-
Document de presse | 2010.11.16
Stem cells and genetic programming : lessons from fundamental research
Scientists at the Institute Pasteur and CNRS have identified key regulatory factors controlling one of the critical developmental processes occurring during embryo development : X-inactivation, which ensures the silencing of the genes carried by one of the two X chromosomes present in all cells of female mammals. These regulatory factors are also implicated in maintaining the capacity...
-
Document de presse | 2010.10.04
Malaria: a theory disproved – the parasite can develop and persist in the skin
Scientists from the Institut Pasteur have demonstrated in rodents that, contrary to long-held belief, the malaria parasite is able to develop and produce infectious forms not only in the liver but also in the skin. This discovery proves that the skin is not merely a transitional site for the parasites on their way to the liver, but a site where the parasites can actually develop and even persist...
-
Document de presse | 2010.09.29
Male Infertility : Genetic Cause Identified
Scientists at the Institut Pasteur have identified a series of mutations in a gene that are associated with 4% of cases of, otherwise unexplained, severe male infertility. This discovery offers new opportunities not only in terms of an early diagnosis of male infertility associated with these mutations but also enables clinicians to provide counseling regarding the freezing of sperm or eggs to...
-
Document de presse | 2010.09.19
Bacteria disseminate resistance even in the absence of antibiotics
Institut Pasteur researchers in the Antibacterial Agents Unit, directed by Patrice Courvalin, studied resistance to vancomycin in enterococcus bacteria and demonstrated why the mechanism of resistance to this antibiotic has spread so effectively throughout the world. It was previously believed that only large-scale antibiotic use would be responsible for the resistance spread. However, this study...
-
Document de presse | 2010.09.13
Tuberculosis: discovery of new genes involved in the parasitism of cells by the tubercle bacillus
A European-Asian collaboration of scientists, notably including CNRS, the Institut Pasteur in Paris, the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seoul (IP Korea/Equipe Avenir Inserm(1)) and the Université de Toulouse have identified ten virulence genes of the tubercle bacillus. The inactivation of these genes lessens the pathogenic effects of the bacillus. This discovery, published in the journal PLoS...
-
Document de presse | 2010.08.31
Antipain, antidepressant – an “all-in-one” molecule
Institut Pasteur scientists associated with the CNRS and a team from the ETAP-Applied Ethology neuropsychopharmacology research center based in Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy have reported the analgesic and antidepressant effects of Opiorphin, a hormone messenger naturally secreted in humans that was discovered at the Institut Pasteur in 2006. The molecule has proved to be as potent as morphine in...
-
Document de presse | 2010.02.14
Customized stem cells to help treat leukemia?
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have just discovered the origin of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which give rise to all blood and immune cells in the body. Using real-time imaging technology on zebrafish embryos, the researchers observed that these stem cells were formed from the cells of the aortic wall, the embryo's main...
-
Document de presse | 2010.01.19
A DNA microarray to detect emerging viruses
Teams at the Institut Pasteur and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have succeeded in developing a tool that uses DNA microarray technology which can detect the presence of a virus or a known bacterium, or one of their emerging variants, within 24 hours. When the influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged in April 2009, the research teams showed that this microarray could detect and...
-
Document de presse | 2010.01.18
The life and death of neurons: how a virus can control everything
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have just discovered that the rabies virus expresses in one of its proteins a key region which enables the human neurons that it infects to survive, and this is an essential condition for the virus to spread in the organism. By identifying the mechanisms which regulate whether the neuron survives or...
-
Document de presse | 2010.01.17
Accor and the Institut Pasteur commit to preventing emerging diseases
The Institut Pasteur and Accor announce the implementation of an innovative partnership for health information and prevention aimed at travellers. "As guests of the Earth, we welcome the world” Since 2006, the social commitment of the 4000 hotels and 150,000 Accor employees has revolved around the "Earth Guest" programme, based on eight action centres, one of which being the...
