Post-1995 French cinema: return of the social, return of the political?

A key trend in post-1995 French cinema has been the return of the social. Analysing this trend, this article seeks to evaluate its politic impact. Using Hervé Le Roux’s Reprise (1997) and Agnès Varda’s Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000) as key meta-texts, it suggests that the current wave of politically engaged cinema needs to be approached in new ways that recognise how films trace the impact of a politically unmediated, ‘raw’ real on groups or individuals. It further suggests that the withdrawal of political mediation gives the films an essential ambiguity and a melodramatic quality that, rather than mere cliché, may be a privileged way to engage with the violence of the real. Film is now not so much in the van but dans le bain of a diverse socio-political stirring

Modéliser la transition de l’inerte au vivant

Dans la recherche scientifique sur les origines de la vie, la frontière entre l’inerte et le vivant se conçoit de façon graduelle et il existe des entités ayant un degré de vie variable. Afin d’explorer cette transition, des chercheurs du Laboratoire de biochimie de l’ESPCI Paris fabriquent des prototypes de systèmes vivants supposés s’inscrire dans une progression vers la vie. Ces artefacts que l’auteur propose d’appeler protovies incarnent les conceptions de la vie de leurs créateurs et influencent en retour ces dernières par la manifestation de leurs propriétés, imbriquant processus techniques et processus vitaux. Un projet en particulier mobilise la technique de la microfluidique en gouttelettes pour mettre au point une protovie engagée dans une modélisation expérimentale de la transition de l’inerte au vivant. Par la production de gouttes d’eau microscopiques assimilées à des protocellules, les chercheurs imitent des cellules biologiques. L’établissement d’une population interconnectée de ces gouttes dans une dynamique de sélection naturelle aboutit alors à une modélisation de la vie selon les critères retenus. Au fur et à mesure des assemblages techniques, des résultats empiriques, des analyses et des discussions, les chercheurs perçoivent une élévation du degré de vie de leurs artefacts dans un exercice constant d’interprétation des propriétés émergentes du système. L’ethnographie mobilisée est l’aboutissement d’une observation participante menée par un scientifique du même laboratoire engagé dans un projet réflexif anthropologique. La recherche sur les origines de la vie et la synthèse de protovies gagnent à être resituées dans les contextes déterminants de cultures épistémologiques propres aux communautés scientifiques impliquées.In scientific research on the origins of life, the boundary between the non-living and the living is conceived as gradual and there are entities with varying degrees of aliveness. In order to explore this transition, researchers at the Laboratory of Biochemistry of ESPCI Paris are building prototypes of living systems that are supposed to progress towards life. These artefacts, which the author proposes to call protolives, embody their creators' conceptions of life and influence them in return by the manifestation of their properties, interweaving technical and vital processes. One project in particular involves the technique of droplet microfluidics to develop a protolife engaged in experimental modeling of the transition from the non-living to the living. By producing microscopic water droplets assimilated to protocells, the researchers are mimicking biological cells. The establishment of an interconnected population of these drops in a dynamic of natural selection then leads to a model of life according to the selected criteria. As the technical assemblies, empirical results, analyses and discussions progress, the researchers perceive an increase in the degree of aliveness of their artefacts in a constant exercise of interpreting the emerging properties of the system. The ethnography mobilized is the result of a participatory observation conducted by a scientist from the same laboratory engaged in an anthropological reflexive project. Research on the origins of life and the synthesis of protolives benefit from being resituated in the contexts of the determining epistemological cultures specific to the scientific communities involved

Modeling the transition from the inert to the living

Dans la recherche scientifique sur les origines de la vie, la frontière entre l’inerte et le vivant se conçoit de façon graduelle et il existe des entités ayant un degré de vie variable. Afin d’explorer cette transition, des chercheurs du Laboratoire de biochimie de l’ESPCI Paris fabriquent des prototypes de systèmes vivants supposés s’inscrire dans une progression vers la vie. Ces artefacts que l’auteur propose d’appeler protovies incarnent les conceptions de la vie de leurs créateurs et influencent en retour ces dernières par la manifestation de leurs propriétés, imbriquant processus techniques et processus vitaux. Un projet en particulier mobilise la technique de la microfluidique en gouttelettes pour mettre au point une protovie engagée dans une modélisation expérimentale de la transition de l’inerte au vivant. Par la production de gouttes d’eau microscopiques assimilées à des protocellules, les chercheurs imitent des cellules biologiques. L’établissement d’une population interconnectée de ces gouttes dans une dynamique de sélection naturelle aboutit alors à une modélisation de la vie selon les critères retenus. Au fur et à mesure des assemblages techniques, des résultats empiriques, des analyses et des discussions, les chercheurs perçoivent une élévation du degré de vie de leurs artefacts dans un exercice constant d’interprétation des propriétés émergentes du système. L’ethnographie mobilisée est l’aboutissement d’une observation participante menée par un scientifique du même laboratoire engagé dans un projet réflexif anthropologique. La recherche sur les origines de la vie et la synthèse de protovies gagnent à être resituées dans les contextes déterminants de cultures épistémologiques propres aux communautés scientifiques impliquées.In scientific research on the origins of life, the boundary between the non-living and the living is conceived as gradual and there are entities with varying degrees of aliveness. In order to explore this transition, researchers at the Laboratory of Biochemistry of ESPCI Paris are building prototypes of living systems that are supposed to progress towards life. These artefacts, which the author proposes to call protolives, embody their creators' conceptions of life and influence them in return by the manifestation of their properties, interweaving technical and vital processes. One project in particular involves the technique of droplet microfluidics to develop a protolife engaged in experimental modeling of the transition from the non-living to the living. By producing microscopic water droplets assimilated to protocells, the researchers are mimicking biological cells. The establishment of an interconnected population of these drops in a dynamic of natural selection then leads to a model of life according to the selected criteria. As the technical assemblies, empirical results, analyses and discussions progress, the researchers perceive an increase in the degree of aliveness of their artefacts in a constant exercise of interpreting the emerging properties of the system. The ethnography mobilized is the result of a participatory observation conducted by a scientist from the same laboratory engaged in an anthropological reflexive project. Research on the origins of life and the synthesis of protolives benefit from being resituated in the contexts of the determining epistemological cultures specific to the scientific communities involved

The Call for a New Definition of Biosignature

The term has become increasingly prevalent in astrobiology literature as our ability to search for life advances. Although this term has been useful to the community, its definition is not settled. Existing definitions conflict sharply over the balance of evidence needed to establish a biosignature, which leads to misunderstanding and confusion about what is being claimed when biosignatures are purportedly detected. To resolve this, we offer a new definition of a biosignature as This definition is strong enough to do the work required of it in multiple contexts-from the search for life on Mars to exoplanet spectroscopy-where the quality and indeed quantity of obtainable evidence is markedly different. Moreover, it addresses the pernicious problem of unconceived abiotic mimics that is central to biosignature research. We show that the new definition yields intuitively satisfying judgments when applied to historical biosignature claims. We also reaffirm the importance of multidisciplinary work on abiotic mimics to narrow the gap between the detection of a biosignature and a confirmed discovery of life

Breakthrough results in astrobiology: is ‘high risk’ research needed?

Astrobiology is a scientific endeavour involving great uncertainties. This could justify intellectual risk-taking associated with research that significantly deviates from the mainstream, to explore new avenues. However, little is known regarding the effect of such maverick endeavours. To better understand the need for more or less risk in astrobiology, we investigate to what extent high-risk / high-impact research contributes to breakthrough results in the discipline. We gathered a sample of the most impactful astrobiology papers of the past 20 years and explored the degree of risk of the research projects behind these papers via contact with the corresponding authors. We carried out interviews to explore how attitudes towards risk have played out in their work, and to ascertain their opinions on risk-taking in astrobiology. We show the majority of the selected breakthrough results derive from endeavours considered medium- or high-risk, risk is significantly correlated with impact, and most of the discussed projects adopt exploratory approaches. Overall, the researchers display a distribution of attitudes towards risk from the more cautious to the more audacious, and are divided on the need for more risk-taking in astrobiology. Our findings ultimately support the explicit implementation of a risk-balanced portfolio in astrobiology

Traduire des normes

Historique de la normalisation Depuis toujours, l’homme a éprouvé la nécessité de rationaliser ses techniques et ses modes de fonctionnement. Il y a quelque 5 000 ans, les Sumériens inventaient la plus ancienne écriture connue, comptaient en base 60 et nous léguaient la mesure du temps en heures, minutes et secondes. Plus près de nous, les ingénieurs militaires de Philippe Auguste, roi de France de 1180 à 1223, mettaient en place des critères types d’architecture militaire, bien avant que Vau..

Surveys of the scientific community on the existence of extraterrestrial life

During February–June 2024 we conducted four surveys among researchers regarding the likely existence of basic, complex, and intelligent extraterrestrial life. Our results offer a snapshot of community opinion and reveal a significant degree of consensus that extraterrestrial life is likely to exist

Money for writing: Screenplay development and screenwriters earnings in French cinema

The funds allocated to developing screenplays currently constitute on average 2 to 3% of the overall budget of a film in France. Producers are more than ever dependent on presenting attractive draft screenplays to find their financial partners. As a result, screenwriters undoubtedly are active economic partners of production planning, but they do not seem to receive much professional recognition for this vital role. Moreover, their earnings often fail to reflect the amount of work produced and do not reward adequately the risks taken, including the possibility that production could stop after the screenplay is written. This article investigates the place of screenplay development within the economics of French cinema. Using recently published official reports and interviews, the author identifies different types of screenwriters – freestanding screenwriters, writing teams and screenwriters co-writing with the director – and addresses their working conditions. She surveys some of the contract modalities for the remuneration of professional screenwriters. Finally, she reviews the proposals made by different professional bodies to improve the remuneration of screenwriters and reform the financing of screenwriting

Leveraging the Potential of Digital Technology for Personalised Medicine

editorial reviewedDigital device technologies, such as wearable gait sensors, voice and video recordings, bear potential for monitoring symptoms of chronic and increasingly prevalent diseases, such as Parkinson's Disease. This could facilitate a more personalised and higher quality treatment in the future. As part of the EU-wide project DIGIPD, we confirmed this potential using data from three different cohort studies in Luxembourg, France and Germany. Data processing using artificial intelligence allows inferring disease symptoms and their progression. We found that digital devices, which collect large amounts of data during use, are highly accepted by patients. There are, however, challenges to legally collect patient-level data and process them using artificial intelligence for research and medical development in the European Union. This report discusses this topic from the perspectives of physicians, data scientists, patients, and lawyers.Validating DIGItal biomarkers for better personalized treatment of Parkinson’s Diseas