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Document de presse | 2009.07.19
How pathogens have shaped genes involved in our immune system
A recent study on human genetics on various populations across the world conducted by researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS has shown how pathogens can shape the patterns of genetic diversity of our immune system over time. Results show that bacteria, fungi and parasites, unlike viruses, appear to have allowed the introduction of mutations in the genes of some proteins of the innate...
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Document de presse | 2009.05.17
The Institut Pasteur and Mérieux Alliance take First Step Towards a Long-term Research Partnership in the Field of Infectious Diseases
The Institut Pasteur and Mérieux Alliance have signed a letter of intent for a long-term research partnership. Communiqué de presse Paris, lmay 18, 2010 The Institut Pasteur and Mérieux Alliance (which comprises the companies: bioMérieux, Transgene, Shantha Biotechnics, ABL and Silliker) would like to pool their resources and efforts to fight infectious diseases...
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Document de presse | 2009.03.30
Rabies in Africa : from its origins to the current fight
Today, Africa is the second continent most affected by rabies, after Asia. A recent study conducted by Institut Pasteur researchers retraced the origins and evolution of the disease in Western and Central Africa, and revealed that the emergence and the dissemination of the rabies virus coincided with the beginning of European colonization. In addition to its historical value, this research also...
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Document de presse | 2009.01.14
Vaccine against shigellosis (bacillary dysentery):a promising clinical trial
The results of a clinical trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of an oral vaccine against Shigella dysenteriae serotype 1, the bacterium responsible for the epidemic form of Shigellosis or bacillary dysentery, a severe and often fatal diarrheic disease, have just been published in the journal Vaccine. Developed by a team from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm, this vaccine proved to be well...
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Document de presse | 2008.10.07
Distorting sounds for improved hearing
How research into hereditary deafness has revealed the way in which the inner ear distorts sounds A study carried out by researchers from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm, published in the journal Nature, has revealed how the inner ear distorts sounds. This distortion is one of the essential stages in the processing of sound by the ear, before this sound is encoded so that it can be transmitted to...
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Document de presse | 2008.03.17
The mother-to-child transmission of Chikungunya virus established
During a vast prospective study among pregnant women, clinicians in Reunion and researchers from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm demonstrated for the first time the maternal-fetal transmission of Chikungunya virus. Their findings show that this transmission almost exclusively occurs when mothers are infected shortly before term and that newborns have an increased probability of developing a...
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Document de presse | 2008.02.14
Chikungunya: an animal model, at last !
Researchers from the Institut Pasteur and INSERM have developed the first mouse model for chikungunya virus infection. This animal model mimics both the benign and severe forms of the disease. As a result, the scientists have determined which tissues and cells are infected by the virus in each of these clinical conditions. The development of such an animal model is a major advance, not only at...
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Document de presse | 2007.11.13
The Chikungunya virus and the Asian tiger mosquito:
Teams from the Institut Pasteur have shown that a mutation of the Chikungunya virus that facilitates its penetration into the vector mosquito could explain the epidemic explosion recorded in the Indian Ocean at the beginning of 2006. Further, the teams have provided important data suggesting the possibility of a vertical transmission of the virus from the infected female to its descendents. Their...
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Document de presse | 2007.05.14
Identification of a susceptibility gene for autism
A group of the Pasteur Institute has identified a new susceptibility gene for autism. The key role of this gene in melatonin synthesis sheds light on this complex condition. This work is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Press release Paris, may 15, 2007 Autism is a complex syndrome, which appears before 3 years of age, and is characterised by deficits in...
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Document de presse | 2006.11.23
Evolution of the typhoid fever bacterium Playing hide-and-seek since prehistoric times...
International teams led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute, the Institut Pasteur, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have just traced the evolutionary history of Salmonella Typhi, the bacterium responsible for typhoid fever, in a study published in the journal Science. This disease, which continues to exist in industrialised nations, affects twenty-one million people annually...