Critique extraterrestre

Bien qu’il puisse paraître que, dans un tel sujet, il n’y ait aucune limite nécessaire au libre essor de l’imagination ; que, lorsqu’il s’agit de définir les propriétés des habitants des mondes lointains, on ait le droit de lâcher la bride à la fantaisie, avec plus d’abandon même que le peintre qui veut figurer les plantes et les animaux de terres inconnues, et que tout ce qu’on voudra penser de ces habitants ne puisse être ni démontré ni contredit ; pourtant faut-il avouer que, de la distanc..

Archéologies extraterrestres

Publié en 1999, le livre Des Hommes, des dieux et des extraterrestres. Ethnologie d’une croyance moderne examine plusieurs théories pseudo scientifiques de l’origine de l’homme, dont la plus célèbre, qui avait connu un immense succès populaire dans les années 1960-1970, attribue la création des humains et l’apparition de la culture à une intervention d’astronautes extraterrestres (théorie des Anciens Astronautes). À travers une analyse détaillée, historique et ethnographique, W. Stoczkowski révèle que cette déroutante conception est née au sein d’une subculture occultiste bien structurée et relativement ancienne. Véritable fait social, la théorie des Anciens Astronautes est une œuvre collective, élaborée progressivement, tout au long du xxe siècle, par une pléthore d’auteurs, de communautés et de réseaux internationaux, qui se réfèrent tous à un patrimoine intellectuel commun, où les conceptions de la Société Théosophique, fondée en 1875, occupent une place centrale. Qui plus est, la théorie des Anciens Astronautes n’est qu’une partie, la plus frappante et visible, d’un système de conceptions qui forment une vision du monde passablement sophistiquée. L’auteur montre que cette vision occultiste du monde reprend la trame de la cosmologie gnostique soumise, au xixe siècle, dans les milieux spirites et théosophiques, à une série de transformations et d’enrichissements, dont la plupart ont ensuite été réutilisés, au xxe siècle, par plusieurs courants de la culture populaire.Published in 1999, Des Hommes, des dieux et des extraterrestres. Ethnologie d’une croyance moderne analyses some pseudo-scientific theories about the origin of Mankind amoung which the most famous, that became a success in the 60’s an 70’s relates the creation of Humankind and the apparition of culture to the intervention of a group of alien astronauts (Ancien Astronauts Theory). Through detailed analyses W. Stokowski reveals that this astonishing conception was born within a well structured and quite old occultist subculture. As a real social fact, the Ancient Astronaut Theory is a collective work, progressively built during the 20th century by a large group of authors, from international communities and networks, who refer to a common intellectual tradition, revolving around the conceptions of the Theosophical Society, founded in 1875. Moreover, the ancient astronaut theory is only a small part, more visible and striking, of a system of conception building a quite sophisticated vision of the world. The author shows that this occultist vision of the world is based on gnostic cosmology, enriched and transformed during the 19th century, amongst spiritualists and theosophists, and then reutilized during the 20th century, in several mainstream popular cultures

Correction to: Intra‑articular injections of platelet‑rich plasma in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a consensus statement from French‑speaking experts.

peer reviewe

Prions in Milk from Ewes Incubating Natural Scrapie

Since prion infectivity had never been reported in milk, dairy products originating from transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)-affected ruminant flocks currently enter unrestricted into the animal and human food chain. However, a recently published study brought the first evidence of the presence of prions in mammary secretions from scrapie-affected ewes. Here we report the detection of consistent levels of infectivity in colostrum and milk from sheep incubating natural scrapie, several months prior to clinical onset. Additionally, abnormal PrP was detected, by immunohistochemistry and PET blot, in lacteal ducts and mammary acini. This PrPSc accumulation was detected only in ewes harbouring mammary ectopic lymphoid follicles that developed consequent to Maedi lentivirus infection. However, bioassay revealed that prion infectivity was present in milk and colostrum, not only from ewes with such lympho-proliferative chronic mastitis, but also from those displaying lesion-free mammary glands. In milk and colostrum, infectivity could be recovered in the cellular, cream, and casein-whey fractions. In our samples, using a Tg 338 mouse model, the highest per ml infectious titre measured was found to be equivalent to that contained in 6 µg of a posterior brain stem from a terminally scrapie-affected ewe. These findings indicate that both colostrum and milk from small ruminants incubating TSE could contribute to the animal TSE transmission process, either directly or through the presence of milk-derived material in animal feedstuffs. It also raises some concern with regard to the risk to humans of TSE exposure associated with milk products from ovine and other TSE-susceptible dairy species

Community-Level Responses to Iron Availability in Open Ocean Plankton Ecosystems

Predicting responses of plankton to variations in essential nutrients is hampered by limited in situ measurements, a poor understanding of community composition, and the lack of reference gene catalogs for key taxa. Iron is a key driver of plankton dynamics and, therefore, of global biogeochemical cycles and climate. To assess the impact of iron availability on plankton communities, we explored the comprehensive bio-oceanographic and bio-omics data sets from Tara Oceans in the context of the iron products from two state-of-the-art global scale biogeochemical models. We obtained novel information about adaptation and acclimation toward iron in a range of phytoplankton, including picocyanobacteria and diatoms, and identified whole subcommunities covarying with iron. Many of the observed global patterns were recapitulated in the Marquesas archipelago, where frequent plankton blooms are believed to be caused by natural iron fertilization, although they are not captured in large-scale biogeochemical models. This work provides a proof of concept that integrative analyses, spanning from genes to ecosystems and viruses to zooplankton, can disentangle the complexity of plankton communities and can lead to more accurate formulations of resource bioavailability in biogeochemical models, thus improving our understanding of plankton resilience in a changing environment

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Critique extraterrestre

Bien qu’il puisse paraître que, dans un tel sujet, il n’y ait aucune limite nécessaire au libre essor de l’imagination ; que, lorsqu’il s’agit de définir les propriétés des habitants des mondes lointains, on ait le droit de lâcher la bride à la fantaisie, avec plus d’abandon même que le peintre qui veut figurer les plantes et les animaux de terres inconnues, et que tout ce qu’on voudra penser de ces habitants ne puisse être ni démontré ni contredit ; pourtant faut-il avouer que, de la distanc..

La montagne, le tournesol et le potager ::soulèvements et végétaux dans le Sud-Ouest

Gleïzès, philosophe proche des Méditateurs et des dormeuses, avait écrit une épopée pionnière du mouvement végétarien se déroulant sur la Montagne noire dans le Sud-Ouest de la France. Ce livre en main, Louise Hervé et Clovis Maillet ont été à la rencontre des maraîchers et des végétarien·nes de la région en 2023, au lendemain d’une grande manifestation contre la construction de l’autoroute Toulouse-Castres. Leur cri de ralliement était : « Moins de bitume, plus de légumes »