We begin to understand how is moving this choice

There is not that great leaders who rely. "Research as in the kitchen, young talents were often struggling to break through the wall of the Mandarin. To work around this "cultural" obstacle, Pascale Cossart, of the Pasteur Institute researcher, benchmark every year young shoots hexagonal authors of "major advances in biology". The 2008-2009 cuvée recognizes six young talent which undoubtedly brighter is Laurent Groc, author of a great breakthrough in the field of neuroscience.

In his Bordeaux laboratory of the CNRS, the neurobiologist Lawrence Groc works on one of the hottest topics of the moment: the communication between neurons. These exchanges are located at the level of the synapse, these contact points that connect neurons between them. Each neuron is thus connected to thousands of colleagues including some very distant. This gigantic Spider Web consists of hundreds of billions synaptic switches that convert electrical signals into chemical messages. "A few dozen nanometres synapse is intense molecular traffic", summarizes Laurent Groc. But this architecture is very moving. "Receptor move all the time and very quickly," said the Bordeaux researcher. Medical imaging confirmed this phenomenon, which turns in total panic when stress. "It is a way of regulating which perhaps opens the door to new treatments," hope Laurent Groc.

At the Inra Versailles, Thomas Blein is interested in plants. As so often in science, his curiosity translates apparently harmless questions. Why plant leaves are flat, jagged, smooth, rounded or tapered Why black locust did not have the same choice as the false acacia, himself different horse chestnut or cucumber "We have identified certain genes to explain these mechanisms", explains the Parisian researcher. He addressed five common plants (tomato, cardamine, peas, potatoes and Columbine) whose leaves are very different forms. At the end of a complex process, certain genes are turned off (disabled) and other access status envied regulators. Is not yet explain "the choice of plants". But it can be assumed that certain cuts give a benefit to its owner. "Serrated leaves have a better thermal Exchange with the air and are better adapted to hot climates."

Researcher at the Institut Pasteur, Paris, Pablo Navarro is passionate sex. His research concern everyone. What are the factors that decide the kind of mammals during the early stages of development Random Environmental criteria Two chromosomes hold this power: two X give female cells (XX) and an X and a are manufacture males (XY). We begin to understand how is moving this choice. "Mice, X chromosome inactivation is carried out on the sixth day of development", said Pablo Navarro. Here again, this is a subtle Ballet activation and repression carried out by a "Trinity of genes", themselves controlled by molecular factors.

Vilma Sé dedicated to another hot topic: adult stem cells. Its work on the mouse to the CNRS in Gif-sur-Yvette suggest the existence of a new path for the production of totipotent cells present in the sperm germ stem cells. In theory, they are able to give birth to all the families of cells specialized body (approximately 200).

Two other young researchers were rewarded: Romain Mercier for his work on e. coli, and Nabila Bouatia-Naji for his survey of type 2 diabetes.