Science at UM with Simon Galas and Myriam Richaud, researchers at IBMM

This is the show that keeps you up to date every week on the latest news from the University of Montpellier’s research labs and its partners, in collaboration with the local radio station Divergence FM. This week’s guests will be Simon Galas and Myriam Richaud, researchers at theIBMM. Together with them, we’ll explore whether tardigrades’ superpowers are transferable. A show hosted by Lucie Lecherbonnier and Aline Périault, airing every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Divergence and available as a podcast on UM platforms every Thursday.

Every year, more than 6,000 scientific publications emerge from the laboratories of the University of Montpellier and its partners. Each week, UM and the local radio station Divergence FM invite you to discover one of these publications through explanations provided by its author(s). From economics to ecology, biology to robotics, law to chemistry, and everything in between—including medicine, education, and mechanics—researchers take turns on the air for a 20-minute interview aimed at the general public.

Have otters returned to the banks of the Lez? Will farms in Languedoc be able to cope with climate change? Are political parties in decline? Are animals aware of beauty? Is the energy-hungry AI a blessing in disguise? Can we predict earthquakes? These are just a few of the questions posed in the hundred or so episodes recorded over the past five years.  

In the second half of the program, a 5-minute segment takes you behind the scenes at the many research facilities of the University of Montpellier and its partners. From the atomic force microscope to the marine station in Sète and the battery testing lab at the Balard Chemistry Cluster, you’ll be amazed by the diversity of cutting-edge equipment available in the region.

Finally, the guest featured in the last three minutes extends the scientific experience by announcing an event open to the general public in Montpellier or the surrounding area.

A program produced and hosted by Lucie Lecherbonnier and Aline Périault, communications officers at the University of Montpellier.