symphony - European Commission · The merit of the precautionary principle is ... Proof from five...

the magazine of the european research area

European Commission

No. 61 – July 2009

ISS

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36

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Plasmas On the edge of matter

GeneticsGenes that keep us in bed

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scientific collaboration

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l research*eu is the European Union’s research magazine, written by independent professional journalists,

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research*eu

Editor in chiefMichel Claessens

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Can mobiles damage your health?

Mobile phone addicts might do well to slow down a bit. In the wake of the European

GSM standard, the media have been full of tales of migraines or even tumours said to be

caused by chronic mobile phone use. (And here I am not referring to the faintness liable

to come over us when faced with the phone bill…).

The article on page 38 describes Interphone, the widest-ranging epidemiological

study in the world on the health risks of mobile phones. Whilst awaiting the final results,

the only conclusion we can come to at present is that no conclusions can be drawn. Caution is called for. The data

point to a possible long-term increase in certain tumours among regular users. The problem is that it is hard to

find people who have been using mobile phones intensively for more than 10 years.

As a direct consequence, the famous precautionary principle is being ramped up. Suddenly parents are refusing

to let their kids use mobile phones and users are adopting earphones. That is because one thing, at least, is sure: now

there is reasonable doubt that the mobile phone is completely harmless. The merit of the precautionary principle is

that, once harmful effects have been ascertained, it compels research to be conducted into the risks and brings this

technical and scientific controversy into the public arena.

In other words, the precautionary principle encourages action. It also reminds us that, like Monsieur Jourdain

in Molière’s play ‘The Bourgeois Gentleman’, without being aware of it, we take precautions when we manage and

assimilate the sometimes imperceptible risks of everyday life, even though our relationship to risk is to some

degree irrational.

Michel Claessens

Editor in chief

research*eu No. 61 | JULY 2009 3

CONTENTS

4 In brief

Zeitgeist

SPECIAL REPORT SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION


SPECIAL REPORTSCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION

6 research*eu No. 61 | JULY 2009

Symphony of excellence

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The cattle egret relieves large mammals of their parasites

in exchange for its daily bread and the cleaner wrasse patiently

waits for the shark to hold open its jaws to provide it with a slap-up

meal. Flowers unfold their most dazzling colours to attract insects,

which in turn disseminate pollen while feasting on their nectar.

Nature provides no shortage of examples of such mutually

beneficial interactions. They gradually become established

throughout evolution, quite simply because they improve the

lives and performance of each beneficiary. Humans are no

exception to this rule. The brown rat, which is so partial

to household refuse, plays a major role in keeping sewage

systems clean. Many more such mutually beneficial relation-

ships are forged between people, in the guise of concepts like

collaboration, cooperation or partnership.

In the world of research, collaboration has become a prerequisite

for excellence. It is vital to share knowledge and technology,

pool resources, develop specialisations and link disciplines if

we wish to raise innovation to a high enough level to meet the

challenges of the centuries to come. Indeed, this will require far

more than the resources of a single laboratory or even an entire

country. Researchers shoulder a huge burden of expectations:

to understand climate change, resolve the energy crisis,

anticipate food shortages and pandemics and preserve

biodiversity. Fortunately, the science world is not lacking in

virtuosos. Pooling their skills means that these talents are not

just accumulated, they are multiplied. And this changes the

score entirely.

Interview

8 Forming independent islands

On the nature of scientific collaboration

according to physicist Robert Aymar, former

director-general of ITER and of CERN.

Enterprises

10 Cooperation with a human face

More attention is given to the participation

of small- and medium-sized enterprises

in the Seventh Framework Programme.

An overview of progress to date.

Health

12 An unprecedented public-private

partnership

Facing the declining competitiveness

of the European pharmaceutical industry,

the “Innovative Medicine Initiative” aims

to speed up the development of new

remedies.

Nuclear fusion

14 ITER emerges from the Earth

The most ambitious international scientific

collaboration to date.

North-south axis

16 A developing cooperation

For the EU, socio-economic development

of its southern partners also requires

scientific collaboration.

Projects

18 Together, we are more intelligent

Science research means, first and

foremost, cooperation. Proof from five

European examples.

20 In brief

European news.

Research under the microscope.

Transport

29 Fuelling the cars of tomorrow

The advent of electric cars is calling for

a quantum leap in battery development.

Is this a daydream?

Genetics

32 Genes that keep us in bed

Why is it humans spend one third of their

lives sleeping? To answer this question,

the experts hunt down sleep genes

in the fruit fly.

Pollution

35 Nuclear waste: an insoluble question

While several European countries relaunch

their nuclear programmes, the question of

waste remains. Maybe for a long time.

Health

38 What’s to fear about mobile phones?

Does mobile phone use promote cancer?

We look at Interphone, the widest ranging

study to date on this subject.

40 In brief

Science at your fingertips. Teaching corner.

Publications. Young researchers. Opinion.

Image of science

44 CHIK colours

Portrait

22 Ali Saïb’s El Dorado

Nothing about Ali Saïb’s university career

was predestined. Born under a good star,

or capable of profiting from opportunities to

forge his own destiny.

Human sciences

24 Modern-day ethnologists

Anthropology is evolving and raising new

issues. Explanations from Anne-Christine

Taylor, head of the research and teaching

department at the Quai Branly Museum.

Physics of plasmas

26 On the edge of matter

Spotlight on plasmas, this fourth state

of matter that fascinates so many chemists

and physicists.

IN BRIEF


Appearances matter

When a female Gouldian finch

(Erythrura gouldiae) mates, the sex

of her eggs will depend on… what

her partner looks like. In Australia,

there are two varieties of Gouldian

finch: one with a black head and

the other with a red head. Experi-

ments have shown that, although

in Science show that when a

female believes she is mating

with a male of the same species,

she produces a more or less

equal number of daughters and

sons. So the sex of the brood

depends not on the male’s true

genetic characteristics but on

the female’s perceptions of them.

A real case of judging by

appearances…

www.sciencemag.org

Like mother, like daughter

Sexual or asexual reproduction?

Termite queens from the species

Reticulitermes speratus use both

mating systems. Most of the

young males and females

produced from sexual mating

grow to be queen successors,

known as secondary queens,

which remain in the termite

colony and mate with the king.

This is what Japanese and

American researchers have

revealed in a study published

in Science magazine.

The advantage of this dual mating

system is that it avoids inbreeding,

where the king, which lives longer

than the queen, would effectively

mate with his own daughter,

as happens with other termite

species. Parthenogenesis enables

the primary queen to pass on

her entire genome through her

female successors and, in so doing,

to preserve the colony’s genetic

diversity.

www.sciencemag.org

Learning to unlearn

Victims of post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD), an anxiety

disorder that can develop after

exposure to a terrifying event or

ordeal, would pay dearly to rid

themselves of their fear memories.

While many scientific studies focus

on the molecular mechanisms

for learning and memorisation,

to tackle PTSD scientists need to

address the ‘unlearning’ process.

Researchers at the Salk Institute

for Biological Studies (US) have

discovered that a receptor for

glutamate, the most prominent

neurotransmitter in the central

nervous system, plays a key role

in the unlearning process.

They made this discovery in

experiments where they trained

mice to fear a tone by coupling it

with an electric shock to the foot.

They found that if, following this

fear conditioning, the mice are

repeatedly exposed to the tone

without receiving any electric

shocks, their fear eventually

subsides. However, mice lacking

the gene coding for metabotropic

glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) are

unable to shake off their fear of

the now harmless tone. Further

experiments confirmed the

inability of these mutants to carry

out tasks that required them to

‘unlearn’ what they had just

learned. The researchers believe

that a similar mechanism might

be perturbed in PTSD sufferers

and that mGluR may provide

a potential target for new

therapeutic treatments.

www.jneurosci.org

The Amazon is gasping

In 2005, the Amazon forest seems

to have swapped its legendary

status as a carbon sink for the

less praiseworthy one of carbon

dioxide (CO2) emitter. According

to an international study published

in Science magazine, the Amazon

forest, known as the lung of the

Earth, which normally absorbs

some 2 billion tonnes of carbon

dioxide per year, actually emitted

nearly 3 billion tonnes in 2005,

ZEITGEIST

the two varieties are of the same

species, they are genetically

incompatible. When the father

and mother have the same

head colour, the female hatches

a roughly equal proportion of

female and male offspring.

But if the parents have different-

coloured heads, the female will

deliberately produce more than

80 % male offspring. This increases

their chances of survival because

daughters resulting from geneti-

cally incompatible pairings have

a much higher mortality rate

than sons.

To test the influence of future

Gouldian finch mothers on

the gender of their offspring,

researchers from Macquarie

University (AU) came up with the

idea of dyeing their suitors’ heads.

The results of the study published

with the colony’s king will become

the hive’s workers and soldiers,

while the female larvae resulting

from parthenogenesis (asexual

reproduction in females without

fertilisation by a male), which are

genetically identical to their

female parents but have no genes

in common with the king, mostly

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IN BRIEF


so releasing an extra 5 billion

tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

This extra CO2 is thought to be

a direct consequence of the drought

that struck the Amazonian region

in 2005, killing many trees. Since

nothing is lost nor gained but

everything converted, the multi-

tude of bacteria, fungi and animals

feasting on the dead trees

released CO2 in the process.

Setting aside the effect of

a drought in a specific year,

the authors of the study stress

the fragile nature of the rainforests’

carbon sink capacity.

www.sciencemag.org

Shrinking shells

In spite of their small size, together

foraminifera represent an enormous

biomass and play a key role in

fixing carbon dioxide in the

oceans. To protect themselves,

these single-celled organisms

secrete calcite, forming a test

(a sort of mineral-rich shell pierced

with holes).

In a study published in Nature

Geoscience, Australian researchers

uncovered a link, in a 50 000-year-

long record obtained from

a Southern Ocean marine

sediment core, between higher

atmospheric carbon dioxide and

low shell weights in planktonic

foraminifera called globigerina.

They compared the shell weights

of globigerina collected from

sediment traps in the Southern

Ocean with the weights of shells

preserved in the underlying

Holocene-aged sediments.

The results revealed that the shells

of modern globigerina weigh

between 30 and 35 % less than

those of their ancestors. This

reduced calcification is thought

to have been caused by ocean

acidification arising from high

atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

It is unclear whether reduced

calcification will affect the survival

of this and other species of

foraminifera, but a decline in their

population could jeopardise the

oceanic uptake of atmospheric

carbon dioxide.

www.nature.com

Local warming

Since 1980, the tropical North

Atlantic has been warming by

an average of a quarter-degree

Celsius per decade. Although

global warming may have

contributed to this rise, it is far

from the only cause. A study by

American researchers from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison

and the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) shows that the local

reduction in wind-borne dust and

volcanic emissions from Africa has

also played a major role because

these airborne particles reduce

the amount of sunlight reaching

the ocean, keeping the sea

surface cool.

The researchers arrived at this

conclusion by combining satellite

data of dust and other particles

with existing climate models

to evaluate the effect on ocean

temperature. According to their

calculations, the decline in airborne

particles above this part of the

ocean is responsible for two thirds

of the rise in its temperature in

recent years. Global warming and

reduced sunlight-screening from

these airborne particles would

appear to work together to raise

the temperature of these Atlantic

waters, causing a growing number

of hurricanes, which thrive on

warmer water.

www.sciencemag.org

Rapid recharge

In a communication society where

the mobile phone is king, running

out of battery can be a real source

of stress. For the more farsighted

among us who have remembered

to bring along their charger, all

they need is a hefty dose of

patience while their battery

recharges itself. Now, though,

advances by researchers at the

Massachusetts Institute

of Technology (MIT) (US) could

soon slash this waiting time.

Like all batteries, lithium-ion

batteries comprise two electrodes:

an anode and a cathode. It is

the movement of lithium ions

between the two that creates the

electric current, and the faster the

ions travel, the faster the battery

is recharged. The researchers

found that lithium ions can travel

very quickly through battery mate-

rial but only through tunnels

accessed from the surface.

If a lithium ion at the surface

is not directly in front of a tunnel

entrance, it is unable to travel

there. The MIT scientists have

created a new surface structure

that allows the lithium ions to

move quickly around the outside

of the material, much like a ring

road around a city. As a result,

the new batteries recharge

100 times faster! We shall have to

remain patient for a while longer

though, because it is not planned

to market this new system for

another two to three years.

www.nature.com

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SPECIAL REPORTSCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION


Symphony of

The cattle egret relieves large mammals of their parasites

in exchange for its daily bread and the cleaner wrasse patiently

waits for the shark to hold open its jaws to provide it with a slap-up

meal. Flowers unfold their most dazzling colours to attract insects,

which in turn disseminate pollen while feasting on their nectar.

Nature provides no shortage of examples of such mutually

beneficial interactions. They gradually become established

throughout evolution, quite simply because they improve the

lives and performance of each beneficiary. Humans are no

exception to this rule. The brown rat, which is so partial

to household refuse, plays a major role in keeping sewage

systems clean. Many more such mutually beneficial relation-

ships are forged between people, in the guise of concepts like

collaboration, cooperation or partnership.

In the world of research, collaboration has become a prerequisite

for excellence. It is vital to share knowledge and technology,

pool resources, develop specialisations and link disciplines if

we wish to raise innovation to a high enough level to meet the

challenges of the centuries to come. Indeed, this will require far

more than the resources of a single laboratory or even an entire

country. Researchers shoulder a huge burden of expectations:

to understand climate change, resolve the energy crisis,

anticipate food shortages and pandemics and preserve

biodiversity. Fortunately, the science world is not lacking in

virtuosos. Pooling their skills means that these talents are not

just accumulated, they are multiplied. And this changes the

score entirely.


excellence©

Sh

utt

ers

tock

What are the issues that entice people like you

to promote and organise scientific collaboration?

From the researcher’s perspective there are

two issues, the relative importance of which

may vary according to the topic, context and

the general environment: the equality of mem-

bers and desire for excellence in the work

undertaken through collaboration. Individuals

working together, of course, see each other as

equals, and knowledge sharing leads to greater

equality. By partnering with peers, they are

better able to measure the quality of their own

work and this encourages excellence.

At the political level, or when managing

a scientific body, when the importance of a par-

ticular objective is recognised and a strategy is

defined in order to achieve it, it is possible to

suggest, to change the establishment of colla-

borations or simply to ensure their funding. The

challenge is to make sure not to transform these

incentives into purely bureaucratic manage ment.

In human terms, what are the main challenges

you have had to face in implementing the major

projects you have managed?

When people who are going to work toge-

ther come from very different cultures, one of

course has to verify not only that they are pro-

fessionally competent, but that they also per-

sonally support the common project. But the

first real challenge is to ensure the absence of

nationalism. The future partners need to share


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INTERVIEW

Robert Aymar: “Between

cooperation and competition,

we play on words. I use the term

collaborative competition to

describe a situation in which, once

the strategy has collectively been

decided upon, we are not hung up

on the fact of the earlier competition.”© C

ER

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Forming

Back in 1994 Robert Aymar

was placed in charge of

ITER (1), the giant inter-

national project researching

nuclear fusion. He was later

appointed Director-General

of CERN, the European

Organization for Nuclear

Research, a position he held

from 2004 to 2008. This

plasma physicist, with major

scientific project experience,

draws lessons for us from

his various collaborations.

INTERVIEW


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a common vision of the future and form an

independent island, free of the prejudices or

pre-existing hierarchical elements in their

home environments. Without a set of shared

core values like rigour, intellectual honesty,

humility, openness and the famous thirst for

knowledge, your collaboration will not work.

All you will have is a juxtaposition of paid indi-

viduals, without the synergy necessary for the

effective completion of the project.

Equally fundamental is a common strategy.

In any joint venture, not everyone has the same

level of responsibility, age or imagination; in

short, not everyone carries the same weight.

But ultimately the effectiveness of the project

will be measured by the quality of the link

between different project members. The actual

physical distance between the workstations is

irrelevant, provided there are sufficient face-

to-face contacts. During my career I have come

across individuals who had never personally

committed to this common strategy. The sim-

plest thing then is to remove them.

Aren’t a lack of nationalism and shared

strategy unique to particle physics, where

collaboration is culturally rooted in the very

special history of atomic research?

On the contrary, I believe these attributes

are prerequisites for any international scientific

collaboration to succeed. They provided the

critical basis for the Convention that led to the

creation of CERN in 1954. Today, in an experi-

ment such as the LHC (Large Hadron Collider),

we have 2 000 researchers working in a demo-

cratic, non-hierarchical framework, where

leaders are elected.

How do they manage to spend 20 years pre-

paring an experiment and another 20 years

running it? This is because everyone agrees to

explore everyone else’s ideas, with a single cri-

terion which is in everyone’s common interest:

the greatest likelihood of the success of the

experiment. There is an initial competition for

ideas, but then collaboration carries the day

with everyone signing up to a collective deci-

sion to move towards a single strategy.

Isn’t there the danger of this competition

proving demeaning or demotivating for researchers

who have invested heavily and whose work is

ultimately not selected?

Demeaning, I do not think so. If, in a given

framework, democratic judgement gives diffe-

rent rankings to the various proposals, we are

not talking of value judgements where one

idea is good and the other bad. Between com-

petition and collaboration, we are in fact playing

with words, because the contribution of each

member is to critically analyse all proposals.

Personally, I use the term ‘collaborative com-

petition’ to describe a situation in which, once

the strategy has been collectively decided

upon, we are not hung up on the earlier com-

petition. This process takes time, but it gener-

ates synergies that increase the efficiency of

research. It’s very different from the law of the

market where the winner crushes the loser.

Sometimes, a minority among those who

fiercely support a vision that is ultimately not

accepted may become demotivated. They will

leave the project and join another collabora-

tive venture. We should not give the idea that

all projects will last forever; competition also

exists in overall funding.

Does scientific collaboration change

in nature when it crosses the traditional divide

between basic and applied research?

If the objective is the market, which presup-

poses profit from success associated with a

minimum of technical secrets, we leave behind

the framework of scientific collaboration to

which I have just referred. The two approach-

es are totally different in nature. Take for exam-

ple the deciphering of the genome. For some,

it is a heritage of humanity, the understanding

of it is simply knowledge. For others, there is

the prospect of bringing certain applications

to market for financial gain. Two approaches

which are, to say the least, irreconcilable.

There are, however, particularly in Europe,

many industrialists who, starting out from the

results of basic research, team up with

researchers in a framework of technology

transfer to develop or improve a process that

could generate profits. If they attach to this col-

laboration values that go beyond mere eco-

nomic self-interest, this is not, totally in my

view, a scientific collaboration, but rather a

desire to continue a strategy that has already

begun and bring discipline and innovation to it.

This collaboration is still well away from the

frantic race for profit, which, as the phenome-

non of stock market bubbles shows, often pre-

vails on the market.

Does the European Research Area offer

a propitious framework for scientific

collaboration?

The history and culture of Europe are closely

linked to the development of science, at least

since the 17th century. Training for the benefit

of all is of very good quality in this part of the

world, with publicly funded schools and uni-

versities. States have developed here through

power struggles. This has created a diversity of

values and approaches which are now an asset

for European science. But the division of

Europe into many small countries, each with

the same attributes of sovereignty, is also an

obstacle. Scientific issues have reached a level

of complexity where it has become necessary

to share analysis and varied skills in diversified

initiatives involving large numbers of people.

In each subject area, effectiveness calls for

a critical mass, the size of which varies depend-

ing on the discipline, the technology involved

and the particular project. In practice, this criti-

cal mass is inaccessible to most of our countries,

which are too small to have the sufficient

human or financial resources to tackle as wide

a range of topics as a much larger country.

To achieve the necessary critical mass, the only

effective solution in Europe lies in effective

cross-border collaboration. This comes easier

to scientists than to politicians.

Interview by Sandrine Dewez

(1) See “ITER emerges from the Earth” on page 14.

independent islands

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“The impact of FP7 on SMEs is

clear to see! We are witnessing

un pre cedented interest and

participation,” explains Imelda

Lambkin of the Irish National Contact Point

(NCP). This is certainly encouraging news when

you consider that 99 % of all businesses in the

EU are SMEs and that they provide some 75 mil-

lion jobs. As such, they are an essential resource

in meeting Europe’s knowledge objectives.

This is only the case, however, if they are

able to overcome the many obstacles along the

road to funding under the framework pro-

grammes for research. FP7 has learned the les-

sons of the past and adapted conditions of

access and budgets to bring them as closely

into line as possible with the specific needs

and nature of these businesses. Under the

Cooperation-specific programme, for example,

cofunding is available for up to 75 % of research

costs, an increase compared with FP6, and at

least 15 % of funds are reserved for SMEs.

In the field, however, the reality is above all

human. “Human relations are crucial factors for

success and must be in place well before the

Commission launches any calls for projects,”

stresses Kostadin Kostadinov of the NCP for

Bulgarian SMEs. An engineer and professor of

robotics, he is very familiar with the world of

SMEs, having himself created a number of spin-

offs. “SMEs need to be active within interna-

tional networks of SMEs as it is there that they

can meet possible future partners. The net-

works set by the Commission, such as the

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), launched in

2008, or, in the field of health, the SMEs go

Health initiative, are opportunities that must be

seized. But that is not enough. The R&D activi-

ties of SMEs must be closely linked to academic

research as this provides major potential for

innovation.” Imelda Lambkin also stresses that

“in Ireland – but it is true elsewhere also – SMEs

that participate successfully in calls for offers are

often spin-offs originating in university labora-

tories with strong links between private-sector

researchers and university researchers”.

Visionary bossesMichel Ganoote of the French NCP believes

that “participation in European financing requires

business managers to have a strategic vision,

set their sights firmly on excellence and co-

o peration, choose their partners carefully and

devote a lot of time to the project… In other

words, their participation should be seen as

a medium- or long-term investment.”

Competition is keen, which is why candi-

dates need all the help they can get. “The EC

has set up several networks and knowledge

bases and SMEs should make full use of these.

At the same time, more experienced partners

that have already won European funding are

also a valuable source of information,” conti nues

Michel Ganoote. “They should also not hesitate

to bring in specialised consultants that are fami-

liar with the procedures, know the jargon and

can help draw up the application.”

Rallying pointsBut where to begin? For online aid, the Com-

mission has a specific portal dedicated to SMEs,

known as SME TechWeb. This guides SMEs in

The specific measures for

small and medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs) under

the Seventh Framework

Programme for Research and

Technological Development

(FP7) seem to be bearing

fruit. Initial results of

increased participation,

promising partnerships,

projects realised and jobs

are a boost to the world

of European SMEs and

to all those that revolve

around them.

Cooperat

ENTERPRISES

European projects are an opportunity

for SMEs to work with major partners,

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taking their first steps through the procedures

of European financing. But there is no substitute

for human contact, and one of the key players in

the participation of SMEs is the network of

National Contact Points. These are national struc-

tures based in and financed by FP7’s 27 Member

States and Associated States. The NCP staff is the

interface and interlocutor for any SME consid-

ering participating in a transnational project.

The organisation varies from one country to

another, but the mission is the same: to offer

immediate individual support to candidates in

their mother tongue. The NCPs operate pro-

actively, offering guidance, practical informa-

tion and aid with all aspects relating to

participation in FP7. “When we are unable to

offer personalised coaching ourselves, we are

able to make the link between the SME and

a more local structure, such as an innovation

transfer agency. Through contacts between

NCPs we also act as a relay between countries,”

explains Kostadin Kostadinov.

Michel Ganoote would like to see increased

and more integrated training for NCP staff. “We

need better integration of the national funding

possibilities open to SMEs, to coordinate more

effectively with the other NCPs at European

level, and to be more effective at explaining

Europe to the SMEs and the SMEs to Europe.”

Imelda Lambkin also acknowledges that

“SMEs need more assistance than other types

of partners. Ideally, we should be able to indi-

cate the best financing for their project, by explor-

ing, and sometimes combining, European funds

and national funds. When setting up a project we

endeavour to use all the information gathered,

often over a period of several months, to the

best of our ability. Especially if the request for

funds has failed.”

She also stresses the quality of the proposal

evaluations by the Commission experts. “They

are always well argued and this makes it possi-

ble, if necessary, for the consortium to rework

the weak points in the proposal so as to submit

it again for the next call for participation,”

explains Michel Ganoote.

What benefits for SMEs?For an innovative SME, access to European

funding offers much more than a financial con-

tribution alone. A genuine quality label is

therefore needed, “that should be capitalised

on much more than it is,” remarks Michel

Ganoote, “in particular in contacts with nation-

al and regional innovation agencies and when

supplementing European funding with other

aid that may be available.” In addition to fund-

ing their activities, “European projects are also

an opportunity for SMEs to work with major

partners, such as multinationals,” adds Imelda

Lambkin. “This is not something that is neces-

sarily available to them outside of this context.

Yet in some fields, such as aeronautics, coop-

eration of this kind is simply essential.”

The limited resources available naturally

force some difficult choices and many good

projects must ultimately be rejected. Those

active in the field believe that this is another

major potential source of innovation that

Europe could exploit by using specific tools

such as the ERA-NET national and regional calls

for proposals, which are complementary to the

FP7 calls, if it does not want to lose out on the

wealth the SMEs represent.

Kirstine de Caritat

ion with a human face

ENTERPRISES

National Contact Points (NCPs)

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/

get-support_en.html

SMEs go Health

www.smesgohealth.org

Enterprise Europe Network

www.enterprise-europe-network.

ec.europa.eu

SME techweb

http://ec.europa.eu/research/

sme-techweb

Tripping on a carpet

You trip on a carpet, slip on a wet floor, and

most of the time get up and think no more

of it. But with advancing years such falls

can have serious effects, including fractures,

wounds and complications such as infection. In

Europe it is estimated that 30 % of people over 65

have at least one fall a year.

VIGILIO, a French SME that develops innovative

telemedical solutions, is currently coordinating

the European project FallWatch. A consortium of

12 partners is seeking to develop, by 2010, a min-

iature intelligent fall detector for persons of risk

age, known as the Mini’Fall®.

“Putting together the proposal is a genuine

investment,” explains Jean-Eric Lundy, CEO of

VIGILIO. “It requires a clear vision of what you

aim to do and how to do it. Our NCP put us in

contact with a consultancy company that helped

us prepare the proposal.”

Identifying the partners of the future consor-

tium and spending time with them in forging

a shared and coherent vision are other key ingre-

dients. “This preparatory work, the creation of

a project dynamic, must be done before the

Commission launches the call,” says Jean-Eric

Lundy. “This stage requires considerable time. It

is illusory to regard European money as easily

obtained support. The competition is fierce.”

Another lesson learned along the way is not

to become discouraged. “When we first submit-

ted a proposal we fell just short of the mark. But

the specific and pertinent comments from the

Commission helped us improve some of the

details and, six months later, we made the grade!”

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Two figures sum up the structural

difficulties of the pharmaceutical

industry. Since 1995, expenditure on

research and development in the

sector has increased by 80 %. Yet at the same

time the number of new medicines marketed

has fallen by 40 %. “This fall is due to a combi-

nation of scientific, regulatory and economic

factors,” says Arthur Higgins, President of the

European Federation of Pharmaceutical Indus-

tries and Associations (EFPIA). “Our companies

are working to meet these challenges but it is

clear that their efforts alone will not be enough.”

This is why the EFPIA welcomed with enthusi-

asm the idea launched by the European Com-

mission in 2007 for a new form of public-private

partnership to boost the declining competitive-

ness of Europe’s pharmaceutical industry.

The aim of this Innovative Medicines Initia-

tive (IMI) is not to come up with new medi-

cines but to develop the tools, methods and

know-how to facilitate future innovation. The

road from a promising molecule to a medicine

is long and full of obstacles, with fewer than

6 % of molecules at the preclinical development

stage – that is, being tested on animals or cell

cultures – finding their way, a decade later, into

a pharmacy. There are three main reasons for

this low success rate: the discovery of unex-

pected toxicity during the preclinical trials; the

appearance of undesirable side effects during

the phase I clinical trials – designed, in accord-

ance with the Hippocratic precept of primun

non nocere, to establish tolerance to the med-

icine among healthy human subjects – and,

finally, insufficient effectiveness on patients

during phase II and III clinical trials.

A strategic agendaFor each of these obstacles, the IMI’s strate-

gic research agenda identifies promising ave-

nues for research. To improve the predictability

of toxicity, there is a need to develop databas-

es that make it possible to link the undesirable

effect of a molecule to the detail of its chemical

structure, or biological markers that reveal

quickly any problem that would only be appar-

ent clinically several years later. To better under-

stand the possible effectiveness of a molecule

in combating one of the IMI’s five priority

illnesses – cancer and cerebral, metabolic,

inflammatory and infectious diseases – it is vital

to identify cell models for the illness that per-

mit the in vitro testing of a molecule’s effect,

this also making it possible to reduce the use

of animal experimentation, a cause to which

the Commission and the EFPIA are committed.

A brief look back over recent decades

reveals what can be expected of this upstream

research. In the early 1990s, 40 % of molecules

were rejected along the way because the test-

ing phase revealed they were blocked by the

body’s protective barriers or degraded by the

immune system. Today these problems of bio-

disponibility are the cause of just 10 % of rejec-

tions. This is due to the progress made in

modelling that makes it possible to determine

in advance whether or not a molecule will be

able to reach its target organ.

An original structureAll the parties involved in the medicine

chain were thus invited to take part in the IMI.

In addition to around 2 100 EFPIA member

companies, this included academic research

centres, innovative small and medium-sized

enterprises (SMEs), patients’ associations, hos-

pitals and the government agencies that grant

marketing authorisations. To enable such

diverse institutions to work together, an origi-

nal legal structure was needed: the Joint Tech-

nological Initiative.

This Joint Technological Initiative is co-piloted

by the Commission and the EFPIA, each inject-

ing a billion euros into the IMI during the 2008-

2013 period. “The Commission is responsible

for setting up and launching the IMI joint

undertaking until it acquires the operational

capacity needed to implement its own budget,

which is planned for the third quarter of 2009,”

explains Alain Van Vossel, IMI interim execu-

tive director. The two institutions are jointly

represented on the Governing Board that man-

ages the IMI and that is responsible for issuing

calls for proposals. The latter are structured

around four strategic pillars: forecasting the

toxicity of molecules, predicting their effective-

ness, improving knowledge management – in

particular through the databases – and deve-

loping training of the highly skilled workforce

A decade ago, 70 % of new medicines came from Europe.

Today the figure has fallen to 30 %. To stem this worrying

decline, the Commission and federation of pharmaceutical

industries have decided to pool the research needed to speed

up sector innovation.

An unprecedented public-private partner

HEALTH


needed by an industry that employs 500 000

people in Europe.

A unique procedureTo understand what is unique about the IMI

you have to look at the original procedure for

the calls for proposals. Only consortiums of

public research institutes and innovative SMEs

can respond and not companies seeking to

benefit from the creativity of their partners.

Experts appointed by the Governing Board

examine the proposals and the best are sub-

mitted to a group of EFPIA companies interest-

ed in the subject. A second consortium is then

created that formulates a final proposal in

which research producers and their potential

users are closely involved. After a further eval-

uation it is then this consortium that receives

IMI funding. So as not to distort competition

through direct aid to companies, there is a strict

separation between public funds allocated by

the Commission – which goes to public

research bodies and innovative SMEs only –

and private money from the EFPIA companies

in the form of equipment, personnel and infra-

structure.

Setting up projects supported by the IMI also

required an imaginative legal approach to

resolve the delicate question of the intellectual

ownership of the research results. This was

essential in persuading normally competing

companies to pool their efforts. It was thus nec-

essary to refine the legal notion of the research

‘background’ of Seventh Framework Pro-

gramme projects to support the use of highly

confidential information that the companies

make available to their partners. It was also

decided to allow each consortium a large meas-

ure of autonomy in determining the manner of

sharing ownership of the research results.

Could this complex operating method in

itself prove to be an obstacle to scientific crea-

tivity? It is too early to say. The IMI has already

selected around 15 proposals submitted in

response to its first call in May 2008, and the

consortiums that will share the first €300 mil-

lion should be set up in the summer of 2009.

The two wise men charged with ensuring the

transparency of expert appraisals and that there

is no abuse on the part of the industrialists –

which are both judge and party due to their

participation on the IMI Governing Board –

have already judged the organisation of the first

call to be “well conceived and mature”. These

are much appreciated words of encouragement

for this unique and audacious public-private

partnership.

Mikhaïl Stein

ship

HEALTH

The premises of the IMI

The reason European pharmaceutical

companies have agreed to pool their

pre-competitive research is that they

realised the usefulness of such an approach

with the Innovative Medicine for Europe

(InnoMed) project, between 2005 and 2008.

This consortium of 14 universities, 16 compa-

nies and 8 SMEs with a joint budget of €18

million set itself the goal of working together

on two subjects: the description of biomark-

ers making it possible to monitor the progress

of Alzheimer’s disease in man and in animal

models; and the creation of databases with

a vast quantity of information on the toxicity

of molecules generated using techniques

originating in genome sequencing. It is the

success of this initiative that convinced the

Commission and the industry to act on a larg-

er scale.

Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)

www.imi-europe.org

European Federation

of Pharmaceutical Industries and

Associations (EFPIA)

www.efpia.org

Fewer than 6 % of molecules

at the preclinical development

stage (tested on animals or cell

cultures) find their way, a decade

later, into pharmacies.

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It is a vast flat rectangle over a kilometre

long and some 500 metres wide, the size

of 60 soccer pitches. From the air it

resembles a huge yellow gash cut out of

the forest that stretches to the shores of the

Medi terranean, 60 km away. We are in

Cadarache, in the south of France, at the site

that over the next decade will see the construc-

tion of ITER (International Thermonuclear

Experimental Reactor), the biggest internation-

al scientific device in the world. At the centre

of the plot, levelled out to millimetre precision

by an army of mechanical diggers, a gaping

hole is ready to receive the reactor.

100 million degreesThe aim of ITER is to check the “scientific

and technical feasibility of nuclear fusion as

a new energy source.” In practice, this means

maintaining over 400 seconds a fusion reac-

tion at a temperature of close to 100 million

degrees, in 840 m3 of plasma (1) (an ionised

gas), to arrive at a power 30 times greater than

ever achieved by the most powerful reactor to

date, JET. The environment will be packed with

sensors to obtain a maximum of experimental

data that, a few decades from now, will make

it possible to build an industrial reactor. This

reactor would be able to produce abundant

quantities of clean energy, as fusion consumes

very little matter and, above all, creates virtu-

ally no radio active waste.

The technological challenge is nevertheless

huge: our understanding of how plasmas

behave at such staggering temperatures is any-

thing but complete and the materials are often

subject to impressive constraints, in particular

in terms of neutron bombardment. It is a chal-

lenge currently beyond the capacity of any one

country. This is why, in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev

proposed to Ronald Reagan that they should

work together on nuclear fusion. After many

twists and turns, it is this proposal that resulted

in the present ITER project, piloted from the

start by the EU and now including seven part-

ners: Europe, the United States, China, Russia,

India, Japan and Korea. Together these part-

ners represent more than half the world’s pop-

ulation and the most markedly contrasting

cultures. What is more, ITER has every chance

of further expanding as a number of nations

have expressed their interest in participating

as ‘associated countries.’

“Previously, we were already very proud at

having succeeded in building an international

project such as the LHC (Large Hadron Collider)

in Geneva, but that only involves the governing

bodies of the European partners. With ITER we

are talking about much larger sums of money

and, most importantly, a truly global project!”

says Neil Calder, head of communication at

ITER, who himself spent many years working

at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear

Research), the body responsible for the LHC.

Physicist Michel Chatelier, who for a long time

managed Tore Supra, ITER’s little brother,

believes that to be successful, the project “will

require as much capacity for human and organ-

isational innovation as scientific capacity.”

Global giantSo how will this extraordinary global device

work? The project, initially costed at €10 bil-

lion (approximately €5 billion to build it and

€5 billion to operate it), is scheduled to be

spread over 35 years: 10 years to build it,

20 years for the experimentation, and five

years to dismantle it. Europe is providing 45 %

of the funding, the balance being shared equally

between the other partners. The project’s gov-

erning body, known as ITER Organization, is

headed by the ITER Council that is made up

of around 100 top-level scientists and political

The most ambitious

international scientific

cooperation project in history

is taking shape in the south

of France. We take a look

at an extraordinary

technological and

institutional device.

ITER emerges from the e

NUCLEAR FUSION

Start-up of the ITER site in Cadarache.

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representatives from each of the partner coun-

tries. This ITER Council meets twice yearly to

take major decisions. Kaname Ikeda of Japan

is head of ITER Organization.

One of ITER’s unique features is the impor-

tance of the concept of contributions in kind.

Each partner is responsible for supplying a part

of the reactor components, for the purpose of

which seven domestic agencies have been set

up. “But, in a way, we chose to do this in the

most inefficient way possible,” says Neil Calder

with a smile. Most of the components are in

fact the result of cooperation between three or

four domestic agencies, the idea being to share

the technological learning process as much as

possible. In some cases each agency submits

which is the best. In other cases each contrib-

utes its skills and an appropriate project is then

developed. The desire to circulate knowledge

therefore takes precedence over the desire to

optimise the effort, which is not without merit.

This method of task sharing of course implies

a huge amount of interaction. The Cadarache

site is the scene of constant videoconferences,

incoming and outgoing e-mails, and a steady

stream of arrivals and departures. But things

are moving forward and the prototypes of parts

that arrive for evaluation are already starting to

fill the building aisles. The European agency,

known as Fusion for Energy (F4E), is of course

the biggest as Europe is financing 45 % of the

project. It is involved in making nearly all the

reactor components, especially the giant super-

conducting coils. Its headquarters in Barcelona

is likely to have a staff of about 300 within the

next year or two.

Plural construction identityThe day-to-day reality of being involved in such

a project is fascinating. When Kaname Ikeda

arrived in Cadarache in 2007, with a team of half

a dozen people, there was almost nothing there.

The prefabricated buildings progressively

emerged from the earth as the site developed

to accommodate the first 100 employees over

the next year. Today that number has increased

to 300, still housed in prefabricated buildings

while awaiting the permanent buildings to be

provided by the French over the next two to

three years. Soon there will be 1 000 people

working at ITER, with about 30 nationalities

represented. “Most of the international organi-

sations, the ESA (European Space Agency) or

CERN, for example, are now over 30 years old

and have a genuine common culture, whereas

we still have to build our identity,” stresses Neil

Calder. “We bring together countries that have

never worked together before and people who

do not have the same dress codes, the same

relationship to the hierarchy or work, who do

not conduct meetings in the same way, who

express themselves differently. We are going

to have to invent a model in which everybody

can feel comfortable and work efficiently. That

is a formidable challenge!”

Fortunately, the ITER participants are bound

by the belief that they are working on a mis-

sion of huge importance to society, at a time

when the greenhouse effect and the energy cri-

sis are bringing ever more perilous dangers for

mankind. It is this conviction that should ena-

ble them to overcome the inevitable crises and

difficulties. “In a common project such as this,”

notes Michel Chatelier, “you cannot hope to

have made the right choices at first attempt. You

must be able to make changes along the way.”

What is more, negotiations are continuing on

many aspects of ITER governance. The way of

managing intellectual property remains largely

to be defined, while the issue of the right to

patent the technologies generated will certain-

ly be hotly debated. It is a context that Neil

Calder sums up by remarking “at root,

the project is still in its adolescence, with all the

difficulties that the move to maturity will bring.”

It is a difficult stage in ITER’s development, but

one marked by youthful enthusiasm.

Yves Sciama

(1) See “On the edge of matter” page 26.

arth

NUCLEAR FUSION

Caring for the new arrivals

In order to better welcome personnel arriving

at the site, ITER-France, a subsidiary of the

CEA – Atomic Energy Commission (FR) – that

is responsible for preparing the site, has opened

the Welcome Office. This assists new arrivals in

finding accommodation, completing the admi-

nistrative formalities (driving licences, residence

permits, etc.) and also offers French lessons for

those who are interested. The office recently

hired a team to present the cultural specificities

of the different participating countries as a

means of improving cohabitation while avoiding

any faux pas and misunderstandings. An inter-

national school for the site employees has

already opened its doors. Once the site is oper-

ating at full capacity this should have around

1 000 pupils aged between 5 and 18 and pay par-

ticular attention to ensuring that they are able to

easily return to their national education system

at any time.

ITER

European Union and six other

countries (CN-IN-JP-KR-RU-US)

www.iter.org

It is customary, in the case of major public works,

to make sure that certain sites do not contain

any archaeological treasures. From left to right:

preparatory explorations (a), archaeological digs

around a former glassworks (b) and a tomb of

a late antique necropolis (c) maintenance along

a minor road where the hydraulic networks are

installed for managing the water coming from

the ITER site.

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Eradicating hunger in poor countries,

reducing child mortality, ensuring

environmental sustainability: five of

the eight Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) imply a direct contribution by

science. Since the MDGs were signed in 2000,

technology has increasingly come to be regard-

ed as key to socio-economic development. This

is true both within northern countries, where

the ‘Knowledge Society’ is promoted as the

economic model to follow, and in the south,

where strengthening research capacities would

help populations develop their own solutions

designed to meet their own needs.

A new research modelWhat is more, it is often in terms of the

relation ship between development level and

research capacities that the difference in growth

between China and India on one hand and sub-

Saharan Africa on the other is explained. “There

is no doubt that the econo mic success of China

and India is based largely on investments in

higher education and strengthening research

capacities,” declares Kees Stigter, President of

the International Society for Agricultural Meteo-

rology (INSAM), who has spent the past 30 years

visiting research institutes and universities in

the develo ping countries as a guest professor.

The belief in the crucial role of research in

improving socio-economic conditions in Africa

is one that is gaining ground both within African

organisations and among European donors.

The African Union (AU) and the New Partner-

ship for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) pos-

sess a department dedicated specifically to

science and technology. Similarly, the new

Africa-EU Strategic Partnership includes a com-

ponent devoted to science, the information

society and space, while the European Com-

mission’s Seventh Framework Programme for

Research (FP7) includes a section devoted to

international cooperation that has been

reformed to promote scientific cooperation with

the southern countries.

A partnership logicBut to exploit science’s potential for develop-

ment to the fullest, there is a need for improved

coordination between scientific cooperation pol-

icy, foreign policy and develop ment aid pro-

grammes. “Previously, development was seen

as simply building roads, hospitals and schools.

But it is clearly more complicated than that. The

transfer of techno logy cannot be achieved at a

stroke. It is first necessary to create a different

relationship between research and development,

placing science in the service of populations,”

states Jean-François Girard, President of the

Institut de recherche pour le développement

(IRD) (FR). “Establishing closer contacts between

European officials responsible for scientific

research and those charged with development

cooperation is proving particularly difficult.

It involves a certain hybridisation of two very

different cultures that must adjust for their mutu-

al benefit.”

Europe regards technology

as crucial to socio-economic

growth. It is an approach

that the EU would like to see

transposed to development

policy.

A developing cooperation

NORTHSOUTH AXIS

A geological research project on Mali’s mining sector under the EU-financed Sysmin programme.

This study resulted in the production of a geographical information system (GIS) that includes geological,

geochemical and geophysical maps of formations dating from the Birimian age – 2 400 to 1 300 million

years ago – in the south of the country.

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The European and Developing Countries

Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) (1) reflects

this new approach to scientific cooperation

between North and South. Launched in 2003,

this project aims to organise, in Africa, clinical

trials for treatment to combat Africa’s three

most fatal diseases: AIDS, malaria and tuber-

culosis. The EDCTP is guided by a partnership

logic, as promoted by the MDGs. The principle

consists of concerted action by the donor and

beneficiary countries when implementing aid

actions. Although it is the EDCTP General

Assembly – made up solely of European rep-

resentatives – that alone determines the

project’s general strategy, all members of the

other decision-making bodies are drawn from

both sides of the Mediterranean.

AEGOS and GÉANT2The African-European Georesources Obser-

vation System (AEGOS), (2) launched in February

2009, is another reflection of the EU-Africa

research partnership. “AEGOS aims to develop

a pan-African infrastructure and interoperable

services concerning Africa’s mineral, hydro-

geological and geothermal resources,” explains

Marc Urvois, project coordinator for the Office

of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM)

(FR). “The aim is to support the sustainable

management of geological resources. AEGOS

will make it possible, for example, to deter-

mine whether or not operating a mine places

excessive pressure on local water resources,

thereby harming the environment or popula-

tions. The system will also be very useful for

the joint management of cross-border water

tables.” As in the case of the EDCTP, African

researchers are actively involved in the AEGOS

project. “Each working group is headed by an

African and a European researcher. The African

partners take ownership of the work pro-

gramme and contribute actively to the joint

activities. We are also involved in strengthen-

ing training capacities in association with the

universities and schools of geology to ensure

the system continues to function at the local

level,” explains Marc Urvois.

The low Internet coverage is a handi cap for

researchers in Africa. This is a digital divide

that limits data exchanges and thereby acts as

a brake on research. In January 2009 the Euro-

pean Commission announced the connection

of the UbuntuNet Alliance, an association of sev-

eral National Research and Education Networks

– NRENs – to GÉANT2, its European equiva-

lent. GÉANT2, which already has an Asian

(TEIN3 – Trans-Eurasia Information Network),

Latin American (ALICE – America Latina Inter-

conectada Con Europa) and Mediterranean (i)

extension, is a vast virtual network enabling

around 20 million researchers to exchange

information in Europe alone. “We are current-

ly carrying out a feasibility study to determine

how to finance the project,” explains Cathrin

Stöver of DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Net-

work Technology to Europe), the GÉANT2

management body. “For the moment, the African

partners lie mainly in East and Southern Africa,

but it is probable that the NRENs in West Africa

will join the project.”

Rooted in the fieldAll these developments should not make us

lose sight, however, of the essential frailty of

North-South scientific cooperation. “The new

technologies possess a vast potential for the

development of research, but the most funda-

mental is to respond to the immediate needs

of populations,” stresses Kees Stigler. ‘Too often,

scientists have imposed technologies deve loped

in a way that is totally impenetrable to local

reali ties. It is often wiser to improve traditional

techniques rather than to propose radically

innovative solutions, as not only do these risk

being badly received by those concerned but

they could also prove inapplicable in the field.”

There is therefore a need to free African sci-

entists from the isolation of their laboratories

and to open up the debate between science

and society. It is a challenge that European

research is also seeking to meet. “The future

of the planet is being decided on two flanks:

the sustainable management of resources and the

co-existence of peoples,” concludes Jean-François

Girard. “This second flank requires the estab-

lishment of active relations between North and

South, without which the future looks very

bleak.”

Julie Van Rossom

(1) See “Helping Africa or using Africa?”, research*eu n°59, March 2009, p. 13.

(2) See “Improving our distance vision”, research*eu geosciences special issue, September 2008, p. 34.

NORTHSOUTH AXIS

African-European Georesources

Observation System – AEGOS

22 partners – 18 countries (BE-BF-CZ-

DE-ET-FR-FI-GH-GN-NL-PT-PL-SN-TZ-

UG-UK-ZA-ZM)

www.aegos-project.org

UbuntuNet Alliance

www.ubuntunet.net

GÉANT2

www.geant.net

The international society for

agricultural meteorology – INSAM

www.agrometeorology.org

Hassai is one of the gold deposits discovered

by the Office for Geological and Mining Research

(BRGM) in 1984 in Ariab Province (Sudan).

An innovative project for processing the mineral

by means of bulk lixiviation was set up at this time

and the first ingot was cast in 1987.

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In many ways and in the most specialised fields, EU

research policy is focusing on cooperation in the service

of excellence. This strategy is causing European and

international players to coordinate their abilities in the

interests of better innovation. Here are some examples.

PROJECTS

An enlightened Europe

A diode is a semiconductor

electronic component consisting

of two layers of materials between

which electrons can flow in one

direction only. During this transfer

of electrons, and subject to certain

conditions, an energy charge is

emitted in the form of photons.

The properties of light-emitting

diodes, commonly known as LEDs,

are already very much a part of the

technological environment. They

are used to illuminate the keys or

indicators on countless electronic

or electrical devices and also –

thanks to the invention of laser

diodes – to form the reading and

engraving heads of audiovisual

or computer discs.

These two functions of LED

technologies – generating light

and processing or converting

optical signals – are areas of

research that are far from

exhausted. Thus, two European

projects are currently bringing

together scientists and indus-

trialists at the leading edge of

these fields. The WWW.BRIGHTER.

EU consortium is seeking to

increase the strength and

photonic sensitivity of laser

diodes, in particular in medical

imaging technologies and in

telecommunication networks.

Another project, OLED100.eu,

is working on the emerging

technology of organic LED diodes

with a view to developing a new

generation of TV and computer

screens with increased energy

performances.

www.ist-brighter.eu

www.oled100.eu

Web calculating

Science can take giant steps

provided it has the means, among

which data processing resources

are particularly important.

Twenty years ago, when a handful

of researchers at CERN (European

Organization for Nuclear Research)

invented the Internet, it was to

meet the need for research centres

to exchange information and data.

We all know what resulted:

remarkably open in its design,

the invention spread to all areas

of society.

But science’s appetite for data

processing goes beyond commu-

nication. The vast mass of know-

ledge means that research comes

up against another constraint:

calculation and information

processing capacity. The capacity

of science centre computers is

increasing all the time and many

of them are now equipped with

‘supercomputers’. This demand

for calculating power is indeed

such that in the 1990s a new

idea gained ground, that of

backed the creation of the DANTE

(Delivery of Advanced Network

Technology to Europe) platform,

based in Cambridge (UK). This first

worked on setting up the present

shared system between national

research and education networks

TOGETHER, WE ARE MORE INTELLIGENT

inter connecting computers

so as to share their processing

capacity. This gave rise to the

concept of the grid, a term used

traditionally in English to refer to

an electricity network to which

anybody can connect without

having to bother about the power

station that produces the current.

By developing an arsenal of

technological compatibility

(and standardisation) solutions,

the grids serve to make available

and exploit the unused working

capacity of thousands of auto-

nomous computers located all

over the world.

The EU understood immediately

the importance of this disseminated

computing capacity. In 1993 it

The Mountain, choreography by

Jason Garcio Ignacio, is based on

the sonority of volcanic seisms.

The rumblings are captured using

techniques developed by Domenico

Vicinanza, an artist and engineer

involved in the DANTE project.

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PROJECTS

in Europe, known as GÉANT2.

This stretches from the Atlantic to

the Black Sea. However, in the age

of globalisation, Europe has also

sought to be a pioneer in inter-

continental grids. TEIN3 (Trans-

Eurasia Information Network)

covers the interconnection of

Chinese, Indian, Australian and

South-East Asian networks.

EUMEDCONNECT3 has been set up

in North Africa and the Middle

East, while ALICE (America Latina

Interconectada Con Europa)

provides access to CLARA,

the South American grid.

www.dante.net

Something very new on our plates

As far as proteins, lipids, glucides

and other molecule families in

food are concerned, consumers

molecules, secondary metabolites

that influence living cells in other

ways than the global processes

of the metabolism. Just as one

speaks of the genome when

exploring DNA, so today scientists

are becoming interested in the

metabolome. This neologism

refers to the set of metabolic

intermediates: the hormones

and other molecules of the signal

as well as the secondary meta-

bolites than can be found in

a biological sample.

In addition to these fundamental

aspects, this new field of research

is very interesting in terms of

identifying data on the role played

by these multiple molecular

compounds in terms of health

benefits and illness prevention.

The international project META-

PHOR, for example, is seeking to

identify, in the very short term,

the nutritional properties, due to

their metabolite content, of the

world’s major crops. Its 22 partners

(universities, agricultural institutes,

agro-foodstuffs industries) are

currently focusing on rice (one of

the partners is the International

Rice Research Institute – IRRI,

based in the Philippines), broccoli

and melons.

www.meta-phor.eu

Sensing danger

In the age of wireless devices,

strategies to protect against

urban, industrial or environmental

disasters are focusing on the

potential of preventive weapons

as represented by interconnected

sensors. The 11 partners in the

Winsoc (Wireless Sensor Networks

with Self-Organization Capabi-

lities for Critical and Emergency

Applications) project are currently

developing the methodology for

a new form of sensor network

inspired by the architecture

of biological systems.

Three types of risk are being

studied: landslide forecasting

and protection, detection of gas

leakages of all kinds, and tempera-

ture monitoring to predict or

detect fires in a given area. Major

companies, academic and private

research centres, SMEs and risk

prevention managers are all

contributing to Winsoc. The

project therefore represents an

alliance between very high-level

expertise (in sensor technologies,

information and communication

network management, etc.) and

the field knowledge of security

practitioners.

www.winsoc.org

Nurturing European citizenship

If there is one field in which the

social and political sciences are

currently facing a huge challenge

it is surely that of the ‘crisis of

governance’. To explain this

phenomenon, it is customary

to point to the effects of globa-

lisation. Yet governance is also

an issue that is closely associated

with the increased power of an

increasingly complex and open

civil society, one that is laying

claim to its right to participate and

exercise control. This dual theme

is central to the reflections of

CINEFOGO (Civil Society and New

Forms of Governance in Europe),

the new European network of

excellence and an example of

intensive cooperation in the field

of socio-economic research.

Since 2004 some 200 researchers

with the CINEFOGO network –

coordinated by the University

of Roskilde (DK) – from 45 partner

institutions throughout Europe

have been comparing their

analyses and exchanging data

on their work.

Specifically, CINEFOGO is creating

a database of ideas, knowledge

and practice on the ways in which

citizens participate (or could

participate) in social and political

governance. The field of research

extends to questions such as

nourishing the democratic debate

and democratic organisation,

the ‘welfare state’ and social

protection, family and gender

policy, responses to the immigra-

tion problem and the fight against

social exclusion.

www.cinefogo.org

Didier Buysse

are aware of their presence as the

content is displayed on all edible

industrial preparations. This

enables consumers to dose, albeit

approximately, the different

energy sources that their body

cells metabolise. Over the last

decade or so, biochemists have

been exploring other dietary

fields. In so doing they have

revealed the action of many other

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IN BRIEF


EUROPEAN NEWS

LOHAFEX flops

In the previous issue of research*eu

we announced the launch of the

Indo-German LOHAFEX project,

the aim of which was to determine

if the potential of oceans to

sequester atmospheric CO2 could

be catalysed artificially by adding

iron sulphate. The first results of

this expedition – one that incurred

the wrath of environmental

protection organisations and

certain sections of the scientific

community – are disappointing

(zooplanktons, fish, shellfish, etc.)

and sink to the seabed due to the

weight of their shell, thereby

optimising the CO2 fixing process.

www.awi.de

Virtual virtuosos

Constant practice is the only way of

developing perfect command of a

musical instrument. The problem is

that it is very difficult

to have a teacher on hand all the

time to correct any false notes.

Now, a computer programme

developed by the European project

Vemus – Virtual European Music

School – offers a solution. This

virtual academy of music

is intended for beginner – or

intermediate – level students of the

flute, recorder, trumpet, saxophone

and clarinet. There is a choice of

three learning scenarios. Individual

practice enables the pupil to play

alone in front of a computer that

corrects him when he makes

a mistake. Alternatively, distance

learning links a teacher to a pupil

via the Internet. Finally, during

conventional music lessons the

teacher is able to connect with

several pupils to give them

a lesson at the same time.

The user can add the score

he wants to work on and the

developers say that new instru-

ments can be added easily to the

system provided they are mono-

phonic, as the operation is more

complex for polyphonic instru-

ments (piano, guitar, etc.). The beta

version of Vemus is available in

several languages and can already

be downloaded free of charge via

the project website.

www.vemus.org

human activity on these processes

that are influenced by global

warming. The GOCE’s measure-

ments of the static gravitational

forces will provide oceanographers

with a more accurate picture of

the Earth’s reference surface area

– the geoid – that is necessary for

assessing average sea levels and

currents.

www.esa.int

Code name: BPH-715

Indicated for the treatment of

osteoporosis, bisphosphonates

(BPH) recently revealed potential

in treating cancer and an ability to

boost the immune system. Clinical

trials showed that when molecules

of this kind are associated with

hormonal therapy the risk of

a recurrence of breast cancer

in pre-menopausal women is

reduced significantly. The problem

is that the most frequently used

bisphosphonates combine with

bone minerals and this restricts

their action in other tissues.

A team of researchers from

Europe, the US, Taiwan and Japan

has developed a new compound,

known as BPH-715, which has

proved particularly effective

in inhibiting the growth and

invasiveness of tumours

reproduced on cell cultures.

When subsequently tested on

mice, BPH-715 revealed not only

its effectiveness in killing tumoural

cells in these rodents, but a very

low affinity with the bones.

The results of this study are

published in the Journal of the

American Chemical Society.

The authors believe that this

new medicine would be 200 times

more effective in combating

cancer than substances subjected

to clinical trials recently and would

activate more T gamma-delta

lymphocytes, the immune cells

involved in eliminating tumours.

http://pubs.acs.org/

journal/jacsat

Implanting a single embryo

Since 1978, the year of the first

test-tube baby, more than

3.5 million children have been

born worldwide as a result of

assisted reproduction. To increase

the chances of success for inter-

ventions of this kind doctors

implant several fertile ovules into

if instructive. As expected, the

project did generate an algal

bloom, but not of the micro-algal

variety that had been hoped for.

Previous fertilisation operations

had resulted in an increase in

diatoms, micro-algae with the

particularity of having a protective

wall known as a frustule. However,

as the northern waters of the

Austral Ocean, site of the LOHAFEX

experiment, are naturally poor

in silicic acid, the principal element

needed for the formation of

this diatom frustule, this variety

of micro-algae was unable

to proliferate.

Diatom blooms are more effective

at fixing atmospheric CO2 because

they are much larger than those

of other types of vegetal plankton.

In addition, diatoms are not con-

sumed by the neighbouring fauna

GOCE in orbit

The European satellite GOCE

(Gravity field and steady-state

Ocean Circulation Explorer) was

launched Tuesday 17 March from

the Plessetsk base 800 km north

of Moscow. This first of the Earth

Explorer missions under the Living

Planet Programme launched by

the European Space Agency (ESA)

in 1999, aims, among other things,

to study one of nature’s most

fundamental forces: the Earth’s

gravitational field.

During its 20 months in orbit, this

Earth explorer will gather valuable

data on the Earth’s atmosphere,

biosphere, hydrosphere, cyrosphere

and interior. This information

should prove particularly useful

in advancing research on oceanic

circulation and sea-level change.

This will in turn permit a better

understanding of the effects of

Plankton three weeks after iron

fertilisation.

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IN BRIEF

What is the use of scientific meetings?

Under the title “Meetings that changed the world”,

Nature magazine published a series of six articles,

one for each of six scientific meetings that have gone

down in history. Among them are the 1951 Paris meeting that

gave rise to CERN, the famous 1975 conference in Asilomar (California)

on combinant DNA, and the meeting that launched the ‘green revolution’

in agriculture.

By way of conclusion, the magazine offered its readers a number of

reflections on the subject of scientific meetings. It stressed that meetings

such as the ones mentioned above have, in terms of their ambitions

and success, undoubtedly played an important role in the progress

of knowledge. But is this true of them all? Are scientific meetings

really necessary?

Scientists love to meet. Nothing gives them more pleasure, except

perhaps winning the Nobel prize! As to the prospect of sitting down in

the company of their peers, jackets off, in the semi-darkness of a seminar

room where a PowerPoint presentation flickers… it is enough to send

them into rapture. Today, rapid air and rail transport enables them to

indulge this passion to their heart’s content. In turn, research bodies

organise conferences and symposiums with ever-increasing frequency.

So for a long time to come we can be sure of observing, in the queue

for baggage check-in, ever more examples of this particular species of

traveller, researchers making their way to a conference. Most of them

middle-aged males, slightly greying and rather corpulent, dressed in

a tergal jacket over a crumpled shirt, their laptop suspended from their

left shoulder and the right arm clutching a travel bag full of papers.

On the basis of an analysis of the purpose of scientific meetings,

whether official or veiled, as well as of the motivations, avowed or

unavowed, of the organisers and participants, Nature offered an answer

to the question that is full of common sense: yes, scientific meetings

are useful, but on this subject too careful thought is needed.

Michel André

To arrive at this conclusion,

scientists monitored the pregnan-

cy of women having received two

embryos and others who received

just one embryo implant. The birth

rate was 42 % for a single implant

and 37 % for a multiple implant.

At the same time, multiple births

are often associated with health

problems for the mother as well

as an increased risk for babies

born prematurely or of insufficient

weight.

http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org

Nano regulation

They are so small that they are

invading our lives almost unbe-

known to us, despite the media

and scientific ruckus they often

create. Nanotechnologies are

already a part of our everyday

lives, whether in the ultrafine

sunscreens that contain nano-

particles of titanium dioxide or

the lipsticks that last longer due

to their zinc oxide nanoparticles.

At present, there is nothing

to inform the consumer of the

presence or absence of nano-

particles in the products they

purchase and few independent

studies have checked for the

effects these microscopic

ingredients could have on health.

The European Parliament now

seems determined to make up

for this lack, at least for cosmetics.

A new resolution was adopted

in March to render obligatory,

from 2012, the labelling of

products containing nano

ingredients. A new evaluation

procedure will also apply to ensure

that cosmetics present no health

risks before they are made

commercially available. Yet some

loopholes remain. The labelling

obligation applies solely to

products marketed after 2012,

for example, and then only to

insoluble and bio-persistent

nanomaterials.

www.europarl.europa.eu

the uterus of the future mother.

However, Finnish researchers

showed recently in the journal

Human Reproduction that these

multiple implants bring no better

results than implanting a single

embryo.

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RESEARCH UNDER THE MICROSCOPE


At the age of 10, Ali Saïb lived on the

northern outskirts of Marseilles. At

the weekend he worked at the

markets and at night as an appren-

tice baker. Thirty years later, Ali Saïb is director

of research and chair of the biology department

at the National School of Engineering and

Technology (CNAM) (FR). In addition to the

CNAM he also teaches at the University of Paris

7 (FR) and heads a research team in virology

with the support of various scientific bodies.

With an impressive list of distinctions and pub-

lications to his credit, his curriculum vitae could

not fail to interest the promoters of the Talents

des cités prize (1) that he was awarded in 2002.

He says, “I never mention this prize because I

do not like this notion very much of being sin-

gled out as in some way exemplary. Rather than

attrac ting attention in this way, which can be

deluding, I prefer work that can serve as a ref-

erence without making a big show of it.”

The reality of virusesAli Saïb believes in working and networking.

Back in the early 1980s there was not yet much

talk of AIDS. But it existed and was moreover

present in the neighbourhood where Ali lived.

Ali Saïb lives, communicates,

researches and teaches viruses.

Some will say he was born

under a lucky star. Perhaps –

if that lucky star is not only

symbolic of a destiny but

also of the intelligence and

determination that forge it.

Ali Saïb’s

PORTRAIT

Ali Saïb, “You must be able to learn,

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“This was the first detail. I use this word delib-

erately to speak of very particular points of

apparently minimal importance that later have

a major influence on the life of an individual.”

At the same time, another ‘detail’ emerged dur-

ing an English lesson when the teacher was

working with his pupils on translating scientific

articles, including on the subject of HIV

sequencing. “In these so-called problem schools

some teachers do a marvellous job in identify-

ing potential.” It was in this way that the teen-

age Ali Saïb came into contact with the world

of virology, with this ‘scientific El Dorado’ that

has fascinated him ever since.

After that it all went very quickly, from uni-

versity (biology, genetics, cancerology) to

research, the leadership of research teams and

appointment as a university professor. “Biology

is fascinating because it is concerned both with

the reasons for life and the mysteries of death.

As to viruses, we are still not sure whether they

should be classed as inert or living entities, and

they could even be both at the same time.

When present inside a cell, viruses are able to

express their full potential, whereas they seem

to be totally inert when outside a cell. They are

truly fascinating. Genuine disruptors of the

genetic information of the whole kingdom of

life as well as genuine accelerators for evolu-

tion.” For Saïb the researcher, “the quest for

knowledge and pleasure are essential in this

job. If you find that the pleasure has gone out

of it then it is time to change direction.”

The team headed by Ali Saïb is looking at

how retroviruses hijack a cell mechanism in

order to move, needing to reach a cell nucleus

and penetrate its genetic patrimony in order to

multiply. Although this is in the realms of fun-

damental research, for this virologist the divide

between fundamental and applied research is

not so clear-cut. “In the life sciences, I see rather

a continuum between these two aspects. Our

research can be regarded as either fundamental

or applied, depending on the point of view

you adopt. The research is much more applied

than in other kinds of research that lies fur-

ther upstream. I would also not impose a clear

divide between private and public research.

They both have common denominators.

Although a financial return is vital in the former

case, everybody also knows that the latter is

impossible without funding, that research direc-

tors have to respect deadlines and business

plans and have become genuine fundraisers.”

Visible – or unforeseeable – implicationsWhile it is relatively easy to attract the inter-

est of investors when combating cancer or

Alzheimer’s, for example, it is much more diffi-

cult to raise capital when working on viruses

that are not harmful to man – the case for a large

majority of them – or on the nocturnal activi-

ties of ants! “This is a very damaging situation

because, when a researcher abandons one field

for another where capital is available, it is his

entire expertise in a very particular field that

is lost. The question needs to be asked. Must

every researcher, or every laboratory, be in part

involved in tackling the major issues of the day?

Perhaps. But the public authorities must then

understand the vital need to support projects

that lie a long way upstream.”

This is a question that affects directly the

relationship between science and society. The

participation of civil society in the strategic

choices of research is an idea that is gaining

ground in Europe. But it does not take much

imagination to realise that everybody is going

to give priority to approving funding that relates

to a field of interest to them, whether it be health,

social issues or environmental protection.

“The job of scientists is also to transmit the

fundamentals – the basic knowledge – to the

general public so that people are able to par-

ticipate in the debates generated by certain

areas of scientific progress, such as GMOs,

stem cells or other so-called sensitive fields.

The scientific community must also explain the

need for upstream research whose short- or

medium-term applications are not evident. The

history of science is full of examples of major

discoveries in areas where they were least

expected. Take, for example, the discovery of

the role played by the tiny interfering RNAs in

regulating the flow of genetic information, for

which Andrew Fire and Craig Mello won the

2006 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine.

This vast and new field of biology, with its

major implications for human health, emerged

due to the study of petunias! Research is like

planting seeds. Some will germinate, others

not. But it is vital to plant them all in the inter-

ests of future generations.”

Learning, unlearning, relearningCommitted to communication, Ali Saïb writes

scientific articles for the layman, chapters of

encyclopaedias or atlases, speaks at conferences

and also made a documentary film on viruses

(Dr Virus and Mr Hyde – Memories of a viro-

logist) produced for television and winner of

two awards in 2006 (2). He is also one of the

founders of The Association for the Promotion

of Sciences and Research (APSR) (FR). Among

other things, this works in cooperation with

scientific institutions to give secondary school

students the chance to work in laboratories

alongside researchers to whom they can pose

their questions. It is Ali Saïb’s achievements in

this field of science communication that in 2007

earned him the EMBO Award for Communica-

tion in the Life Sciences.

As a teacher, Saïb believes it is important to

develop a critical sense and open mind in

young people from a very early age, “even if

it is disconcerting for a student to sense that

a teacher is instilling doubt rather than trans-

mitting a hard and fast truth.” The relativity of

the present is the rule: “what I say is valid

today, and tomorrow it will perhaps be some-

thing else. You have to be able to adapt and

embrace new concepts and paradigms. You must

be able to learn, unlearn and relearn several

times in the course of a life, while retaining

a critical approach and cultivating creativity.” It is

also this that led Ali Saïb to the CNAM, a public

institution dedicated to lifelong education.

Christine Rugemer

(1) In France, the ‘cités’ or ‘banlieues’ are areas located on the outskirts of major cities with a concentration of social housing and people with socio-economic difficulties.

(2) First prize at the International Science Film Festival and Best Science Film at the International Festival of SCOOP and Journalism.

El Dorado

PORTRAIT


French ethnologist Claude Lévi-Strauss

celebrated his 100th birthday on

28 November 2008. Musée du Quai

Branly (Quai Branly Museum) in Paris

paid special tribute to this figure that helped

to shape 20th-century thinking with his belief

that ethnology is the social science of the

observed. American anthropologist Erik Wolf

considered anthropology to be “the most scien-

tific of the humanities and the most humanistic

of the sciences.”

Indeed, it is this broader-ranging form of

anthropology that ethnologist Anne-Christine

Taylor’s research and teaching department

addresses. Just as the museum’s founders

intended, its scope goes beyond aesthetic emo-

tions to deepen the context and significance of

objects representing symbols and traditions from

other cultures and civilisations. “It is a flexible

structure designed to circumvent all-too-often

ineffective institutional situations. Instead of

a team of permanent researchers, the department

To combine research with

museology. To focus efforts

on international exchanges

and multidisciplinarity.

To broaden the scope of

anthropology to include other

human sciences. Quai Branly

Museum, a centre for the arts

and civilisations of Africa,

Asia, Oceania and the

Americas, standing on the

banks of the river Seine at

the foot of the Eiffel Tower,

has successfully risen to

all these challenges.

Anne-Christine Taylor, head

of the museum’s research and

teaching department, serves

as our tour guide.

Modern-day ethnologists

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Photograph by Claude Lévi-Strauss of a young girl from the Amerindian Caduveo tribe

dressed in festive attire. This is the description in his 1955 memoir Tristes Tropiques: “Two styles

are current among the women painters: abstraction and the decorative purpose are at the root of both.

The one is angular and geometrical, the other free and curvilinear […] The curvilinear style is usually

adopted for face-painting, geometry being reserved for the body; though at times each region

may be adorned with a combination of the two. […] As a rule the subject and background are

interchangeable, so that the design may be read in either of two ways: a positive and a negative.”


has chosen to host individual or collective

projects for limited periods (1).” In association

with the French National Center for Scientific

Research (CNRS), the museum has created an

International Research Network (GDRI) on

Anthropology and Art History involving 15 sci-

entific institutions (from Germany, France, the

United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and the United

States). “The GDRI approach focuses on inter-

disciplinarity, by endeavouring to widen the

spectrum of anthropology and to promote inter-

action and exchanges between the various

human science fields.”

The GDRI sees itself first and foremost as

a project facilitator. “A researcher submits

a proposal to us. Should he or she wish to

include foreign researchers or to meet a particu-

lar scientist to discuss the project proposal, this

is where we can be of assistance. In parallel,

the department encourages budding talent by

offering one-year doctoral or post-doctoral

fellowships.”

From primitive to contemporary artPart of the GDRI’s role has been to create

a wide-ranging programme of multidisciplinary

international symposia and seminars to foster

the exchange of theories and methods. The sub-

jects are far-ranging: from cosmology to the study

of funerary practices, to surveys of blogs by

young people from problem areas, to compari-

sons between ritual dances and contemporary

dance performances. “Comparing cultures from

different periods in history heightens visibility

and enables us to clearly define an issue that is

part of the current climate but is veiled and frag-

mented. For instance, while many researchers

sense that anthropology is related to contem-

porary art, either they fail to grasp the context

or have insufficient resources to give substance

to their instincts. This is where we can help

them. Our job is to correlate different arts, con-

ceptions of art and aesthetics from around the

world in order to reflect on their differences

and similarities. That is why, as a museum of

‘primitive’ art, we pay special attention to

projects that involve the West, particularly

Europe, because such research enables us to

analyse the links between our own and other

cultures.”

How useful is this approach? For the human-

ities and social sciences, art (in the original

sense of the Latin word ars, meaning know-

how) has become central to the creation and

manifestation of collective identities. Practices

of this sort turn into specific identity symbols

– one example of which is the set of rituals

that have developed among football fans (with

distinctive clothing, make-up, songs and col-

lective gestures).

“Researchers explore the meaning to be given

to objects by focusing on processes of ‘artifi-

cation’. Very simply, ‘artification’ is a term used

to theorise how certain practices or objects

become art (why some items are classified as

‘art’ and others as ‘ethnographic objects’).

Researchers see it as a means for mediation,

a purposive way of influencing others from

a distance. The arts have progressed from mere

systems of signs to systems of relationships,

and have become a means for influencing other

subjects.”

Don’t kill cultural transmission Much of this art broadens the scope of an

anthropology discipline that is rooted in the

analysis of so-called ‘primitive’ societies. But

how are these societies evolving and where can

we still study societies that are not ‘polluted’?

How far can a 21st-century social context

reflect a tradition without corrupting it?

According to Anne-Christine Taylor, we are

deluding ourselves if we imagine that any cul-

ture is completely authentic at a given time in

its history. Societies everywhere have always

interacted with others. “What is true is that the

balance of power has changed considerably

because the phenomenon of globalisation has

altered the situation. Many societies continue

to be attached to their traditions, though,

despite giving the appearance of having adapted

to modern life. They pass down certain customs

that bear no relationship with the western

world. For instance, they may invest part of their

identity into evolving forms of expression.”

One example is the Huichol Indians of

Mexico. With their complex rituals, this indige-

nous people has been exposed to other societies

for centuries: first the Spanish conquistadores,

followed by a string of other invaders, inclu-

ding Mexican government officials and later

tourists. The creation of certain types of arte-

fact has always been a fundamental part of the

Huichol culture and, today, they are inventing

new forms of expression – paintings – that are

beginning to be prized by western collectors,

but which the Huichols view as a continuation

of their traditional relationship with the world.

“So, ethnologists are certainly not short of

work… Everything changes: not only the socie-

ties that ethnologists study but also ethnologists

themselves… We are certainly not witnessing the

end of anthropology, or of diversity. The more

globalisation there is, the more it encourages

the emergence of differences (provided that

societies are, at the very least, allowed to retain

their lands and the ability to pass down the

values they hold dear, especially their lan-

guage). While some native reservations are like

prisons that kill their inhabitants both morally

and physically, others, though doubtless fewer

in number, serve as sources of renewal. Present-

day ethnologists do not confine themselves to

societies formerly classed as ‘primitive’. They

work on contemporary issues, such as science

laboratories or youth gangs… Their focus is

the comparative study of manifestations of life

in society.”

C.R.

(1) All quotes are from Anne-Christine Taylor.

HUMAN SCIENCES

Container and contents

Quai Branly Museum was designed by

architect Jean Nouvel and inaugurated

in 2006. It houses artefacts from the

civilisations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the (non-

western) Americas. Most of these artefacts came

from the former Musée de l’Homme in Paris. On

show in this resolutely contemporary building,

with a stunning plant-covered living wall com-

prising its riverside façade, are 3 500 artefacts

(out of a total of 300 000 or so owned by the

museum) exhibited on a single level, enabling

visitors to journey through the great civilisations

of the world. On a vast multimedia mezzanine

floor is a host of free-access exhibits and video

installations on specific subjects. This entire

collection can be viewed on the Quai Branly

Museum website, giving an idea of the vast

number and diversity of activities conducted by

the Museum.

www.quaibranly.fr


Plasmas are rare on Earth, even though

they form the bulk of the visible uni-

verse. The fourth state of matter,

plasma lies behind the incredible

energy generated by the Sun and stars. On

Earth, it is manifested in lightning and gener-

ates phenomena like the aurora borealis

(Northern Lights) or St. Elmo’s Fire (see box)

that fascinated our ancestors.

Mastery of plasmas has given us the neon

tube, and more recently, extra-large, ultra-flat TV

screens (see box on page 28). But that’s not all.

From laboratories to industry, plasmas are on the

cutting edge of analysis technology and manu-

facturing pro cesses. But what is a plasma?

Polymorphous portrait Back to the classroom. States of matter are

defined by the cohesive force between atoms.

It is not the atoms themselves that are liquid,

solid or gaseous, but the entire structure that

they form. Under the effect of an energy source,

most solids become liquid and even gaseous

if sufficient energy is applied.

The plasma state is one notch higher. The

amount of energy to which the matter is sub-

mitted is such that some atoms destructure and

lose one or more electrons. These collide with

other atoms or molecules and impart energy

to them, one of the main effects of which is to

shift electrons from one orbit to another. Once

these electrons fit back into place, they release

energy that can take the form of photons.

Hence the first characteristic of plasmas: they

glow. Ions, that is electrically charged atoms

that have lost or gained one or more electron(s),

may also strike other atoms or molecules,

thereby contributing to the general disorder

that is characteristic of plasma.

In short, plasma is an ionised gas. And since

not all atoms of this gas release electrons,

plasma represents a jumbled mass of molecules,

atoms, ions and electrons. The advantage of this

protean avatar of matter lies in its increased

properties of conductivity and reactivity, because

of its charged particles that can react with an

electric or magnetic field and interfere with

other materials to change their structures and

properties.

Serve hot or coldTwo large families of plasmas – hot plasmas

and cold plasmas – exist side-by-side, distin-

guished by their degree of ionisation. “In hot

plasma, the electrons gain so much energy

Plasmas constitute 99 % of

known and visible matter.

The object of extensive

research and the basis of

a host of applications, they

are invading our living

rooms, changing our plastics

and revolutionising our

laboratory analysis tools.

On the edge of matter

One of a series of plasma balls

on show at the Microcosme teaching

and experimental exhibition put

together by CERN and permanently

open to the public in Geneva.

PHYSICS OF PLASMAS

© C

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from the electric field they are able to redis-

tribute it by numerous collisions with the oth-

er forms of plasma. This translates into much

greater heat”, says Riccardo d’Agostino, profes-

sor of chemistry at the University of Bari (IT)

and co-editor of the journal Plasma Processes

and Polymers.

This heat can reach that of the Sun, the

plasma of which approaches 10 million degrees

through the fusion of hydrogen atoms within

it. With the discovery of nuclear fusion in the

1930s, controlling this fundamental energy of

the stars has been hugely and universally

cove ted. In the field of military research, this

powerful principle has allowed the develop-

ment of the H-bomb, fortunately never used in

conflict. In the field of civil research, fusion

plasmas are at the centre of an unprecedented

scientific effort aimed at providing mankind

with energy that is both green and inexhaus-

tible. Such is ITER (1), a huge international

research project which aims to build the first

pilot nuclear fusion facility.

Theoretically, the principle is simple: when

two nuclei of light atoms fuse, the resulting

nucleus can attain a stable condition only by

ejecting particles to evacuate excess energy.

The fusion of deuterium (D) and tritium (T),

for example, two hydrogen isotopes having one

and two neutrons respectively, ejects a helium

nucleus (two protons and two neutrons) and

a fast neutron. It is more particularly the kinetic

energy of the latter, the most important, that

scientists wish to exploit.

Uncovering the secret of the starsPutting theory into practice is much less

obvious. First of all, the fusion plasma reaches

becomes so hot that no material can contain it.

“We therefore confine it inside a Tokamak,

a sort of huge cylindrical ring in which a mag-

netic field keeps the plasma away from the

walls”, explains Phil Morgan, plasma physicist

at the Joint European Torus ( JET), the largest

experimental Tokamak in the world, based at

the Culham Science Centre (UK). It is at JET

that most of the experiments prior to the

launch of ITER are being carried out.

Another technical challenge is heating the

D-T mixture beyond 100 million degrees in

order to reach the ignition point of the plasma,

i.e., the state where enough heat is released

for the fusion reaction to become self-perpet-

uating. “Several technologies are combined to

achieve such temperatures”, Phil Morgan

explains. “Initially we pass an electric current

through the D-T mixture to excite the charged

particles into colliding, creating heat in the

process. But the more the heat increases, the

weaker this reaction becomes, and we have to

switch to heating by injecting new particles that

in turn collide with the plasma particles and

generate heat. Lastly, the plasma is subjected

to very high frequencies, enabling it to finally

achieve the optimal fusion temperature.”

Fusion plasmas offer immense potential. So

much so, as Riccardo d’Agostino stresses, that

this often obscures the applications of the other

hot plasmas. “These are used in industry to cut

delicate materials such as ceramics. In analytical

chemistry they are causing a revolution. The hot

plasma torch (Inductively Coupled Plasma – ICP)

allows us to decompose a sample at the atomic

scale and simultaneously identify almost all its

component elements.”

From nanotechnologies…But the most immediate revolution comes

undoubtedly from the cold plasmas, which are

a lot more manageable because of their low

temperature. Here we are taking advantage of

their reactivity to edit the properties of materials.

“Originally, we could generate cold plasmas only

at low pressure. At times this made them too

expensive, because of the need to isolate the

material in a vacuum chamber”, Riccardo

d’Agostino explains. “But since about 10 years

ago it has been possible to produce them at

atmospheric pressure. They are increasingly

being used by industry, for example replacing

the chemicals used in the past to increase the

paint adhesion qualities of automotive plastics,

leading to the widespread use of painted

bumpers.”

In laboratories, cold plasmas are fascinating

nanotechnology researchers, enabling them to

generate nanomaterials with specific properties.

This technology is of particular interest to the

researchers of Nano2Hybrids, a European

PHYSICS OF PLASMAS

When physics and myth join hands

During storms, the sailors of yesteryear sometimes saw the tips of their masts light up. This

so-called “St. Elmo’s Fire”, considered at the time as a divine manifestation, is in fact an exam-

ple of the natural generation of plasmas. Before a storm, the air becomes electrically charged,

and the electrical field that tends to concentrate around pointed objects is sufficient to ionise the

surrounding air, creating the faint blue or violet light characteristic of St. Elmo’s Fire.

Plasmas are also the source of the aurora borealis or Nothern Lights. In this case, magnetic

storms generated by the Sun produce an inflow of charged particles that collide with the atoms

of the ionosphere to generate, depending on altitude, nitrogen, oxygen or hydrogen plasmas.

More recently scientists have observed plasmas lasting no more than 5 milliseconds when

powerful lightning occurs in the upper atmosphere. Depending on the type of plasma,

the researchers have given them epic-sounding names like elves, leprechauns, red sylphs… The

Lightning and Sprites Observations experiment by the International Space Station is still trying

to better understand the origin of these transient phenomena.

www.esa.int


wound disinfection or for dental scaling”, says

Achim von Keudell. “In the future, plasmas

could even help treat certain cancers”, adds

Riccardo d’Agostino. “But this is still very hypo-

thetical, because we still have no idea of how

plasma impacts human tissues”, Achim von

Keudell cautions. One thing is for sure, plas-

mas are far from having said their last word.

Julie Van Rossom (2)

(1) See ‘ITER emerges from the Earth’, page 14.(2) With the kind collaboration of Nicolas Vandencasteele,

PhD in chemistry and researcher at the ULB.

project to develop mini-gas sensors from

carbon nanotubes. “As the sensor pro perties of

carbon are too low, we graft metallic nano-

particles onto their surface using cold plasmas”,

says François Reniers, the director of the Gene-

ral Chemistry Laboratory of the Université Libre

de Bruxelles (ULB) (BE) , one of the partners

in Nano2Hybrids. “For this different techniques

are used. At the ULB and the Gabriel Lipmann

Public Research Centre (LU), we are working

with plasmas at atmospheric pressure while

our colleagues at the Université de Namur (BE)

are studying the effectiveness of low-pressure

deposition. The objective is to determine the

best way to functionalise the surfaces of the

nanotubes by modifying a set of parameters,

such as gas composition, pressure, exposure

time or the type of metal particles.”

…to biomedical sciencesOther researchers are planning to use plas-

mas to sterilise medical instruments. At least this

is the technology that was closely examined

by participants in the European project Bio-

decon – Decontamination of biological systems

using plasma discharges, which was completed

in early 2009. Biodecon has demonstrated the

feasibility and the benefits of plasma sterilisa-

tion. Traditional methods – ultraviolet (UV) treat-

ment, high temperature and/or oxidation using

chemicals – call for very stringent control and

can at times damage the medical equipment.

There are also occasions when they are inef-

fective, like UV when the bacteria are grouped

into biofilms, a kind of germ cluster that can be

up to several millimetres thick. And none of the

traditional sterilisation methods is effective for

removing prions, the biomolecules behind

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

“Cold plasma sterilisation would not only

simplify the traditional procedures but also

improve efficiency”, explains Achim von

Keudell, Biodecon project coordinator for the

Institut für reaktive Plasmen of the University

of Bochum (DE). “Indeed, a hydrogen-based

plasma attacks biofilms more effectively and

eradicates all the biomolecules, including pri-

ons, while reducing the risk of damaging the

instruments.”

Further upstream on the basic research side,

other scientists are examining the effects of the

fourth state of matter on living tissue. “Teams

are working on the use of cold plasmas for

PHYSICS OF PLASMAS

Biodecon

5 partners, 2 countries (DE-FR)

www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/biodecon

Nano2hybrids

8 partners, 5 countries (BE-ES-FR-LU-UK)

www.nano2hybrids.net

JET

www.jet.efda.org

Plasma process and polymers

www.plasma-polymers.org

1 Oxygen plasma produced at low pressure.

2 Low-pressure plasma chamber.

Researchers use plasma treatment to make the

surfaces of carbon nanotubes more reactive by

grafting groups containing oxygen. This makes

it possible to control the size and dispersion

of the metal nanoparticles over

the surface of the nanotubes.

3 Atmospheric plasma reactor

in operation at the Department of

Science and Materials Analysis

(SAM) of the Centre de recherche

Gabriel Lippmann in Luxembourg.

4 One of the cold plasma torches used by researchers working on

the Nano2Hybrids project at the ULB. This working group vaporises the

metallic nanoparticles onto the carbon nanotubes exposed to the plasma

(blue light).

1

3 4

2

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Plasmas and TV

The advent of plasma screens in the late

‘90s signed the death warrant of our

good old cathode ray tubes. Gone are

the small television sets discreetly placed on

furniture. Now the TV stands in the middle

of the living room and polarises everyone’s

attention.

Hundreds of thousands of small cells

connected to electrodes make up these

televisual giants. Each cell contains a mixture

of argon (90 %) and xenon (10 %), so that when

the electrodes are activated, these gases ionise

to form a plasma. At the plasma state, the

photons emitted by argon and xenon give off

ultraviolet light. The front of each cell is coated

with luminophores, substances that excite on

contact with the UV and glow blue, red or

green, depending on their type.


The fact is that the lithium-ion batteries

(Li-ion) of the best laptops allow them

to be run for an hour and a half before

needing to be recharged for two hours

or more. And a laptop is a stationary application

while a car is designed to be mobile! In other

words, today’s batteries are inadequate for auto-

motive applications.

Much work remains to make lithium batteries

capable of powering urban cars at reasonable

prices. As Daimler AG spokesman Matthias

Brock is keen to point out, “the question of cost

is paramount and the battery is an important part

of the price of the car. To be competitive, we

must reduce the price of batteries, but this will

take another few years.”

According to Paul Nieuwenhuis, automotive

industry expert at Cardiff University Business

School (UK), the battery for a standard hybrid

car costs approximately €17 000, the same

amount as is required to build the rest of the car.

“One can assume that, by 2020 and with mass

production, the cost of the batteries will have

halved. This mass production will start with the

‘plug-in’ hybrids – hybrid cars rechar geable via

an electrical socket (connected hybrids) – but

‘pure’ battery electric vehicles will also benefit”,

he says.

A race for performanceBefore that, these cars must gain speed, pow-

er and range. Right now, few vehicles are able to

travel more than 60 km on a single charge. So

far, many models operate on nickel-metal hydride

bat teries (NiMH). “These are conventional batter-

ies for electric cars and they are perfectly func-

tional”, insists Saiful Islam of the University of

Bath (UK), a member of the Alistore European

Network of Excellence. This is a fact confirmed

by the emergence in small numbers, mainly in

urban areas, of hybrid and electric cars like the

Mercedes-Benz Smart Car or the Toyota Prius.

Right now, NiMH batteries are more reliable

and less expensive than lithium-ion batteries.

However, as Saiful Islam explains, “lithium-ion

batteries offer other benefits, in particular in terms

of energy density, which is much greater for the

same mass.” This property can have a major

impact on battery weight and on the storage

capacity of the little cells comprising it. Accord-

ing to Peter Bruce, an expert in energy storage

at the Scottish University of St Andrews (UK), a

Li-ion battery produces three to four volts per cell

against a little over two volts per cell for other

types of batteries. This makes it possible to

reduce the number of battery cells and increase

energy density. But adapting this potential to

mass use means improving the performance of

several components of the batteries.

Today’s Li-ion batteries have one major draw-

back: unreliability. Some manufacturers saw their

products explode when laptop manu facturing

was in its infancy. Such scenarios have to be

avoided at all costs in the case of

a moving vehicle. “New materials are the key to

progress in this area,” explains Saiful Islam.

Reliable, effective materialsGerman chemicals company Evonik Degussa

GmbH is trying to solve this problem through

the Li-Tec project, the outcome of a commercial

partnership with Daimler AG.

With the resounding launch of the hybrid

Toyota Prius in 2001 and the market debut

of Tesla’s first electric sports cars, one small

detail is being overlooked: the battery tech-

nology on which these cars are based still

needs serious improvement to withstand the

constraints faced by vehicles in everyday use.

Fuelling

TRANSPORT

the cars of tomorrow

Solid oxide fuel cells and test bench.

Researchers have succeeded in lowering

the operating temperature of these batteries

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the cost of this car, which comes out at over

€120 000!

Working on the electrodes“The materials used until now for the cath-

ode prevent large-scale battery production”,

says Saiful Islam. One research objective is to

design cathodes capable of storing more energy

by increasing their lithium content using new

materials.

In a Li-ion battery, when both electrodes are

connected to the circuit, chemical energy is

released. The lithium ions flow from the cathode

to the anode when the battery is charging, and

from the anode to the cathode during dis-

charge. While the anode is made of graphite,

the cathode is mainly composed either of a layer

of metallic oxide such as lithium cobalt oxide,

or a polyanions-based material such as lithium

iron phosphate or spinels of magnesium oxide

and lithium. Of these materials, lithium cobalt

through which the electrons can flow. The idea

is not new, but Evonik has adapted it. “The

ceramics were too fragile and it was therefore

difficult to use a separator composed exclu-

sively of this material”, says Li-Tec’s project

director, Volker Hennige. Instead, Evonik has

invented a composite material in which a non-

woven polymer serves as a support substrate

and is mixed with ceramic powder. “In small

cells like in a laptop, you can use 100 % poly-

mer membranes as there is no major safety

issue. This arises only with the larger cells that

are essential for producing cost-efficient electric

cars”, says Volker Hennige.

The current model of the new Roadster, the

electric sports car by California car-builder Tesla,

also contains thousands of little cells rather

than a small number of larger cells, in particu-

lar in order to reduce the risk of explosion

within one of the cells. This manufacturing pre-

cautionary measure is also partly reflected in

Evonik has developed a new material

called SEPARION ® for producing the separa-

tor film (or simply ‘separator’) which is a major

component of batteries. As its name suggests,

it separates the two electrodes, the anode (+)

and cathode (-), through which circulates the

flow of lithium ions, and hence the current.

One role of the separator is to prevent short-

circuits while being sufficiently permeable and

porous to allow the passage of moving ions.

Separators are usually composed of semi-

permeable polymer membranes based on poly-

ethylene or polypropylene. But these materials

are flammable and are stable only up to 140 °C.

In case of overcharging, the separator can over-

heat, melt and trigger a short circuit, which may

cause an explosion.

Evonik’s innovation has been to introduce

separators consisting partially of ceramic com-

pounds, which are harder but still flexible

enough to allow the perforation of little pores

TRANSPORT

Toyota Prius as

presented at the 2006

London Motor Show.

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interconnection between the electricity grid

and electric cars.

From whatever perspective one addresses it,

the future development of electric vehicles is

highly ambitious and will require, first and fore-

most all, large investments of money. A portion

of the funding for the Green Cars Initiative is

also dedicated to creating cleaner and more effi-

cient combustion engines, which is undoubtedly

an easier path to follow. Even so, many car-

makers have fully embraced the concept of

electric cars. Matthias Brock from Daimler AG

predicts the emergence of three tracks: “elec-

tric cars could be used in town, given their

more limited range. For longer distances, inter-

nal combustion engines will remain the most

popular form of transportation. But we are also

concentrating on fuel cells because of their

total carbon emission neutrality.”

General Motors has also adopted the idea

of electric cars. Despite the crisis it is planning

to launch a new hybrid vehicle called the Opel

Ampera in Europe, as early as 2011. “Production

of the Ampera is going ahead whatever happens”,

says Craig Cheetham, spokesman for the Ame-

rican auto giant. Increased sales and Toyota’s

improved image since launching the Prius have

almost certainly made GM’s mouth water. This

innovative ingredient that is attracting attention

at all car shows, combined with the long-term

rise in oil prices, undoubtedly heralds further

changes to come.

Elisabeth Jeffries

TRANSPORT

oxide is the most common. However,

as Saiful Islam points out, “cobalt raises issues

of price and toxicity”.

To replace the cobalt oxide and allow large-

scale development of batteries for automotive

applications, scientists have focused their

research on oxides based on iron, nickel or

manganese as well as on lithium iron phosphate

(LiFePO4) cathodes. The latter show a greater

resistance to heat and to high-intensity elec trical

current.

Even more avant-garde research is seeking

to get rid of the cobalt cathode altogether with

a lithium-air battery in which lithium enters

into the electrode and reacts with oxygen to

form lithium oxide. Results suggest that this

approach makes it possible to store more energy

than with traditional lithium-ion batteries. Peter

Bruce talks of up to 5 to 10 times more.

The necessary investmentsThe current research looks promising, and

although it will take another decade before

competing with the advantages of modern

internal combustion engine technology, elec-

tric vehicle technology is well established on

the EU agenda. In March 2009 the European

Commission earmarked a billion euros for the

development of green cars as part of the Green

Cars Initiative, which is an integral part of its

economic recovery plan. A portion of these

funds has been earmarked for research into

high-density batteries, electric motors, intelligent

electricity distribution networks and vehicle

recharging systems.

According to a study by bankers HSBC,

govern ments worldwide have provided €12 bil-

lion of stimuli to low-carbon-emission vehicles.

The major portion of this sum has been allo-

cated to research and development of lighter

batteries and plug-in hybrid cars as well as

credits or tax refunds for consumers buying new,

low-emission cars. But more is still needed.

According to Lew Fulton, an expert from the

International Energy Agency (IEA), if we suc-

ceed in reducing the cost of batteries to €380

per kilowatt hour, a connected hybrid with

a range of 50 km would cost around €3 000 more

than a conventional non-connected hybrid

model (where the battery is recharged by the

thermal engine and braking). “Putting on the

road 2 million connected hybrids a year by

2020 would therefore cost an additional

€8 billion per year. Research on batteries and

electric vehicles in general would cost another

several hundred million euros a year if it was

also desired to develop purely electric vehicles”,

says Lew Fulton.

Developing transmission and electricity dis-

tribution systems adapted to the era of electric

cars and hybrids is another challenge. Will new

energy production capacities be needed? Could

the development of an intelligent power dis-

tribution network – using computer techno logy

to communicate consumption information

minute by minute – pave the way for the wide-

spread use of electric vehicles?

Electrical U-turn aheadRecharging battery-driven cars will certainly

push up energy demand. But these cars could

also be used to inject electricity back into the

network. Since this is already achievable with

lead batteries, it would be easy to establish an

Th!nk, the Norwegian

electric car, can be equipped

with a lithium-ion battery

as an option.

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Mathieu Morcrette, director of the

Laboratoire de réactivité et chimie des solides

(LRCS) at Amiens (FR) assembling

a lithium-ion button cell in a glove box.

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Assembling a plastic

lithium-ion battery

at the LRCS at Amiens.

In his novel À la Recherche du Temps

Perdu (In Search of Lost Time) Marcel

Proust wrote that “one cannot pro perly

describe human life unless one bathes it

in the sleep into which it plunges night after

night and which sweeps round it as a promon-

tory is encircled by the sea…” Sleep, which has

remained a constant of many species through-

out their evolution, occupies a third of a person’s

life. Why is it that, for millions of years, living

beings have slipped daily into this state of

partial unconsciousness that renders them so

vulnerable?

Despite the vital and universal nature of sleep,

this question has never been fully answered, and

many of the mechanisms governing sleep are still

a puzzle. Over the past 10 years or so, there has

been a surge of research into sleep regulation,

and molecular and genetic analysis techniques

are evolving rapidly, gradually unveiling the

mysteries of sleep. To discover how and why

we fall asleep naturally each night, researchers

Do you sleep a little or a lot?

It may surprise you to know

that the amount of sleep you

need depends on your genes.

Although much is known

about the genetic mechanisms

that send us to the land of

dreams, until recently far

less was known about the

mechanisms that determine

the amount of time we spend

sleeping. Now, research using

the fruit fly as an animal

model has pointed up a few

key genes.

Genes that keep


GENETICS

Study of the effects of noise on sleep.

Researchers study the brain and cardio-

vascular reactions of sleeping subjects

exposed to train, aeroplane or traffic

noise. They also analyse how these

nocturnal disturbances impact on

cognitive performance and mood the

next day. Noise fragments sleep and

causes vegetative reactions in the

cardiovascular system which, in the long

term, can place people at higher risk of

heart attack. Experiment conducted at

the French National Center for Scientific

Research (CNRS) in Strasbourg (FR).

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are focusing their attention on the genetics of

sleep. Identifying the genes involved in sleep

regulation may not only provide answers to

these fundamental questions, but also lead to

new treatments for sleep disorders.

Deficit, clock and DNASleep has a regulatory system enabling

organisms to compensate for loss of sleep or

surplus sleep (sleep homeostasis). The timing,

duration and quality of sleep are regulated by

two processes: a homeostatic mechanism and the

circadian system. The homeostatic mechanism

regulates sleep intensity, while the circadian

clock (your internal biological clock) regulates

the timing of sleep. A sleep deficit elicits a com-

pensatory increase in the intensity and dura-

tion of sleep, while excessive sleep reduces

sleep propensity. This explains why you need

to catch up on your sleep the day following

a sleepless night. Although the rhythm of the

circadian clock is endogenous, it is reset regu-

larly by daylight. “Sleep is regulated by the

duration and quality of the preceding period

of wakefulness, as well as by your circadian

clock. When the sleep-wake cycle is normal,

the circadian clock produces a cycle lasting

about 24 hours and determines the optimal

times for sleeping and being active. That is why

we fall asleep more easily at night than during

the day,” explains Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen,

coordinator of the European Enough Sleep

project, who is from the University of Helsinki’s

Institute of Biomedicine (FI). This research

project was completed in November 2008 and

included 10 European partners involved in the

study of homeostasis and sleep disorders.

Although all human beings are subject to

these two major sleep regulation processes,

there are wide variations from one person to

another. Some people are happy with just five

hours of sleep, while others are still tired after

eight. The time we go to bed and the amount

of sleep we need to function properly also

depend on the individual. The reason is simple:

sleep is genetically determined. “The electro-

physiological ‘fingerprint’ of sleep (the electri-

cal brain activity and physiological parameters

recorded during sleep) is one of the most

hereditary of all human characteristics. Sleep

studies of twins have also shown that sleep tim-

ing and duration are genetically programmed,”

says Tiina Paunio, researcher at Finland’s

National Institute for Health and Welfare and

head of genetic analyses in the Enough Sleep

project.

Fruit fly to the rescueSo your DNA determines whether you are

a morning lark or a night owl, as well as how

much sleep you need. “Sleep duration and tim-

ing are both controlled by genes,” explains

Amita Sehgal, professor of neuroscience at the

University of Pennsylvania’s Howard Hughes

Medical Institute (US), specialising in research

into the genetic and molecular mechanisms that

regulate circadian rhythms and sleep. “Several

studies have shown that the mutation of certain

genes in animals affects the duration or timing

of their sleep. However, we know much more

about the mechanisms and genes governing

the timing of sleep than about those governing

sleep duration,” adds Amita Sehgal.

Scientists have a key partner in their study

of sleep regulation: the common fruit fly (Dro-

sophila melanogaster). This little fly is one of

the model organisms most commonly used in

biological research – especially genetics. As

fruit flies are small, easy to breed and have a

very short generation time, they make the ide-

al guinea pigs for observing the effect of one

or more gene mutations on behaviour. When,

in 2000, two American research teams simulta-

neously discovered that the rest period

observed in the fruit fly could be classed as

sleep, this fly became a study model for the

genetics of sleep. Surely it is a bit far-fetched

to use a fly to try to understand human sleep?

On the contrary, the authors of these two stud-

ies show that the fruit fly’s sleep patterns close-

ly resemble those of humans. Just like humans,

the fruit fly usually stays quiet and immobile

for between 6 and 12 hours each night, during

which time it loses most of its ability to respond

to stimuli. When deprived of sleep, both

humans and their winged counterparts will

make up lost sleep the next night. Fruit flies

also sleep more in their youth than later in life,

when their sleep is fragmented, as with humans.

A sleep-depriving mutationAlthough the genes that control the amount

of sleep you need, and hence sleep duration,

have been more reluctant to reveal themselves,

they have not remained completely obscure.

Several suspects have been identified in recent

years. In 2005, a research team from the Uni-

versity of Wisconsin (US) discovered the role

of the Shaker gene in the sleep duration of fruit

flies. This gene codes for the potassium chan-

nels that control the entry of the potassium ion

(K+) into the cells, so determining the electrical

activity of the neurons. While exploring the

factors responsible for sleep duration, the scien-

tists made a detailed study of some 9 000 mutant

fruit flies. It was then that they happened across

a line of fruit flies that sleep just one third the

amount of time that ‘normal’ fruit flies sleep.

When they discovered that these short-

sleeping mutants also manifested vigorous leg-

shaking behaviour as they recovered from

anaesthesia, the researchers turned their atten-

tion to the Shaker gene that causes this effect.

The genetic analyses revealed that the mutants’

Shaker genes contained a single amino-acid

mutation, which meant that a functional potas-

sium ion channel could not be formed on the

cell membrane, with the result that potassium

could not flow through it. Apart from the direct

link between this Shaker gene variant and the

short sleep duration of the fruit flies carrying it,

another interesting feature of these stay-awake

mutants is that they have a much shorter life

expectancy than non-mutants. This discovery,

published in Nature, not only confirms the key

role played by potassium flow in sleep regula-

tion, as suggested in previous studies, but also

points to the Shaker gene as one of the key

elements in the genetics of sleep. Can these

observations be applied to human beings?

We still have no confirmation that human genes

and potassium ion channels are akin to those

of the fruit fly. Now, though, researchers have

upped their testing from fruit flies to mammals:

“The Shaker gene is also present in mice, and

studies have shown that this gene affects their

sleep too,” explains Amita Sehgal.

us in bed

GENETICS


and the mechanisms that govern it could lead

to the development of more targeted treat-

ments for people with sleep disorders to

replace the sleeping tablets they are currently

prescribed, thereby improving their quality of

life. Although recent scientific discoveries have

illuminated some of the murky depths into

which most ordinary mortals sink every night,

it will be a long time before the experts can

collect and assemble all the pieces in the jigsaw

and finally lay their weary heads to rest.

Audrey Binet

with a mutated Sleepless gene, which were una-

ble to produce this protein, slept between 85 %

and 100 % less per day.

Lastly, a new study by scientists from North

Carolina State University (US), published in

Nature Genetics in early 2009, has confirmed

that fruit flies are ‘genetically programmed’ to

sleep. The genetic analysis of 40 lines of fruit

fly used for this research has led to the identi-

fication of some 1 700 genes responsible for

sleep variability in fruit flies. The authors sus-

pect that some of these genes are involved in

the regulation of sleep duration.

Towards better hypnotic drugs?“There is still much more we have to learn

about the genetic regulation of sleep, such as

the sequential organisation of the expression

of sleep genes and the variability of their

expression over time,” explains Tiina Paunio.

Indeed, sleep does not remain constant over

a person’s lifetime. Sleep disorders can appear

with age, stress, or illnesses such as sleep

apnoea or depression, altering the quantity or

quality of this state so crucial to human phys-

ical and mental well-being. The aim of the

recently completed European PROUST project

was to press for the ‘time’ factor to be included

in biomedical research as a fourth dimension of

life. One strand of the PROUST project con-

cerned the regulation of sleep-related genes

over time.

Lack of sleep causes such effects as impaired

cognitive performance and immune response,

metabolic imbalances and diminished concen-

tration. Understanding the function of sleep

Sleep need, a question of excitabilityIn late 2007, a research team from the Uni-

versity of Lausanne’s Faculty of Biology and

Medicine (CH) unveiled another key element

in sleep genetics in Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences. When different strains of

mice were deprived of sleep, the researchers

discovered that they did not all experience the

same sleep need. An analysis of the expression

of all genes in the mice brains revealed that

the Homer1a gene was the main gene respon-

sible for differences in sleep need. This gene,

which is also involved in the excitability of

neurons, plays a key role in regulating intra-

cellular calcium (Ca++). A state of wakefulness

causes an inrush of calcium into the neurons

to enable them to respond to the stimuli

received, but an excess of Ca++ can become

toxic to the neurons. According to the authors,

sleep triggers the Ca++ regulation process via

the Homer1a gene. These results would explain

both our sleep need and the fact that not eve-

rybody reacts to sleep deprivation in the same

way. The Swiss researchers believe that this dis-

covery would offer the first mole cular proof of

the role of sleep in the process of brain pro-

tection and recovery.

In July 2008, Science published the results of

a study by Amita Sehgal revealing the effect on

the sleep of fruit flies of a mutation in a gene

called Sleepless. This gene codes for a protein

which, when released into the brain of fruit

flies, reduces the excitability of nerve cell mem-

branes and creates the need to sleep. Fruit flies

GENETICS

Enough Sleep

7 partners, 5 countries (CH-FI-IT-NL-SE)

www.enoughsleep.fi

PROUST

4 partners, 4 countries (EE-FR-IT-SE)

www.europroust.org

Website of the French National

Institute for Health and Medical

Research (INSERM) with information

on sleep

http://ura1195-6.univ-lyon1.fr

Sleep helps combat obesity

Chronic sleep deprivation disrupts

our body’s metabolic balance and

the physiological regulation of eating

patterns. Various experiments have shown

that obesity is linked with short sleep duration.

How exactly does sleep protect people from

obesity? At night, the body secretes the appetite-

suppressing hormone, leptin, which stops us

feeling hungry. By contrast, during the day-

time, it secretes the hunger hormone, ghrelin,

to encourage us to eat. In people who sleep

little, ghrelin is secreted over a longer time

period, increasing their appetite.

Images taken from a 10-minute video of a fruit fly with a mutated Sleepless gene (on the right) and a ‘normal’

fly (on the left). The normal fly remains immobile during this 10-minute interval, while the mutant fly moves

several times. In fact, fruit flies with a mutated Sleepless gene can sleep between 85 % and 100 % less per day.

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By 2008, the UK began the return to

nuclear power by calling for the con-

struction of new reactors. Sweden

joined the movement in February

2009 by reviving its atomic energy program,

on hold since 1980. In its wake, Paris announced

an agreement with Italy to build the first four

nuclear power plants there. And all this with-

out any real mass protest. According to a Euro-

barometer survey in 2008, almost 44 % of

Europeans support nuclear power, compared

with 37 % in 2005. Energy dependence and

climate change today appear more tangible

than a hypothetical nuclear accident, and of

more immediate concern than the future

manage ment of nuclear waste.

Varying definitionsAccording to the World Nuclear Association,

some 237 nuclear reactors will be built across

the world between now and 2030. With 80 %

of nuclear waste coming from these reactors,

the issue of waste management is more rele-

vant than ever. The remaining 20 % comes from

medical applications (detection and treatment

of pathologies), agricultural use (elimination

of bacteria) and scientific research.

But what is radioactive waste? According to

the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),

it is “any matter for which no use is foreseen,

and which contains radionuclides in concen-

trations greater than the values that the author-

ities regard as permissible”.

With mankind confronted by

an energy crisis and climate

change, nuclear power is

back on the scene. But despite

excellent energy efficiency

and low CO2 emissions,

nuclear fission still leaves us

with the delicate problem of

radioactive waste. A typical

European response in this

area is the Belgian model.

Nuclear waste: an insoluble question

POLLUTION

First access well

1980–1982

Underground

research lab

1982–1983

Test Drift

1987

Experimental well

and gallery

1983–1984

Connecting gallery

2001–2002

PRACLAY gallery

2007

Second access well

1997–1999

Chronology of the work of the HADES (High-Activity Disposal Experiment Site) underground laboratory –

based at Mol (BE), where the PRACLAY experiment will take place in 2010.

So

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sands of years. These time spans, unmanagea-

ble on a human scale, force us to consider

deep-layer geological storage.

Test digging“There is a widespread popular conception

that countries already bury their radioactive

waste”, notes ONDRAF spokesperson Émile

Biesemans. “But this is absolutely not the case.

European countries are still carrying out tests

in this area to ensure the feasibility of this type

of storage. We can consider that Europe has

begun tackling the question in time, because

Class C waste requires a long period of cooling

– at least 60 years – in a tank or on the surface

before geological storage”.

Right now the EU has 10 out of the world’s

14 underground laboratories. One of the first,

built in 1980, is the HADES – High-Activity Dis-

posal Experiment Site - underground laboratory

based in Mol (BE). The scientific research centre

is located some 225 metres underground in

a layer of Boom clay, seen as a potentially

appropriate host geological formation for long-

life highly radioactive waste. The site hosts var-

ious European programmes examining the

hydrogeological, geomechanical and geochem-

ical feasibility of deep storage. The results are

allowing scientists to fine-tune their forecasts

and their evaluations of the short and long-

term modelling.

Hot stuff!In 2010, a 10-year thermal experiment enti-

tled PRACLAY – Preliminary demonstration test

for clay disposal of high-level radioactive

waste – will be initiated at Mol. The project’s

scientific coordinator, Xiangling Li, is busy

defining its objectives. “The high activity vitri-

fied waste that it is planned to store perma-

nently in this way continues to give off heat

for hundreds of years. Which is why we are

trying to verify, on as long a time-scale as pos-

sible, that this heat does not cause major dis-

ruptions of the soil, endangering the stability

of the excavation and the containment and

insulation capabilities of the Boom clay. Pre-

liminary tests in the lab, on-site on a reduced

scale and by simulation suggest that Boom clay

is an excellent candidate. We are optimistic that

this live experiment will confirm our predic-

tions”.

parameters, the half-life (see box) and the

activity of the waste, which determines the

appropriate form of management. In the Bel-

gian model, which is representative of what

happens in most Member States, nuclear waste

is divided into three categories, A, B and C, on

which the nature of the container, the type of

storage and the permitted exposure time

depends.

Class A waste is permanently stored on the

surface. As Jean-Paul Minon explains, the

volumes to be managed remain reasonable.

“For a country of 10 million inhabitants like

Belgium, where 55 % of the electricity con-

sumed is of nuclear origin, Class A waste rep-

resents 72 000 m³ over the 40-year lifetime of

the power stations, including their decommis-

sioning.” This waste is packed in steel drums

and stored on the Belgoprocess site in Dessel

(BE), pending final destination. The shielding

and thickness – between 25 and 80 cm – of the

reinforced concrete walls guard against any

outward emission.

“We can therefore ensure the safe manage-

ment of such waste on the surface”, says Jean-

Paul Minon, “because its activity level will be

down to that of natural background radiation

after only 300 years. But this is not true for

Class B and Class C waste, where storage

periods may extend over hundreds of thou-

An EU directive exists defining radi-

ation protection standards, but the actual man-

agement of nuclear waste remains a national

competence. A joint convention of 1997 sim-

ply states that each country will manage its

own waste.

“This is a working definition”, says Jean-Paul

Minon, Director General of the Organisme

national des déchets radioactifs et des matières

fissiles enrichies (ONDRAF) (BE). “Like with

municipal waste, it is the owner who decides

what is of no use. In Belgian hospitals, the radio-

active sources used in cobalt therapy are

decommissioned as soon as their irradiation

power has decreased by half, because this

means longer exposure times for patients, even

though these sources can clearly still save many

lives. We gladly donate them to third world

countries, providing they pick up the cost of

transport.”

Answer A, B or C?Since the 1950s, the international community

has allowed the disposal of radioactive waste

into the environment, mainly in the Atlantic

Ocean, where more than 100 000 tonnes of radio-

active waste have been dumped in concrete

drums. This controversial practice was aban-

doned in 1982 in favour of other methods of

disposal. Currently, it is the interplay of two

POLLUTION

The ABC of radioactivity

Radioactivity is a spontaneous process in which unstable atomic nuclei decay, emitting energy

and forming stable nuclei of lower mass. This energy takes the form of alpha or beta radiation,

often accompanied by gamma radiation. Alpha radiation relates to very heavy nuclei, like

that of uranium. It corresponds to the ejection of two protons and two neutrons, or, in other words,

a helium nucleus. Beta radiation comes from nuclei presenting an excess of neutrons or protons.

Excess neutrons are converted into protons with an emission of electrons, or, conversely, protons

into neutrons with an emission of positrons. Gamma radiation, finally, is an emission of high-

energy photons that accompanies these nuclear transformations.

Depending on the nature of the nucleus, radioactive processes can vary enormously in time. We

call the half-life of an element the time required for the radioactivity of a sample to be divided by 2.

For example, a block containing 1 mg of 60Co – with a half-life of 5.2 years – will contain no more

than 0.5 mg after 5.2 years, 0.25 after 10.4 years and so on.

The activity of a source is the number of radioactive disintegrations per second and is measured

in becquerels (Bq). The dose, a unit directly linked to the biological effects of radiation, is expressed

in sieverts (Sv). Thus, death is almost certain to follow exposure to more than 10 Sv, while the radio-

protection level acceptable to the public is around 0.001 Sv per year. In general, below 0.005 Sv per

hour, waste is considered as low-activity, between 0.005 and 2 Sv per hour, it is considered a medium-

activity, and above this as high-activity waste.

2 % for the second. In both cases, all radio-

activity released by the glass wall was stopped

by the filling material, including 99.9 % within

a radius of just five millimetres.” The scientific

team believe that analysis of the last tubes,

scheduled to be extracted in 2009 (6.5 years at

90 °C) and 2014 (10 years at 30 °C), will con-

firm the effectiveness of vitrification.

Jean-Paul Minon is keen to emphasise that

even if Class A waste will be stored permanently

on the surface from 2016 onwards, no decision

concerning the final disposal of Class B and

Class C waste has been, taken in Belgium. “Even

if the feasibility of deep-layer storage has been

demonstrated, the ultimate decision will be not

only political but also social. Dialogue with the

public has become inevitable. And that’s good.

Between now and then, it’s possible that new

solutions will be envisaged. Some people

believe, for example, in evacuating radioactive

waste into space, but our launchers are far from

being reliable enough to consider it seriously.”

Marie-Françoise Lefèvre

The technological and scientific importance

of this project, which is being undertaken with

national and European funding, goes well

beyond the borders of Belgium. The sharing

of knowledge advocated by the scientific teams

will be beneficial to countries like France or

Switzerland, which have similar geological for-

mations. Certain technical aspects will also be

valuable to other EU countries wishing to

establish similar storage areas in crystal rock

or in salt mines. “It is even possible that our

expertise will open up new avenues for the

absorption of atmospheric CO2, since the geo-

logical storage of this gas is based on similar

techniques,” says Xiangling Li.

An effective shield?Prior to burial, high-activity liquid waste

from the reprocessing of spent fuel is vitrified,

i.e. trapped inside a glass matrix. This structure

should considerably slow the radioactive emis-

sions. “At least that’s what we want to check”,

says Elie Valcke, who heads up the CORALUS

(Corrosion of alpha-active glass in under-

ground storage conditions) project. “Between

2000 and 2003, we inserted into the Boom clay

four test tubes containing several vitrified non-

radioactive and highly radioactive test samples,

in direct contact with different types of fill. In

2004, two tubes were extracted, one main-

tained at 30 °C for 3.3 years, and the other at

90 °C for 1.3 years. The results are quite positive

since the loss of mass due to the dissolution of

the glass was only 0.2 % for the first tube, and

POLLUTION

ONDRAF

www.nirond.be

CORALUS project

www.sckcen.be

PRACLAY project

www.euridice.be

Nuclear safety bodies

While competence for policies for

the management of radioactive

waste lies at national level, various

international bodies exist to disseminate best

practices.

IAEA: The International Atomic Energy Agen-

cy is a body of the United Nations Security Coun-

cil. Its primary role is to encourage the safe and

peaceful use of nuclear energy. The IAEA has

set up the programme of safety standards for

radioactive waste (RADWASS) which lists the

standards to be met.

UNSCEAR: The United Nations Scientific Com-

mittee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation is

tasked with assessing the levels and effects of

radiation exposure and communicating

its findings to governments, and with suppor-

ting the development of national security

measures.

ICPR: The International Commission on Radio-

logical Protection is an independent organi-

sation that promotes public dissemination of

the science of radiation protection and pro-

vides safety recommendations on radiation.

NEA: The Nuclear Energy Agency assists mem-

ber countries of the Organisation for Econo mic

Cooperation and Development (OECD) in

maintaining the necessary scientific platforms

for the safe economic and environmentally

friendly use of nuclear energy.

www.iaea.org

www.unscear.org

www.icrp.org

www.nea.fr


1 Excavator for piercing the galleries.

2 3 The connecting gallery reaches the Test Drift.

4 The traffic galleries.

5 The HADES laboratory, 224 metres underground.

5431 2

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5


Mobile phone use has grown expo-

nentially over the past 10 years,

much faster than television and

radio ever did. It is therefore too

early to quantify the long-term risks to health.

The number of users and relay antennas,

sprouting up even in the most remote corners

of the world, mean we are constantly immersed

in a flow of radio frequencies (RF). Are our

bodies capable of withstanding such exposure?

The initial results of the Interphone study,

launched in 1999 by the International Agency

for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 13 indus-

trialised countries, suggest that people who

have used mobile phones regularly for 10 years

face a higher risk of developing certain tumours.

The study focuses on four types of tumours

affecting the brain or the parts of the head

around the ears. Each survey participant

received a detailed questionnaire on their use

of mobile phones, their demographic profiles,

whether or not they used other communica-

tion systems, whether they smoked, and their

personal and family medical histories. In all,

2 765 people with gliomas, 2 425 with menin-

giomas, 1 121 with acoustic neuromas and

400 with cancer of the parotid gland were

interviewed using a common protocol, along

with a control group of 7 658 people.

A prudent interpretation...For gliomas, the brain cancer for which the

mortality risk is highest, the Interphone study

states that “the pooling of data from the Scandi-

navian countries and the UK has identified an

increased risk of developing this type of

tumour on the side of the head normally used

for telephoning”. The results thus suggest that

the probability of users developing a glioma

after 10 years is up to 60 % higher in the Scandi-

navian countries… nearly 100 % in France and

close to 120 % in Germany.

For meningiomas and acoustic neuromas the

results are more mixed, although a similar

trend emerges. For tumours of the parotid

gland, on the other hand, no increased risk has

been generally observed. But further investiga-

tions, with longer latency periods, are needed

to confirm these results.

Interphone, the largest epidemiological investigation ever

conducted into the link between cancer and mobile phones,

is delivering its first results. While the interpretation of this

study does not yet allow us to draw definite conclusions,

it suggests that the use of mobile phones could promote

the occurrence of certain brain tumours.

What’s to fear about mobile phones?

HEALTH

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Elisabeth Cardis of the Centre for Research

in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in

Barcelona (ES), the coordinator of the Inter-

phone study, however, plays down the alarm-

ing nature of these early results: “They do

indeed indicate a possible increased risk

among long-term users, but this observation is

perhaps artificial, owing to two main biases

that may invalidate the conclusions. On the one

hand, the reports may be underestimated

because of selection bias, i.e. the nearly 55 %

non-response rate among healthy users. On

the other hand, people with cancer may have

overestimated their use of mobile phones. That

is what is known as memorisation bias.”

A good number of the organisations cam-

paigning for the imposition of more stringent

standards on the use of mobile phones believe

the definition of ‘regular user’ – used in the

Interphone study as someone using a mobile

phone at least once a week for at least six

months – is much too broad, which could

again bias the results. “This is, however, a very

clear concept that runs through all the studies,”

says Elizabeth Cardis. “When people meet this

profile, a detailed questionnaire is sent to docu-

ment their complete histories of mobile phone

use. We have done analyses by number of

years’ use, the total number of calls, number

of hours, etc.”

Interference with the immune systemThe final Interphone results should be pu-

bli shed within a few months. Right now, gov-

ernments cannot (or do not want to) use the

Interphone study as a basis for introducing or

modifying regulations. However, other studies

are pointing in the same direction, like a doc-

toral thesis defended at the Université Catholique

de Louvain – UCL (BE) in June 2008 before an

international jury of experts. Dirk Adang, super-

vised by André Vander Vorst, has measured the

impact of electromagnetic waves in four groups

of rats. Rodents of three of these groups were

submitted over a period of 18 months, equiva-

lent to 70 % of their lives, to different levels of

electromagnetic exposure in line with prevail-

ing international standards. The control group

was not exposed.

Two major conclusions emerge from this

study. The first concerns the effect of exposure

on rats’ immune systems. Analysing blood sam-

ples carried out every three months, Dirk Adang

pinpointed an increase in monocytes, white

blood cells involved in the elimination of foreign

bodies from the organism, in rats of the three

exposed groups compared with the control

group. This finding suggests that the organism

responds to low-dose electromagnetic expo-

sure as a foreign aggression. A second and

more worrying finding concerns the mortality

rate: 60 % of rats in the three exposed groups

died within three months of the end of the

experiment, against 29 % in the control group.

Electromagnetic cocktail Again, relating as they do to an experiment

carried out on rats, these results do not permit

definitive conclusions. At the European Com-

mission, a report published in 2009 by the

Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly

Identified Health Risks (SCENHIR) indicates

that there is no evidence of any impact of

electro magnetic waves on human health but

recommends that more research be carried out

on the subject.

Although the conditions in which mobile

phones are harmful to public health are not

clearly established, one can reasonably doubt

that the friendly mobile is totally innocent.

What then of proximity to relay antennas? And

of the combined effect with Wi-Fi waves? The

health impact of these parameters is still

unknown. Additional independent scientific

studies are probably required to clarify them.

Meanwhile, scientists are advocating the pre-

cautionary principle: avoiding the excessive

use of mobile phones, especially among young

children, using wired headsets or hands-free

devices, and not using mobile phones in moving

vehicles, which forces them to operate at full

power to maintain connectivity. Don’t they say

that excessive use of anything is harmful?

Frédéric Dubois

HEALTH

International Agency for Research

on Cancer

www.iarc.fr

Does electro-hyper-sensitivity exist?

Certain people appear to be more

sensitive to electromagnetic waves

emitted by, in particular, mobile phone

relay antennas. Even though the World Health

Organization (WHO) has included electro-

hypersensitivity in its list of pathologies,

this disease is recognised only in Sweden and

Great Britain. Strasbourg citizen Sabine Rinckel

has undertaken numerous legal actions to

obtain redress from the French authorities.

“I’ve suffered migraines and back pain ever

since they installed a relay antenna on the

roof of my building”, says the 40-year-old.

“I have tingling in fingers and legs. Not to

mention these electric shocks that lacerate my

jaw. I had surgery in 1981 during which screws

and plates were inserted onto the bones of my

face.”

The doctors who examined Sabine Rinckel

were unable to diagnose anything because her

pathology is not recognised by the profession.

“Despite moving apartment, I continue to

experience these symptoms. They are so strong

that I am able to locate relay antennas without

seeing them.”

Could over-use of mobile phones

present a health hazard, and even cause certain

brain cancers? Current research is unable to give any

conclusive answer.

System of reconfigurable radiation diagram

antennas for mobile telephony UMTS (Universal

Mobile Telecommunications System), one of the

third-generation technologies. Work being carried

out at the Laboratoire d’électronique, antennes et

télécommunications, at Valbonne (FR).

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SCIENCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Summer paleotrip

Since 2005, the Royal Belgian

Institute of Natural Sciences (ISNB)

has been offering holidays that

are, to say the least, original. The

first ‘paleotrip’, or paleontological

dig (Les Dinosaures de l’Amour),

took 11 amateur paleontologists

to Blagoveschensk, on Russia’s

border with China. They had been

selected more for their enthusiasm

than for their expertise, and were

brought along to help the scientists

in their research. The objective was

been responsible for their

extinction. In 2006, 12 ‘paleotrip-

pers’ (ranging in age from 21 to 64)

embarked on a second field trip.

“We excavated the two richest

sites in Russia, which also harbour

the youngest dinosaurs in Asia.

These dinosaurs lived 65 million

years ago, just before the famous

Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (K-T)

crisis, which led to the extinction

of the species. We now know that

dinosaurs were a highly diversified

species before they became

extinct and that they died out very

suddenly,” explains Pascal Godefroit,

a paleontologist at the ISNB.

This summer, the hunt will continue

at Velaux, near Marseilles, in

collaboration with the University

of Poitiers (FR). Although this site

has already yielded up some

wonderful fossils, it has never

been subjected to large-scale

excavations until now. While

it is too late to enrol for this

year’s expedition, it might be

worth bearing in mind for next

summer.

www.sciencesnaturelles.be/

active/expeditions/archi-

ve2006/paleotrip2006

Taking stock of informal education

ECSITE 2.0 R/evolution/s is the title

of the 20th annual conference of

ECSITE, the European Network of

Science Centres and Museums,

held at the ‘Leonardo da Vinci’

National Museum of Science

and Technology in Milan (IT) from

4 to 6 June 2009. ECSITE brought

together some 350 institutions

and bodies involved in dissemi-

nating the culture of science

(including science museums and

centres, universities, aquariums

and libraries). The conference

provided an opportunity for

informal education partners to

take stock of two decades of

science promotion activities and

to discuss future plans. How to

approach new scientific content?

Which innovative methods and

aids might be of interest? How

to attract new visitors and trigger

a science debate?

www.ecsite-conference.net

Water as a learning aid

It is never too early to encourage

environmental awareness and

respect for nature. The initiators of

the Play with Water project target

children from the age of seven

upwards. They provide primary-

school teachers with classroom

experiments, excursion ideas

and teaching material for raising

environmental and ecological

awareness. For instance, pupils

can experiment with biodegradable

and non-degradable materials and

set up a ‘compost factory’ in their

classroom (using biodegradable

kitchen waste to make compost

for fertilising crop plants).

Alternatively, they can create

a polyculture system where they

feed fish on vegetables they have

grown in the classroom, or con-

struct a wetland model to recycle

grey water and wastewater in

ecological ways. There are also

excursions where children can

study life in a river ecosystem

or visit a water treatment plant.

This is an EU-supported ‘young

citizens’ project.

www.play-with-water.ch

Come on, girls…

Why do girls seem less interested

in science and technology than

boys? Is it a matter of preference,

or of preconceptions, education or

gender differences in the way girls

perceive science and technology

careers? The seven partners in the

European GAPP project (Gender

awareness participation process) (1)

took a practical approach to

answering this question by

studying schoolgirls and -boys

aged between 14 and 18 years

and involving their teachers

and sometimes their families.

The project involved a total

of 26 research institutes,

40 researchers, 1 817 pupils,

87 teachers and 207 parents at

various stages before it ended

in late 2008.

The GAPP project promoters

devised a number of practical

activities to bring pupils into

contact with scientists, including

laboratory experiments followed

by discussions (Italy), individual

meetings with scientists (Belgium)

and the production of a film on

to hunt down dinosaurs that had

died out 65 million years ago, to

try to understand how and in what

time frame they became extinct

and to examine in more detail the

hypothesis that a meteorite had

Archaeological dig in Russia (2005).

The dinosaur remains are analysed by

the Blagoveschensk laboratory, after

which the Belgian team takes casts

of the most interesting pieces back

to the Royal Belgian Institute of

Natural Sciences (ISNB) for further

research.

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researchers (Poland). A document

on the design, implementation

and evaluation of these initiatives

can be downloaded from the

project website. It should be of

interest to anyone working in

science communication and give

them ideas for good practice.

So, what were the project

conclusions? That science and

technology careers are just as

accessible to girls as to boys

and that the desired attributes

(intelligence, creativeness and

perseverance) are not in the least

gender specific. Anything else is

simply down to preconceived ideas.

www.gendergapp.eu

Genomic revolution

The subject of genomics never

ceases to raise new issues and

has caused much ink to flow.

The ‘Inside DNA’ website provides

a wealth of scientific information.

Teachers can find classroom

resources tailored to pupils of

differing levels. The ‘Real Research’

space offers students and the

public a chance to further their

knowledge by reading the views

of leading researchers. Anyone

can give their point of view on

ethical matters arising from new

human genetics developments,

and this feedback will be shared

directly with the Human Genetics

Commission, the UK Government’s

advisory body on new develop-

ments in human genetics. “It’s your

chance to have a say in the future

policy of a science that will affect

all of our lives,” say the organisers.

This virtual environment is sup-

ported in the field by a touring

exhibition that will travel the length

and breadth of the UK in 2009.

Inside DNA was developed by the

British science centre, AT-Bristol,

with funding from the Wellcome

Trust and support from the Sanger

Institute genomics centre.

www.insidedna.org

Crossborder Science Ac’

It all began in the Parisian district

of Montagne Sainte-Geneviève,

where, in 2006, researchers

and students from the district’s

education and research

institutions got together to found

an association called Paris-Montagne

and a programme entitled Science

Académie (‘Science Academy’

in English). The title was shortened

to Science Ac’, to parody France’s

TV reality show talent contest,

Star Ac’ (the British equivalent was

‘Fame Academy’). In 2008, a total

of 200 secondary school pupils

took part in Science Ac’ (of whom

66 % were girls).

The association’s aim is for

secondary-school pupils to

discover science careers and

research procedures and they

are given a chance to take part

in a laboratory or hospital

placement. There the young

people meet researchers who,

while not mentors per se, can

guide them in their choices and

nudge them in the right direction.

Summer schools are held in

universities abroad and individual

stays are organised in Germany,

Croatia, Hungary, the UK or Serbia

for secondary-school pupils who

have participated in Science Ac’

programmes. Many of these

training placements rely on

support from the Network for

Youth Excellence (NYEX).

“We are convinced of the need

to harness the cultural and social

diversity that exists in Europe,” says

association president Livio Riboli-

Sasco, who is studying for a PhD

in theoretical biology at Paris

Descartes University (FR).

Paris-Montagne works in close

collaboration with the Hungarian

association KutDiák and the

Portuguese association Ciênca

Viva. The associations’ leaders

are endeavouring to launch the

ENSEMblE project to promote

individual programmes for young

people abroad. “In France, we

target our activities mainly at

young people from disadvantaged

backgrounds. In Hungary, a large

proportion are secondary-school

students living in rural areas,

as well as young Roma gypsies.

The programmes provide these

young people with a sense

of personal fulfilment and

recognition and a means for

social advancement. Their

encounters with research circles

have a significant impact on many

young people, encouraging them

to become active citizens capable

of formulating their own questions

and engaging in dialogue using

rational arguments.”

www.scienceacademie.org

www.kutdiak.hu

www.cienciaviva.pt

www.nyex.info

(1) Città della Scienza (IT), Ciênca Viva (PT), Experimentarium (DK), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (BE), NEMO (NL), SISSA-ICS (IT), University of Warsaw (PL).

Close-up of DNA’s

molecular of structure.

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IN BRIEF

TEACHING CORNER

You can consult and order more publications about the European Union

from the EU Bookshop. http://bookshop.europa.eu

Sustainable development and territorial dynamics

2008, 37 pp,

ISBN 978-92-79-09525-2

Sustainable development and territorial

dynamics are at the meeting point of the

European Union’s social, economic and

environmental policies. These two key

issues have a direct relationship with the EU

Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), cohesion

policy and structural funds. This report

describes research projects in the fields of

economics, social science and humanities

under the Seventh Framework Programme.

Special Eurobarometer survey on medical and health research

2007, 118 pp,

ISBN 978-92-79-06661-0

This report of a Eurobarometer opinion poll

conducted by the Commission presents the

main conclusions about Europeans’ level of

interest and awareness about medical and

health research. It also identifies factors and

information sources that could help to raise

public awareness.

Combating deadly diseases – EU-funded projects

2007, 324 pp,

ISBN 92-79-03349-2

The global emergency caused by

HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis calls for

new approaches to confront these three

poverty-related diseases. The Sixth Frame-

work Programme has allocated some

€400 mil lion to researching therapies and

vaccines against the three deadly diseases.

This is an overview of the projects launched

under the Sixth Framework Programme.

Downsizing: the march of micro- and nano-manufactureEU-funded research leads Europe into the world of the ultra-small

succ

ess

sto

ries

Downsizing: the march of micro- and nano-manufacture

2009, 23 pp,

ISBN 978-92-79-11214-0

The manufacture of micro- and nano-products

is strategically important for the competi-

tiveness of European industry because it

helps to improve the functionality, intel-

ligence and durability of existing products.

This publication presents nine selected

European collaborative research projects

in the micro- and nanotechnology sector.

European union research on human rights, conflicts and security

2008, 73 pp,

ISBN 978-92-79-10653-8

While war and peace are as old as humankind

– as are violations of human dignity and

integrity – their shapes, causes and impacts

keep changing over time and in different

contexts. This is a practical guide to European

research projects for analysing conflict

management that have been launched

under the Sixth, and first phase of the

Seventh, Framework Programmes.

EUR 23616 EN

RE

PO

RT

Global Governance of ScienceReport of the Expert Group on Global Governance of Science to the Science, Economy and Society Directorate, Directorate-General for Research, European Commission

Global governance of science

2009, 44 pp,

ISBN 978-92-79-07972-6

As a political entity that spans the national,

regional and global levels, the European

Union is ideally placed to encourage critical

reflection on the global governance of

science and innovation and to play a practical

leadership role. This report by an expert

group makes recommendations to European

policy-makers, Member States and science-

related organisations.

PUBLICATIONS

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Good old carbon 14

Most of us have heard about carbon-14 dating but are

not always clear what it actually is or how it is used to

estimate the age of a fossil. Carbon 14 (14C) is a naturally

occurring carbon isotope, that is to say, an atom with the

same number of protons as other atoms of the same element

but a different number of neutrons (carbon 14 has six protons

and eight neutrons). The other two naturally occurring carbon

isotopes are carbon 12 (12C) and carbon 13 (13C), but what

makes carbon 14 useful for dating purposes is the fact that

it is radioactive (1), hence its alternative name of radiocarbon.

Carbon 14 is formed when cosmic rays collide with atoms

in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating secondary cosmic

rays in the form of energetic neutrons. When these neutrons

collide, a nitrogen 14 atom turns into a carbon 14 atom and

a hydrogen atom. The carbon 14 atom immediately binds

with oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 dissipates

throughout the atmosphere and into the oceans (where it

forms carbonates).

So carbon 14 is found everywhere that CO2 reacts, such

as in living beings that absorb carbon (and hence carbon 14).

Plants fix atmospheric carbon naturally by means of photo-

synthesis, which is how carbon is introduced into the rest

of the food chain, when animals eat the plants and absorb

carbon into their bodies. After the organism dies, the carbon-

fixation process ceases and its store of carbon is frozen

at that point, except in the case of carbon 14, which,

being radioactive, continues to decay slowly without being

replaced, turning into the more stable form of nitrogen 14.

This decay becomes ever slower and is never complete.

Indeed, the amount of carbon 14 in the organism shrinks

to half after only 5 730 years (known as its half-life).

As measurements have shown the bombardment of

cosmic particles forming carbon 14 to be fairly stable over

a period of several millennia, it follows that the proportion

of carbon 14 contained in living beings is also stable over

that time-frame. So, all we need to do to estimate a fossil’s

age is to determine the proportion of carbon 14 that has

decayed since death. Using modern-day techniques, this

can be done on samples smaller than one milligramme.

(1) See box entitled The ABC of radioactivity, page 36.


OPINION

IN BRIEF

DIARYTo keep up-to-date with research and

development news, see:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/headlines

Water, a vital resource under threatWater is the basis of life. Unremitting use of

this vital resource inevitably has an impact on

both the quality of the resource itself and the

environment as a whole.

As they can quench their thirst by a mere

turn of the tap, Europeans tend to forget that

water is essential not only to their own lives

and well-being but also – and in much greater

quantities – as a resource for industry and agri-

culture. On Earth, water is unequally and

unfairly distributed. One billion people world-

wide have no access to drinking water within

15 minutes’ walking distance from their home.

Although Europe is particularly privileged in

this respect, as we have had access to drinking-

water facilities for centuries, this does not mean

that we should abuse a resource so often per-

ceived, wrongly, as eternal and inexhaustible.

Aside from its environmental and public health

implications, water is now an economic, poli-

tical and strategic issue.

Our quality of life relies on an unseen army

of tens of thousands of employees and on hun-

dreds of thousands of kilometres of pipeline,

thousands of technical installations and colos-

sal sums of money. In order to cut costs, improve

services, enhance water quality and manage

water resources effectively, efforts must be

focused on research and techno logical develop-

ment. It takes a vast amount of knowledge and

expertise to deliver a simple glass of water.

Water is not a perpetual miracle and is facing

major threats like climate change, pollution,

flooding, drought, wastage and obsolete infra-

structure. Unless we change our consumption

and production patterns, in the future we will

need three planets to sustain our current life-

style.

These challenges must therefore be

addressed, without delay, by applying human

intelligence, as well as by raising public aware-

ness, especially among policy-makers – aided

in their decision-making by water operators,

who are experts in this vital resource.

Pierre-Yves Monette,

Secretary General of the European Federation

of National Associations of Drinking Water

Suppliers and Waste Water Services (EUREAU)

www.eureau.org

I fell into science by accident.

My father is a geophysicist at the

National University of Mexico but

I never thought I would become

a scientist myself. Originally

I enrolled in a psychology

programme but, when I had the

chance to visit a neuroscience lab,

the place seemed so familiar to

me that I simply stayed on. With an

exchange scholarship I continued

working in the field at McGill

University in Montreal (CA). By

now I was certain I wanted to

become a researcher but it was

reading a paper on the evolution

of ion channels that steered me

away from neurosciences; I was

very impressed by the elegance

of natural selection and the power

of using DNA sequences to

understand the history of genes.

So in 2000, as a psychology

graduate, I started my PhD in

Molecular Evolution at the

University of Bath (UK) under

Professor Laurence Hurst, with

scholarships from the Mexican and

UK governments. We did some of

the first large-scale bioinformatics

analyses of the human genome

showing that gene activity shapes

gene characteristics and gene

order in chromosomes.

With my PhD degree, I took

a post doctoral position in Arizona

in 2003. My dream had come true:

I was now a scientist! But I moved

back to the UK after becoming

pregnant and remained largely

away from research. With support

from my PhD supervisor, I returned

to science in 2007 after applying

successfully for a Royal Society

Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship

and a L’Oreal UK Women in Science

Fellowship, and commuted one

day a week from home in Cardiff

to Bath. I now lead my own

research group at the University

of Bath and this year was awarded

the Biochemical Society Early

Career Researcher Award.

I take every opportunity to raise

the profile of women scientists

by lecturing to general audiences

and participating in science policy

initiatives like the Unesco UK

annual conference. Last year

I received a SHE Inspiring Women

Award and was named a ‘Rising

Talent’ by the International

Women’s Forum for Society and

Economy. Thousands of young

female researchers abandon

universities every year, taking

their expertise with them. I am

very fortunate in getting so much

support at home and at work.

Araxi Urrutia

YOUNG RESEARCHERSAraxi, evolutionary biologist, aged 31

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CHIK coloursIn spite of its harmless-sounding nickname, ‘CHIK’,

or chikungunya, is still a source of concern and a challenge

for researchers, who are working to improve diagnostic tools,

sequence virus strains and improve their understanding

of the factors determining the virulence of the different

strains. In the above image, fluorescence microscopy is used

to detect the chikungunya virus in cultured human cells.

Using the Hoechst fluorescent stain, the nuclei appear blue

under the microscope, while the Cy3 fluorophore shows

the viral antigens as orange.

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