• 1921 marks the year of insulin discovery.  Exactly 100 years ago, on the 11th January 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old boy, was the first diabetic patient receiving insulin injection, a treatment that saved his life.  After 100 years of this revolutionary finding, many drugs on the market have been developed to help the diabetic patients manage their disease, prevent further health problems and improve their quality of life, but unfortunately none of them offers an

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  • February 2021.  Nearly 300 vaccine candidates have been under development since 2020 for the prevention of COVID-19 around the world.  As of today, 20 vaccines are in phase III clinical trials, 6 are used for limited or emergency use, and 4 have been approved for full use.  Here is a simple guide to understand the steps that lead to vaccine approval for use and its development strategiesFrom lab

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  • Plastic pollution - photo taken from 123.rf

    Plastic production and pollution has become the scourge of our society and our environment.  Innumerable global attempts have been made to change this tendency by increasing the risk awareness toward consumers.  However, since mid-nineteens, the worldwide production and consumption of plastic has grown excessively over the years, has reached more than 350 million tons1 yearly, while being poorly degraded, and has created a major global challenge.  More critically, studies reporting the

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  • Spike protein interaction with ACE2 receptor - Photo on 123rf

    SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for COVID-19 pandemic.  As of today, this highly pathogenic coronavirus has definitely established his power globally, leaving behind more than 670’000 deaths and almost 18 million of infected people.  While important clues have emerged on its mechanism of action, key aspects of its capacity to infect human cells as well as the viral structure itself are still under investigationSince the beginning of the pandemic, studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2

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  • Feverfew flowers - Photo on 123rf

    The incidence of brain metastasis among lung cancer patients varies from 10-40%, with a poor survival prognosis of less than 6 months1.  Cigarette smoking is reported to be a major risk factor associated with the development of lung cancer and correlates with a higher incidence of brain metastasis1,2.  The main component associated with the consumption of cigarettes is nicotine.  Addictive, but not carcinogenic, nicotine has however been reported by several studies to promote tumoral growth

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  • Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

    The COVID-19 pandemic, which has emerged in Wuhan, China, and has been spreading worldwide since November 17, 2019, currently (on this day, April 12th 2020) counts 1.7 millions infected individuals, more than 100’000 victims as well as billions of people isolated in quarantine.  In order to fight the new coronavirus, responsible for the pandemic, effectively treat sick people, and prevent a new epidemic from the beginning of fall 2020, a large number of scientific laboratories

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  • Photo by Ardian Lumi on Unsplash

    Have you ever seen the movie “They shoot horses, don’t they”?  Based on McCoy’s novel of the same name, this piece of cinematographic art exposes the story of a dance marathon during the economic crisis that marked the period of Great DepressionThe story talks about strength and energy to find out a way to success.  Back to the reality, the life of us scientists in our laboratories is an endless dance marathon orchestrated by

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  • According to scientists, a child laughs on average three to four hours a day, while an adult only 20 minutes.  By the way, why do we laugh and what are the main beneficial effects of laughter on our body and health? After reading the following, do not hesitate to burst out laughing! Smiling and laughter are universal human behaviors that involve the active participation of a wide variety of functional elements of the body.  In

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  • Photo by Analia Baggiano on Unsplash

    Le monde d’aujourd’hui est tel qu’il créé en nous des addictions plus au moins bénignes comme l’addiction au shopping, à la télévision, au sport ou au sexe, mais également plus graves et plus malsaines encore, l’addiction aux jeux, à la nicotine, aux drogues ou à l’alcool.  Cela dit, notre époque est aussi celle de la junk and fast food, ce qui donne malheureusement lieu à diverses maladies métaboliques, comme le diabète sucré ou l’obésité.  Il

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  • Photo by Leslie Low on Unsplash

    It is known that the sexual attributes of men are important for their ego.  The bigger it is, the better!  Still, big is not always a good sign.  An American study for the least provocative suggests that men with large testicles become less good fathers than those with small ones.  Evolutionary biologists have been observing for years that male primates who often mate to promote the next generation do not spend significant time with their

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  • Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

    Selon les scientifiques, un enfant rigole en moyenne trois à quatre heures par jour, alors qu’un adulte seulement 20 minutesMais, au fait, pourquoi rigole-t-on et quels sont les effets bénéfiques du rire sur notre corps et notre Santé? Apres avoir lu ce qui suit, n’hésitez surtout pas à éclater de rire! Rire, c’est bon pour la Santé! Le rire est un comportement humain universel, qui implique la participation active d’une grande variété d’éléments fonctionnels

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  • Anguilla Japonica - image on 123rf

    Have you ever tasted Japanese Anguilla that is principally served as a sushi meal?  Very appreciated in the high gastronomy and sometimes used as a cure in Chinese traditional medicine, the Japanese Anguilla (called Anguilla japonica – see caption image) is also very interesting for biologists.  Indeed, scientists have discovered that the muscles of this animal produce a fluorescent protein called UnaG (or unighi), representing the first discovery of such a molecule in a vertebrate.

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  • Photo: Pixabay

    Avez-vous déjà goûté l’anguille du Japon, que l’on sert en principe sous forme de sushis ?  Très appréciée dans la gastronomie fine japonaise, et utilisée parfois comme remède en médecine traditionnelle chinoise,  l’anguille du Japon (appelée Anguilla japonica) peut également être très intéressante pour les biologistesEn effet, des chercheurs ont récemment découvert que les muscles de cet animal produisent une protéine fluorescente, appelée UnaG (ou unaghi, pour les connaisseurs de sushis), représentant la première découverte

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  • Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

    Ce matin, en regardant par la fenêtre de mon appartement cosy du centre de Boston, au Massachusetts, je m’émerveille de la neige que nous a apportée la tempête Nemo.  D’après les dernières nouvelles, il fait -15 C dehors.  En prenant mon petit-déjeuner, je me demande comment certains animaux réussissent-ils à garder la chaleur par un froid pareil?  Qu’est-ce que l’hibernation au juste?  Quelle est la base biologique de la thermogénèse lorsque nous sommes exposés au

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  • Photo by Fabrizio Frigeni on Unsplash

    Il est connu que les attributs sexuels de l’homme sont importants pour son ego.  Plus c’est grand, mieux c’est!  Pourtant, grand n’est pas toujours bon signe.  Une étude américaine pour le moins provocante suggère que les hommes avec des grands testicules deviennent de moins bons pères que ceux qui en possédant des petits.  Les biologistes s’intéressant à l’évolution observent, depuis des années déjà, que les primates males qui s’accouplent souvent pour promouvoir la génération suivante,

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