Science at UM [S02-ep01]: Nano-Robot, 30 Years of LIRMM, and Litternature

[Podcast] - Published on September 22, 2022 in Science and Society

This week on "Science at UM," Gaëtan Bellot from the CBS talks to us about a nanorobot made entirely of DNA. Our report will then take you to the LIRMM’s microelectronics department, where Laurent Latorre is preparing for the laboratory’s 30th anniversary. Finally, Lucas Aubouin from the Science Outreach Office will tell you about the Litternature project.

It’s back-to-school time for A l’UM la science, and to kick off the year right, we invite you to push the boundaries of your imagination with a study that blurs the lines between science and fiction. Sure, that sounds like a cliché, but four words will be enough to convince you: DNA, robot, cellular mechanics… In a writing workshop, I guarantee you, that’s Bradbury material! But here we’re not talking literature—we’re talking science and a nanorobot built entirely from DNA to study, at the cellular level, the mechanical forces involved in numerous biological and pathological processes in the human body. Gaëtan Bellot is a researcher at the Center for Structural Biology in Montpellier (CBS). The work he has conducted with his team—composed of researchers fromInserm, the CNRS, and the University of Montpellier—has been published inNature Communications.

In the second half of the program, we’ll take you to LIRMM, the Montpellier Laboratory of Computer Science, Robotics, and Microelectronics, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it will open its doors to the public on October 8, featuring tours and demonstrations led by researchers.  To give you a sneak peek, we’re presenting a series of three reports, and this week, Laurent Latorre will introduce you to the microelectronics department.

Finally, Lucas Aubouin will join us at the end of the show to talk about the latest project from the University of Marseille’s Science and Culture Department, in partnership with the region’s public libraries. The project, called “Litternature,” invites young naturalists to catalog the biodiversity hidden within children’s literature. From September 20 through October 16, an exhibition is also on display at the Emile Zola library.

At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!

Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Bruno Bertrand

Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: Science at UM, Innovation, Research, Science, Technology