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Fundamental Research Division
The DRF at the CEA assemble approximately 6,000 scientists since January 2016.
As early as during their larval stage, corals are affected by ocean warming and acidification. Researchers show that exposure of coral larvae, Acropora millepora, to the conditions predicted to prevail by the end of the century weakens and distorts the skeletons of polyps derived from these larvae. Over time, they will have to revise their interpretation of the chemical composition of corals in terms of surface temperature and ocean pH.
A team from the François-Jacob Institute of Biology at CEA has highlighted the involvement of a micro-RNA in certain pediatric leukemias.
What are the photosynthesis mechanisms in phytoplankton? Researchers from CEA-BIG, CEA-IBS and their partners have solved this enigma.
Based on the study of two hundred poisonous animals, the European project VENOMICS managed to reproduce a bank of 3,616 “natural” toxins compatible with high throughput screening. VENOMICS demonstrated that animal toxins are hundred times more effective in identifying drug candidates than the usual banks of artificial molecules.
The work by an international collaboration involving IBS and CEA-BIG has led to the discovery of a protein necessary for the survival of pathogenic fungi. Their work could lead to the development of a new antifungal therapeutic strategy.
The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST experiment) has ruled out the existence of axions in an energy range that had been unreachable in previous experiments. Axions are light hypothetical particles that would only interact very weakly with ordinary matter, and could constitute dark matter. The unique performances of the Micromegas detector developed at IRFU have contributed to this result.
Within the framework of the LASERLAB-EUROPE project, CEA is working towards sharing and opening up laser and photonics infrastructure to European scientists. Today, Laserlab is an important tool for the development of laser metrology and laser-based instrumentation for a wide range of applications and societal needs in the fields of health, security, environment, etc.
An international team from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has carried out the first large-scale spectroscopic analysis of quasars, and was able to create a full 3D map of the universe and its large structures as it was 6 billion years ago. For now, the standard model of Cosmology, based upon Einstein's general theory of relativity, is confirmed.
A team from INAC has developed “nanotweezers” operating through remote actuation by an external magnetic field. Inspired from microelectronics techniques, they may collect microscopic biological samples for analysis—biopsies in particular.
A collaboration between Japanese researchers and a team from the Frédéric-Joliot Institute at CEA has shown that liver lesions can be characterized from their elastic properties as estimated virtually using diffusion MRI.
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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.