# Science Is Fun: From Rare Species to Medical Simulation
Welcome to the program co-produced by the University of Montpellier and Divergence-FM, which takes you on a tour of the laboratories of the Muse archipelago. This week, *Science s’aMuse* heads to the Southern Hemisphere with Nicolas Loiseau to discuss animal species classified as ecologically rare. In the second half of the show, we’ll take you on a tour of the medical school’s simulation platform with emergency physician Blaise Debien.
Characterized by both abundance and a limited geographic range, ecologically rare species are defined in particular by their functional uniqueness—that is, the singular and irreplaceable role they play within their ecosystem. The Brazilian yellow-headed marmoset, the tree kangaroo of Queensland, Australia, the Gunnison’s grouse, the Strigops habroptila parrot, the marsupials of Madagascar, or Lucy’s hummingbird… In total, there are more than 4,600 species of terrestrial mammals and 9,287 species of birds whose extinction would lead to the disappearance of many other species, particularly plants. So today, we’re not offering you a safari, but a guided tour to better understand the role of these species and the importance of the issues surrounding their conservation.
To guide us through this segment, our guest today is Nicolas Loiseau. He is a researcher at Marbec, the University of Montpellier’s laboratory for marine biodiversity, exploration, and conservation, and his study is published this month in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. This research, conducted in collaboration with the Foundation for Biodiversity Research, the CNRS, andthe University of Grenoble, maps these ecologically rare species and highlights the need to better protect them to ensure the preservation of the ecosystems in which they live.
In the engine room: the medical simulation platform
In the second half of the program, we head to the Arnaud de Villeneuve campus. We bring you an in-depth report on the simulation platform at the School of Medicine, run by CESU, the Center for Emergency Care Education. There, we find some intriguing machines: patient robots. Used by students in training or by healthcare staff as part of continuing education, they allow users to learn or perfect technical skills based on the principle: “Never try it on a patient for the first time.” Blaise Debien, an emergency physician and coordinator of the platform, gives us a tour.
- Watch the UM Health Thursdays video on the simulation platform
- Read the article “Very Patient Robots”
Science is Fun—you’ve got the ticket, let’s go!
Co-production: University of Montpellier and Divergence-fm
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault and Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting: Aline Périault and Lucie Lecherbonnier
Editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Technical support: Adeline Flo’ch
Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9
