News & events

Thanks to a spectroscopy technique originally developed for materials science, water is becoming a novel means of monitoring the biological response of cells to a specific stress, such as exposure to a photosensitive therapeutic molecule. This is the finding of scientists in a study published in the journal Advanced Science.

Ammonia plays an important role in the mechanisms at work inside the planets Uranus and Neptune. Experiments carried out at the Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation des Lasers Intenses (Intense Lasers Laboratory) have made it possible to reproduce the extreme conditions that prevail inside these planets, and have revealed the fusion of 'superionic' ammonia ice. These results are reported in the journal Nature Physics.

Researchers from the Solid Mechanics Laboratory of Institut Polytechnique de Paris, along with collaborators from the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany and the Technical University of Denmark have performed a decisive experiment showing that dislocations (crystalline defects) in 3D printed metallic alloys continue to evolve after their formation during the fabrication process. Since dislocations play a major role in the mechanics of materials, these results are the first step towards tailoring the properties of alloys during 3D printing.

The fight against global warming is a crucial challenge that requires us to make the transition to carbon neutrality by the end of the century at the latest. To achieve this balance between anthropogenic emissions and absorptions of greenhouse gases, we need to fundamentally transform our production and consumption patterns. This transition requires the concerted efforts of public authorities, the private sector and civil society.

According to the latest IPCC report, greenhouse gas emissions between 2010 and 2019 represent 80% of the "carbon budget" that humanity still has left before exceeding the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement. In order to preserve this budget, we need to transform the global economy and change consumption behaviors that are the most damaging to climate. But decarbonizing technologies and processes does not come without a price tag. So what measures should be put in place to encourage private-sector players to invest in the technologies needed to decarbonize the global economy?

Recent years have seen the popularization of the carbon footprint concept. Applied at different scales and in different contexts, it indicates the negative contribution of an actor or project to global warming. This concept can also be applied to savings, whose impact, although indirect, is equally significant (1). This indirect impact should not, however, overshadow the potential of finance, if it is used to help our societies make the transition, particularly in the face of the immense challenges posed by the climate crisis.

Computer processing of three-dimensional shapes still raises many fundamental questions. In particular, machine learning methods are much less developed than for two-dimensional images. Maks Ovsjanikov, a researcher at the Computer Science Laboratory of the École Polytechnique (LIX*), is tackling this problem with the VEGA project funded by the European Research Council.

The Engineering for Health (E4H) interdisciplinary center is organising the second edition of its annual forum on 5 July 2023 at École Polytechnique. The aim of this event is to highlight current research projects in the field of life sciences and to bring together researchers, medical doctors, engineers, startups and industry to encourage new interactions.

The first Entrepreneurship Night organized by Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris) welcomed around 100 students from IP Paris’ schools and other partner schools. During an entire night, their mission was to step into the shoes of an entrepreneur and propose, as a team, an innovative technological solution that answers market needs and with a sufficiently explained business model.

In an article published in the journal Nature Communication, scientists have made a surprising suggestion that gene transfer from bacteria to eukaryotes occurs. This discovery is based on the study of thymidylate synthase, an enzyme required for de novo DNA synthesis. These observations have provided new insight into the evolution of DNA by suggesting that the metabolic capacity of present-day eukaryotes to synthesise DNA may also have originated in bacteria and not only in archaea as previously thought.

This year, SPRING 50-2023-Paris Saclay Spring will take place on June 1st, 2023 at HEC Paris. The event is a platform that aims to showcase innovative startups and provide invaluable opportunities for entrepreneurs to present their groundbreaking ideas. IP Paris will present 17 startups as well as its interdisciplinary centers in the sectors of Health, AI and Data, Defense and Security.

Institut Polytechnique de Paris launches its podcast. On POLYGRAM, we listen to stories of science and technology to discuss the discoveries and societal challenges of today and tomorrow (in English and French).