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Fundamental Research Division
The DRF at the CEA assemble approximately 6,000 scientists since January 2016.
Scientists at CEA-Irig, in close collaboration with CEA-Leti, achieved a unique integration of classical electronics with a quantum system. They demonstrate the possibility of measuring current through quantum dots by CMOS circuitry on a single chip cooled to 10 millikelvin, in Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FD-SOI) technology.
Thanks to the first full-length record of the isotopic composition of water vapor from Svalbard (Norway), climatologists at LSCE (CEA-CNRS-UVSQ) documented the origin of winter air masses during peak moisture events.
Researchers from CEA-Iramis and their partners refute a widely accepted assertion that the coupling of a Josephson junction to a high resistance is constrained. They thus open the way to new high-impedance devices, previously considered unfeasible.
With the help of metabolomics, a study by the CEA-Joliot and its partners has improved the understanding of the complex relationship between blood glucose levels (glycemia) and the functional outcome of patients following a stroke.
The sensitivity of direct imaging of extrasolar planets could be increased tenfold by installing, under ESO supervision, the CEA-Irfu-built VISIR instrument on Yepun, one of the VLT telescopes, equipped with an integrated adaptive optics system. A 100-hour campaign in 2019 revealed an image that could be of a planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri A 4.4 light-years away.
When immersed in biological media, nanoparticles are immediately "wrapped" in proteins. A study conducted by researchers from the Iramis and Joliot (I2BC) institutes clarifies the importance of protein size on the formation of this envelope and recommends better consideration of this parameter in proteomic and nanotoxicological studies.
Physicists from the IRFM explain for the first time why, contrary to what is observed in most tokamaks, tungsten atoms from the inner walls do not accumulate in the WEST fusion plasma. ITER should also be free of this contamination, which degrades plasma performance.
Researchers at the CEA’s Jacob and Joliot Institutes have improved the monitoring of brain inflammation in Parkinson’s disease patients with PET imaging, using a molecule called [18F]-DPA714. This radiotracer could be useful for evaluating anti-inflammatory drugs specific to this disease, and for monitoring the inflammatory process in other neurodegenerative pathologies.
A collaboration involving CEA-Irig has succeeded in setting in motion an 18-µm-long mechanical oscillator by optically exciting an embedded artificial atom. This result is an important step towards the realization of interfaces that connect the quantum and classical worlds.
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CEA is a French government-funded technological research organisation in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. A prominent player in the European Research Area, it is involved in setting up collaborative projects with many partners around the world.