Changing patterns of public research funding in France

In this paper, we critically assess the specificity of the French research system and of its funding mode, which is accepted in most of the literature on the subject. We show that this interpretation is largely a result of the use of categories for the analysis of public funding that are not really suited to the French case. We thus develop two new categories: joint laboratories as a distinct organisational structure between public research organisations and universities; and human resources funding as a description of the specific allocation mode of CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) to the joint laboratories, which we consider as more similar to project funding than to core funding. We then show that the French system has changed fundamentally in the last two decades, moving towards a system much nearer to other European countries than normally assumed, albeit following a distinct evolutionary trajectory based on the gradual restructuring of existing instruments. In methodological terms, this underlines the importance of adapting the categories for the analysis of funding systems to the specificities of each national contex

Comparing the evolution of national research policies: What patterns of change?

This article presents a comparative analysis of the evolution of national research policies during the past three decades in six European countries (Austria, Italy, France, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland), with a special focus on the changes of public project funding schemes. It systematically uses indicators on the volume of funding attributed by each instrument and agency, which have been developed in a project of the European network of excellence PRIME. A common model is identified in these countries, where project funding is the second main channel of public funding of research, but also there are considerable variations among them in the share of instruments and agencies, and in beneficiaries. There are three interesting commonalities: a strong increase of project funding volumes; a differentiation of instruments; and a general shift towards instruments oriented to thematic priorities. They also show that individual countries appear to follow quite distinct paths in the organisation setting of funding agencies, and that national differences in funding portfolios persist through tim

Detection of the A189G mtDNA heteroplasmic mutation in relation to age in modern and ancient bones.

International audienceThe aim of this study was to demonstrate the presence of the A189G age-related point mutation on DNA extracted from bone. For this, a peptide nucleic acid (PNA)/DNA sequencing method which can determine an age threshold for the appearance of the mutation was used. Initially, work was done in muscle tissue in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the technique and afterwards in bone samples from the same individuals. This method was also applied to ancient bones from six well-preserved skeletal remains. The mutation was invariably found in muscle, and at a rate of up to 20% in individuals over 60 years old. In modern bones, the mutation was detected in individuals aged 38 years old or more, at a rate of up to 1%, but its occurrence was not systematic (only four out of ten of the individuals over 50 years old carried the heteroplasmy). For ancient bones, the mutation was also found in the oldest individuals according to osteologic markers. The study of this type of age-related mutation and a more complete understanding of its manifestation has potentially useful applications. Combined with traditional age markers, it could improve identification accuracy in forensic cases or in anthropological studies of ancient populations

Hétérogénéité des ascendances mésolithiques et steppiques dans des génomes d’individus du Néolithique et du Campaniforme du territoire français

Les transitions archéologiques se caractérisent notamment par d’importants changements démographiques et sociétaux, qui peuvent avoir des répercussions à l’échelle du génome des individus. Ainsi, la transition du Néolithique à l’âge du Bronze s’est accompagnée de contributions génomiques massives d’éleveurs originaires des steppes pontico-caspiennes aux populations locales, ces dernières résultant d’interactions complexes entre chasseurs-cueilleurs indigènes et agriculteurs d’ascendance anato..

Predicting haplogroups using a versatile machine learning program (PredYMaLe) on a new mutationally balanced 32 Y-STR multiplex (CombYplex): Unlocking the full potential of the human STR mutation rate spectrum to estimate forensic parameters

We developed a new mutationally well-balanced 32 Y-STR multiplex (CombYplex) together with a machine learning (ML) program PredYMaLe to assess the impact of STR mutability on haplogourp prediction, while respecting forensic community criteria (high DC/HD). We designed CombYplex around two sub-panels M1 and M2 characterized by average and high-mutation STR panels. Using these two sub-panels, we tested how our program PredYmale reacts to mutability when considering basal branches and, moving down, terminal branches. We tested first the discrimination capacity of CombYplex on 996 human samples using various forensic and statistical parameters and showed that its resolution is sufficient to separate haplogroup classes. In parallel, PredYMaLe was designed and used to test whether a ML approach can predict haplogroup classes from Y-STR profiles. Applied to our kit, SVM and Random Forest classifiers perform very well (average 97 %), better than Neural Network (average 91 %) and Bayesian methods (< 90 %)

Changing patterns of public research funding in France

International audienceIn this paper, we critically assess the specificity of the French research system and of its funding mode, which is accepted in most of the literature on the subject. We show that this interpretation is largely a result of the use of categories for the analysis of public funding that are not really suited to the French case. We thus develop two new categories: joint laboratories as a distinct organisational structure between public research organisations and universities; and human resources funding as a description of the specific allocation mode of CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) to the joint laboratories, which we consider as more similar to project funding than to core funding. We then show that the French system has changed fundamentally in the last two decades, moving towards a system much nearer to other European countries than normally assumed, albeit following a distinct evolutionary trajectory based on the gradual restructuring of existing instruments. In methodological terms, this underlines the importance of adapting the categories for the analysis of funding systems to the specificities of each national context

: Heterogeneous hunter-gatherer and steppe-related ancestries in Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker genomes from present-day France

International audienc

: Heterogeneous hunter-gatherer and steppe-related ancestries in Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker genomes from present-day France

International audienc

Heterogeneous Hunter-Gatherer and Steppe-Related Ancestries in Late Neolithic and Bell Beaker Genomes from Present-Day France

National audienceThe transition from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age has witnessed important population and societal changes in western Europe.1 These include massive genomic contributions of pastoralist herders originating from the Pontic-Caspian steppes2,3 into local populations, resulting from complex interactions between collapsing hunter-gatherers and expanding farmers of Anatolian ancestry.4, 5, 6, 7, 8 This transition is documented through extensive ancient genomic data from present-day Britain,9,10 Ireland,11,12 Iberia,13 Mediterranean islands,14,15 and Germany.8 It remains, however, largely overlooked in France, where most focus has been on the Middle Neolithic (n = 63),8,9,16 with the exception of one Late Neolithic genome sequenced at 0.05× coverage.16 This leaves the key transitional period covering ∼3,400–2,700 cal. years (calibrated years) BCE genetically unsampled and thus the exact time frame of hunter-gatherer persistence and arrival of steppe migrations unknown. To remediate this, we sequenced 24 ancient human genomes from France spanning ∼3,400–1,600 cal. years BCE. This reveals Late Neolithic populations that are genetically diverse and include individuals with dark skin, hair, and eyes. We detect heterogeneous hunter-gatherer ancestries within Late Neolithic communities, reaching up to ∼63.3% in some individuals, and variable genetic contributions of steppe herders in Bell Beaker populations. We provide an estimate as late as ∼3,800 years BCE for the admixture between Neolithic and Mesolithic populations and as early as ∼2,650 years BCE for the arrival of steppe-related ancestry. The genomic heterogeneity characterized underlines the complex history of human interactions even at the local scale