Latest news with #Montpellier-based
Local France
16-05-2025
- Health
- Local France
French start-up unveils plan to sterilise mosquitoes
The black-and-white striped tiger mosquito, which can deliver an irritating bite as well as potentially deadly tropical diseases including dengue fever, zika and chikungunya, was first spotted in France in 2004. Twenty years later, it has been detected in 78 of France's 96 mainland départements . Originally found in tropical forests in southeast Asia, the tiger mosquito thrives in urban environments and it is extremely difficult to get rid of once it has begun inhabiting a place. Until, it seems, now. Montpellier-based start-up Terratis is the first to use a well-known method to limit the proliferation of the insect. Advertisement The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), is considered to be one of the most environmentally-friendly insect pest control methods developed. Irradiation with gamma rays and X-rays sterilises mass-reared insects so that, while they remain sexually competitive, they cannot produce offspring. The method has been around for more than 60 years, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency , but this is the first time it has been tested on mosquitoes in France. READ ALSO How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France Large numbers of sterilised male tiger mosquitoes will be released in specific areas, where they will mate with females – which will lay empty eggs, thereby limiting their proliferation. According to a study by France's Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, which has studied the technique for more than a decade, a real-world test in the Duparc area of Sainte-Marie, on Réunion, reduced the birth rate of tiger mosquitoes by an average of 50 percent, rising to 60 percent in the first year. Projections suggest that second-year birth rates would be cut by as much as 90 percent. READ ALSO 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes 'While researchers agree SIT will not completely eliminate the mosquito population, it is a truly convincing means of control,' Louis Clément Gouagna, coordinator of the SIT program in Réunion, told BFM TV. Terratis now hopes to have a factory up and running by 2028 so it can expand into agriculture, particularly to fight agricultural pests. The startup announced fundraising of €1.5 million last March and is already receiving requests from local authorities and homeowners' associations.
CairoScene
24-04-2025
- Science
- CairoScene
Secret Hieroglyphs Discovered on Ancient Egyptian Obelisk in Paris
The findings were made during the first full expert examination of the Luxor Obelisk's upper sections since 1836. Apr 24, 2025 Seven previously unknown messages have been identified on the 3,000-year-old Luxor Obelisk in Paris, long believed to be fully deciphered. The 75-foot granite monument, carved during the reign of Ramses II and gifted to France in the 19th century, stands at Place de la Concorde. During recent access enabled by Olympic renovation scaffolding, Egyptologist Dr Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier of Paris-Sorbonne University found the encrypted texts using his expertise in crypto-hieroglyphs. Among the inscriptions is a phrase invoking the 'ka-force of Amun,' suggesting symbolic appeals to divine power. The findings, made during the first full expert examination of the obelisk's upper sections since its 1836 installation, will be published in the Montpellier-based Egyptology journal ENIM . Only one of two Luxor Obelisks, its twin remains in Luxor, Egypt and may hold additional undiscovered texts.
CairoScene
24-04-2025
- Science
- CairoScene
Hidden Hieroglyphs Discovered on Ancient Egyptian Obelisk in Paris
The findings were made during the first full expert examination of the Luxor Obelisk's upper sections since 1836. Apr 24, 2025 Seven previously unknown messages have been identified on the 3,000-year-old Luxor Obelisk in Paris, long believed to be fully deciphered. The 75-foot granite monument, carved during the reign of Ramses II and gifted to France in the 19th century, stands at Place de la Concorde. During recent access enabled by Olympic renovation scaffolding, Egyptologist Dr Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier of Paris-Sorbonne University found the encrypted texts using his expertise in crypto-hieroglyphs. Among the inscriptions is a phrase invoking the 'ka-force of Amun,' suggesting symbolic appeals to divine power. The findings, made during the first full expert examination of the obelisk's upper sections since its 1836 installation, will be published in the Montpellier-based Egyptology journal ENIM . Only one of two Luxor Obelisks, its twin remains in Luxor, Egypt and may hold additional undiscovered texts.
