deserts, but their origin remains an enigma. Using measurements taken in the desert, physicists have created a model that explains how they form, with a few surprises into the bargain.
Researchers have shown that dogs had a place in the first agricultural societies of Central and South America more than 5,000 years ago. But the arrival of European settlers brought about a drastic change. The only native American dogs remaining today are… Chihuahuas!
