First detected fifteen years ago, slow slip events have now been observed in many parts of the world, opening up a new window into the processes at work in seismic faults. With magnitudes of up to 7.5 on the Richter scale, these earthquakes, which last from several weeks to several months, could...
Article
04.15.2016
Pharaoh Akhenaten imposed a single religion, based on the worship of the sun disk “Aten,” and built a new capital city, Amarna, using entirely new architectural techniques. For the first time, researchers were able to reproduce 3D models of some of its...
Article
04.11.2016
In extreme situations, such as war or following a terrorist attack, first-aiders are subjected to levels of stress that can affect the quality of the care that they provide to the injured. A multidisciplinary research team has developed a virtual simulator to...
Article
04.13.2016
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Article
04.12.2016
How do we lead a group of people through a crowd of thousands? Seemingly intuitive for humans, this task was just put to the test using a robot called SPENCER, whose objective is to help passengers make their connecting flights in one of the world’s busiest...
04.08.2016
The self-taught Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan remains today one of the field’s greatest enigmas. Number theorist and 2014 Fields Medalist Manjul Bhargava shares his insight on his legacy, the profound influence his work has had on him—and the...
Article
04.07.2016
Biologists suspected that our cells had acquired respiration by ingesting free-living bacteria that they have since always contained. Recent studies suggest infection rather than ingestion.
04.05.2016
Does our sense of direction change as we get older? A team of researchers is studying the toll that age takes on our vision. To do this, they immerse research subjects fully equipped with sensors in an artificial street. This StreetLab, developed by the...
Opinion
03.31.2016
Is the world we know only one of many possible alternatives? Pondering the numerous episodes that have repeated themselves during the history of life on Earth, biologist Virginie Orgogozo, CNRS...
Article
03.30.2016
In modern Western societies, where individualism prevails, the outpouring of solidarity for victims of terrorist attacks may seem surprising. Sociologist Gérôme Truc sheds light on this paradox.
Article
03.25.2016
Plasmas, the fourth state of matter, are usually found at temperatures of several million degrees. But there are also cold plasmas, which are already very much used in the semiconductor and lighting...
Article
03.23.2016
Dust from the African deserts spreads across the globe, playing a complex, but important role on ecology and the planet’s climate. New findings by a French-US team shed light on the underlying...
Video
03.18.2016
If our five “classical” senses exist to help us sound our environment, our sixth sense has more to do with the inside of our body. In this video, discover the latest research on proprioception,...
Article
03.16.2016
Eating local is easier said than done. Farmers need to organize their production methods differently and remain cost-effective. Computer scientists are now trying to find better ways to manage these...
Article
03.12.2016
ExoMars 2016 is the first of two European missions to investigate the Red Planet’s atmosphere and find evidence of past life under its surface. Franck Montmessin, CNRS researcher and lead scientist...
Slideshow
03.10.2016
Plankton, which consists of microscopic organisms of plant or animal origin, comes in a wide variety of shapes—each more surprising than the next. Biologist John Dolan, who studies this fascinating...
Article
03.07.2016
The New York protest march supposed to be behind International Women’s Day... never actually took place! A look back at this myth, debunked by the historian Françoise Picq.
Article
03.07.2016
Having amassed over 6 million types of malware, researchers from France's high-security laboratory have created a new type of anti-virus, already being used by law enforcement and soon to be...
Opinion
03.07.2016
A computer recently beat a professional Go player for the first time, but will it measure up against the world's best player this week? Experts Marie-Liesse Cauwet and Olivier Teytaud give their...
03.04.2016
Creating beings in our own image does not only raise ethical problems. In their quest for the ideal android, roboticists have discovered an Uncanny Valley, inhabited by creatures that resemble us so...