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Fundamental Research Division
The DRF at the CEA assemble approximately 6,000 scientists since January 2016.
At a time when mercury is becoming a highly toxic material for the nervous system, researchers at the Irig [collaboration] are making significant progress towards efficient, mercury-free, deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes used in water and air treatment, disinfection, counterfeit detection, etc...
To be or not to be expressed? Researchers at the CEA-Irig (IBS) are showing with precision how a bacterial metalloprotein controls the expression of certain genes. And all it takes is an electron and a proton!
An international collaboration involving the LSCE (CEA-CNRS-UVSQ) is proposing an agronomic scenario that is beneficial for the climate and biodiversity: cultivated areas reduced by half, without changing the input volumes, could be as productive as they are today if our practices are revised on a global scale.
Researchers from the CEA-Irig and the “Unité mixte de physique” CNRS-Thales have proposed a new spintronic approach based on ferroelectricity. For the first time, this approach allows spin currents to be manipulated using non-magnetic interfaces controlled by electric fields. The result: the electrical consumption of non-volatile spintronic devices can potentially be reduced by a factor of one thousand!
We live in a world of matter – because matter overtook antimatter, though they were both created in equal amounts by the Big Bang when our universe began. As featured on the cover of Nature on 16 April 2020, neutrinos and the associated antimatter particles, antineutrinos, are reported to have a high likelihood of differing behaviour that offers a promising path to explaining the asymmetry between matter and antimatter.
How is the magnetic field generated inside the Sun? By which mechanisms does it create solar spots and eruptions of magnetised clouds and particles? To find out, the European consortium Wholesun, coordinated by the CEA, is developing numerical models of the star in its entirety using the most powerful supercomputers. The numerical models will be used in combination with observations from Solar Orbiter, an ESA satellite launched on 10 February 2020.
Researchers at the CEA-Irig have elucidated the activation cascade of one of the four Bacillus thuringiensis toxins that specifically target mosquito larvae, in order to prevent them from becoming vectors of devastating diseases.
After an injury, many tissues often develop fibrosis[1], which can be disabling. An international team involving researchers from CEA-Jacob has now identified a key player in the fibrosis development: macrophages [2]. These observations pave the way for targeted treatments.
For the first time, a Franco-German team led by the CEA-Irfu has used numerical simulations to reproduce the origins of the most intense magnetic fields in the Universe. They are able to demonstrate how rapidly rotating massive stars become magnetars at the end of their lives, rather than conventional neutron stars.
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CEA is a French government-funded technological research organisation in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. A prominent player in the European Research Area, it is involved in setting up collaborative projects with many partners around the world.