Science at UM [S01-ep18]: Electrodynamic Forces at the Agro Institute’s Hydraulic Hall
This week on *A l’UM la science*, Jérémie Torres, a researcher atthe Institute of Electronics and Systems (IES) in Montpellier, explains the mechanisms behind intracellular interactions between proteins. In the second half of the program, Gilles Belaud gives us a tour of the hydraulic hall at the G-Eau laboratory.
In the 1960s, the German-born British physicist Herbert Fröhlich, a leading expert in particle physics, sought to apply his work to certain biological mechanisms—in particular, those that enable molecules to interact with one another within a cell to ensure its proper functioning.
On the back cover of a crime novel, my teaser might not exactly set your imagination racing, yet I’m talking about one of the great scientific mysteries of the century. In fact, experts in classical and quantum electrodynamics have predicted, since the early 20th century, that physical forces govern these intracellular interactions—without being able to explain them. And poor Fröhlich, despite being nominated twice for the Nobel Prize, died in the 1990s without having solved this mystery.
It wasn’t until 2022 that a European consortium—comprising, among others, four French laboratories, including two in Montpellier: the Institute of Electronics and Systems and the Charles Coulomb Laboratory (L2C)—solved this mystery by uncovering the mechanisms of intracellular protein interactions. Jérémie Torres is a physics researcher at the Institute of Electronics and Systems in Montpellier; he is a member of this consortium and joined us in the studio to explain this small revolution.
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In the second half of the show, Aline Périault really goes all out—literally, as you’ll hear. We head to the Gaillarde campus, where Gilles Belaud, a professor of water sciences at the Institut Agro, gives us a tour of the hydraulic test facility at the G-EAU laboratory.
Finally, the next Science Bar will take place this Thursday at Le Dôme at 8:30 p.m. And this month’s event feels like a call to action, as we invite you to ask yourselves,“Critical thinking, where are you?”
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Production: University of Montpellier/Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Production: Adeline Floch’/Anna Demeulandre
Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9
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