Biocosmology and biology - Their fruitful collaboration

International audienceBiocosmology is based on the principle that the laws of the biological microcosm mimic the laws of the macrocosm. A number of observations show that rules governing the complexity of living beings, i.e. the principles of juxtaposition and integration leading to mosaic structures, can be found in several other fields involving complexity: memory, consciousness, language, drawing, music, technical objects, mathematics, social structures, dialectics and ethical stances. The general application of the mosaic model, valid in many areas of the human microcosm, suggests it may be relevant for describing areas of the macrocosm still being explored

From the Search for a Molecular Code of Memory to the Role of Neurotransmitters: A Historical Perspective

The history of the neurochemistry of mnesic processes can be divided into two main periods: the first (1946-1978) was inspired by the results of molecular genetics, providing evidence for storage of hereditary information in the DNA of genes. Therefore, the chemical bases for memory were investigated in the macromolecules of the brain. Such attempts were relatively unsuccessful, which led to a second period (starting in 1978) with the research emphasizing, in a less ambitious way, the role of the molecular correlates of mnesic processes, in particular in the main transmitter systems of the brain

Des parcours littéraires en mosaïques

La construction en mosaïque, qui s'applique aux êtres vivants et au langage, peut aussi s'appliquer avec profit à l'écriture littérair

Invertebrate cognition, sentience and biology

All animal species have adapted for survival and no species is superior overall. For cognitive capacities and sentience, invertebrates such as the octopus, although quite unlike vertebrates, can achieve similar performance levels. So can other invertebrates with small brains; hence they too, as sentient beings, deserve moral consideration from humans. How are we to identify these species? Only though a detailed analysis of their behavior. The decision, which is a moral judgment, depends on biological knowledge that still needs to be acquired

Mémoires de mémoire

Dans la seconde moitié du XXe siècle, la recherche française, soutenue par le CNRS, a beaucoup produit dans le domaine de la biologie de la mémoire. Georges Chapouthier présente ici les grands courants et les principaux pôles géographiques.In the second half of the 20th century, research in France, backed by the CNRS, produced a great deal of work on the biology of memory. Georges Chapouthier has reviewed the major trends and listed the leading research centres

La mémoire « aux oubliettes »

« J’ai la mémoire qui flanche », dit la chanson. Pour les scientifiques, la mémoire est champ d’investigation qui s’étend à l’infini. Il n’existe pas « une » mais « des » mémoires qui intriguent et subjuguent aussi bien les biologistes et les neurologues que les philosophes ou les historiens. Mais que se passe-t-il quand la mécanique dérape ? Quand le cerveau qui a emmagasiné tant de souvenirs et de connaissances n’arrive plus à les restituer correctement ? Le récit de Georges Chapouthier.“My memory is failing“, so we say. For scientists, memory is a field of investigation that knows no bounds. There is not “one“ memory, but memories in the plural which intrigue and fascinate biologists and neurologists, philosophers and historians. But what happens in the event of mechanical failure? What happens when the brain which has stored so much knowledge and so many recollections can no longer sort and retrieve them efficiently? A report by Georges Chapouthier