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The Hidden Talents of C Hemistry N°15 quarterly october 2009 The Hidden Talents of C HemisTry IN IMaGeS Eiffel Tower The universal symbol of Paris www.cnrs.fr/70ans celebrates its 120th anniversary. contentscontentsCONTENTS 3 COVER STORY CNRS International Magazine 18 Trimestriel - Octobre 2009 1 place Aristide Briand F-92195 Meudon Cedex FRENCH RESEARCH NEWS 4 Telephone: +33 (0)1 45 07 53 75 CNRS celebrates its 70th The Hidden Fax: +33 (0)1 45 07 56 68 Email: [email protected] anniversary. Website: www.cnrs.fr Talents of CNRS (headquarters) 3 rue Michel Ange LIVE FROM THE LABS F-75794 Paris cedex 16 Publisher: 6 CHEMISTRY Arnold Migus (CNRS) Editorial Director: 19 Marie-Hélène Beauvais (CNRS) > A Rejuvenated Industrial Sector > Deputy Editorial Director: > Chemistry Set at the Museum > 21 Fabrice Impériali (CNRS) > The Chemistry of Cosmetics > 22 Managing Editor: Isabelle Tratner (CNRS) > Tracking Down Fraud > 24 Production Manager: > New Materials > 25 Laurence Winter > Environmental Sentinels > 27 Staff Writer: Charline Zeitoun Freelance Writers: Stéphanie Arc Jean-Philippe Braly Jason Brown Patricia Chairopoulos rin/CNRS Photothèque Caroline Dangléant er Denis Delbecq Laurianne Geffroy 31 © E. P Marion Girault-Rime Séverine Lemaire-Duparcq Virginie Lepetit AROUND THE WORLD Marie Lescroart Fui Lee Luk > FOREIGN PARTNER 31 Mélisande Middleton Computing Better Engines Xavier Müller Saman Musacchio European Research Network in Mark Reynolds computational fluid dynamics. Barbara Rush . Sila Philippe Testard-Vaillant © P > THEY CHOSE FRANCE 32 Marie-Hélène Towhill Clémentine Wallace > SPOTLIGHT 6 Pablo Gluschankof Translation Manager: Teaming up Against Diabetes Yeast Could Help AIDS treatment. Aimée Lahaussois (CNRS) Inside the European Genomic > HORIZONS 34 Copy Editor: Institute for Diabetes. Saman Musacchio rin/CNRS Photothèque Italy Graphic Design: er Céline Hein > NEWS 8 Scientific success. Iconography: Nanosized memory, Out of Africa, Marie Gandois (CNRS) Cover Illustration: A better outlook for breast cancer B. Morandi/AGE FOTOSTOCK/HOA-QUI ; patients, Cloaking ourselves from INNOVATION 36 S.Thenard/Fotolia.com Photoengraving: disaster, Elephants started small, Language video games, Tiny fuel Scoop Communication - First global map of ammonia cells, A weapon against prions. F- 94276 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre © Olivier/Fotolia.com ; E. P Printing: sources, Reacting to incivilities, Imprimerie Didier Mary 6, rue de la Ferté-sous-Jouarre Revisiting the origins of the solar IN IMAGES 28 CNRS NEWSWIRE 38 F-77440 Mary-sur-Marne system, A fungus to Master of Iron Optics in all fields, Spiral 2, ISSN 1778-1442 decontaminate soil. Looking back at the outstanding Exploring the soil’s biodiversity, AIP 0001308 career of Gustave Eiffel. New collaborations. CNRS Photos are available at: > ON LOCATION 16 [email protected] http://phototheque.cnrs.fr The Tara Mission Studying the oceans’ biodiversity. All rights reserved. Partial or full reproduction of articles or illustrations is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from CNRS. CNRS Photo and Video databases now in English The CNRS photo and video libraries provide open Photos and DVDs can be ordered online. access to a wide range of scientific pictures (18,000) and films* (1400). Guests and registered users can access PHOTO LIBRARY a search engine in English, or browse through the thematic http://phototheque.cnrs.fr/indexL02.html selections on the home page. VIDEO LIBRARY *over 200 in English. http://videotheque.cnrs.fr/index.php?langue=EN CNRS International Magazine n5°1October 2009 4 FRENCHRESEARCHNEWS EDITORIAL 5 ANNIVERSARY CNRS Turns 70 editorialeditorial Founded on October 19th, 1939, at the initiative of Jean Perrin, CNRS revolutionized French research. Seventy years later, the organization boasts no fewer than 30,000 staff members and 1100 laboratories. efore the founding of CNRS in 1939, of physico-chemical biology in Paris, with community. A journalist of the time wrote that Gilberte Chambaud environment and in providing many innovations and medicinal there was no real national drive for chemist André Job and physiologist André the mobilization of French laboratories Scientific Director, Institute of products. Yes, chemistry is key to our future. To answer current– French research,” explains CNRS his- Mayer. “This desire to bring together different amounted to the creation of a new regiment,” Chemistry. and more importantly, future–needs, those active in the Btorian Denis Guthleben, whose book disciplines clearly marked the beginning of adds the historian. CNRS was founded on on the subject has just been published.1 “At the Perrin’s project,” says Guthleben. Very quickly, October 19th, 1939. Unfortunately, its field of chemistry are finding the solutions to global time, researchers–then more commonly called Perrin realized what the same initiative could researchers had only nine months to contribute challenges like renewable energy sources, climate change, water ‘savants’–were employed by the State as accomplish at a nationwide level. Having to the war effort before France’s capitulation. N.Tiget/CNRS Photothèque N.Tiget/CNRS and food supplies, demographic growth, health, preservation of professors in universities or ‘grandes écoles,’ introduced a “petition for French research” After the gloomy occupation period, CNRS © and their research had to take a back seat to that garnered the signatures of over 80 was reorganized and underwent considerable resources, and the environment. their teaching duties,” he continues. CNRS scholars, including 8 Nobel Prize winners, change, especially in the 1960s. Would Perrin More interestingly, as you will thus literally revolutionized French research by Perrin managed to convince the Minister of recognize his brainchild today? Evidently, the “inventing” a status for researchers and education to establish a high council for form and size of CNRS have changed consid- read in our feature article, this organizing their work into teams, which were scientific research in April 1933. This body, erably. It has gone from about 1000 people and Chemistry, Key to our Future field also enables a clearer often multidisciplinary. which represented all disciplines “that played approximately 40 laboratories centered around The idea of creating such an organization, a role (...) in the progress of Humanity,” was Paris and Meudon in 1945 to about 30,000 understanding of our heritage, along with the relentless perseverance to see the first building block of the future CNRS. The people and 1100 laboratories throughout France ature needed billions of years to assemble atoms the creation of new materials, or even the development of more it through to completion, is attributed to one second, laid in 1935, would be the “Caisse in 2009. “But it has maintained its objective to in the complex edifices from which life emerged. natural cosmetic products. man: physicist Jean Perrin. When he received nationale de la recherche scientifique,” a purely embrace all sciences by stimulating advanced the Nobel Prize in physics in 1926 for his financial organization in charge of coordinating research, and to preserve researchers’ freedom Then, some tens of thousands of years were As a source of innovation, chemistry has a major impact on work on the structure of matter, Perrin noticed the initiatives of the different pre-existing to explore all scientific avenues,” says Guthleben. necessary for the first humans to tame nature improving quality of life, and is also an essential motor for that scientific research in France would have institutions that funded research. “For 70 years, CNRS has never stopped adjust- a lot to gain by drawing inspiration from its “The following year, Perrin, who had ing to the surrounding context and expectations. and begin transforming matter: their first act as economic growth in all industrial sectors. At CNRS, the Institute German neighbors. “In Germany, the principle become Deputy State Secretary for research, Its achievements, far-reaching scientific Nchemists was perhaps cooking their food to spare their teeth; their of Chemistry is set to become the national reference for advancing of funding scientific research within large established a national division for scientific discoveries, and significant contributions to second, a more deliberate action, was undoubtedly to succeed knowledge in all fields of chemistry, ranging from molecules to institutions was introduced in 1911,” highlights research with the power to set up laboratories,” overall growth and development during this Guthleben. At that time, in France, the system continues Guthleben. Henceforth, all of the period have been absolutely enormous.” in extracting metal from its ore to design tools, but also weapons. materials and all their cross-disciplinary developments. It provides was based on prizes and distinctions, and only pieces were in place to found CNRS: an assem- Charline Zeitoun Moving from isolated actions to community efforts, man gradually a national framework for sharing high-performance tools, like those who had already made a discovery were bly for the democratic debate of scientific issues, 1. Denis Guthleben, Histoire du CNRS de 1939 à nos jours rewarded. a funding body, and a government executive (Paris: Armand Colin, 2009). developed his talents as a creator of new materials to improve high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers (NMR), the In 1927, with financial support from phi- arm–but these pieces still needed to be put his everyday life. He used grapes
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