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Document de presse | 2017.09.01
The bacteria responsible for Legionellosis modulates the host cell metabolism to its advantage
Scientists at the Institut Pasteur, CNRS and Inserm, together with a team from Switzerland*, have shown that the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila (the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease or legionellosis) has developed a specific strategy to target the host cell mitochondria, the organelles in charge of cellular bioenergetics. By changing the shape of these host organelles, L....
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Document de presse | 2017.11.03
Rift Valley fever virus: an infection mechanism identified
Rift Valley fever virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, is responsible for outbreaks in livestock in Africa and can also be fatal in humans. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, working with the University of Göttingen, have characterized the mechanism used by the virus to insert one of its envelope proteins into the host cell membrane, thereby enabling it to infect the cell. They have...
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News | 2018.03.29
New insight into body's response to killer fungus
Scientists at the University of Aberdeen, with colleagues from several institutions, including the Institut Pasteur, have made a new discovery that could help in the fight against a fungus that kills around 200,000 people every year and causes lung and allergic diseases in millions of others.The study, carried out in collaboration with a number of institutions**, including the Institut...
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Document de presse | 2018.12.21
A novel antibiotic resistance mechanism
Bacteria make use of a number of natural resistance strategies to overcome antibiotics. And it seems that this bacterial toolbox may be much more varied than previously thought. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur, in collaboration with Inserm, INRA, the CNRS and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, have recently revealed an entirely unknown resistance mechanism in Listeria monocytogenes...
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Document de presse | 2019.02.28
New research suggests earlier emergence of malaria in Africa
Malaria, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year – mainly children and especially in Africa –, is one of the leading causes of death by an infectious agent, the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. In research on malaria, the genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia (also known as drepanocytosis), a chronic disease that is often fatal in children under five, caught the attention...
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Document de presse | 2019.07.12
HIV: reprogramming cells to control infection
Cells from the rare individuals who naturally control HIV infection have been the focus of investigation for nearly 15 years with the aim of elucidating their specific features. Following research on the ANRS CO21 CODEX and CO6 PRIMO cohorts, scientists from the Institut Pasteur have described the characteristics of CD8 immune cells in these "HIV controller" subjects. The unique antiviral power...
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Portrait | 2019.03.11
Diego Cordero Cervantes, globe-trotting researcher
Diego was born and grew up in La Paz, Bolivia. His father and grandfather were both lawyers, and his mother was a history and geography teacher. They explained to Diego while he was still a boy that there were two ways of making a living and providing for his family – he could become either a lawyer or a doctor. Diego has finally made his own way: becoming a researcher.His parents always wanted...
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News | 2019.10.02
Lassa fever: vaccine set to be trialed
There is currently no vaccine for the Lassa arenavirus, which causes Lassa fever. This hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa, infects up to 300,000 people each year. Given the urgency of the situation, scientists in the Biology of Viral Emerging Infections Unit and the Viral Genomics and Vaccination Unit at the Institut Pasteur evaluated the efficacy of several vaccine candidates. Following...
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Document de presse | 2019.10.22
A blood factor involved in weight loss and aging
Aging is a process that affects all functions of the human body, particularly brain function. However, aging can be delayed through lifestyle changes (physical exercise, restricting calorie intake, etc.). Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and CNRS have elucidated the properties of a molecule in the blood – GDF11 – whose mechanisms were previously unknown. In a mouse model, they showed that this...
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Portrait | 2019.11.18
Lluis Quintana-Murci: discovering the world and humankind
Lluis Quintana-Murci is a scientist specializing in human genetics, with a particular focus on population genetics. His fascinating research tells an amazing story – our story, the story of humanity through time and in all its stunning diversity. Lluis was delighted to talk to us about his background and his passion for his work.Lluis was born in 1970 in Palma de Mallorca in Spain. As a child, he...