A memory task during the course of which successive stimuli (for example, S, T, B, Q) are presented to the subject who then has to answer when a stimulus (for example, B) has already been presented n positions beforehand (for example, 3 tries beforehand – the 3-back task).

The function of tau protein is to bind to another protein, known as tubulin, a major component in microtubules. These tubular structures transport nutrients and other cell components to the neurons. The role of tau protein is to support the network of microtubules. Without it, these structures collapse. Tau protein is produced in excess in Alzheimer’s disease, forming long twisted fibres known as neurofibrillary tangles.

Conceptual entity which is supposed to group together all living organisms that have certain well-defined taxonomic or diagnostic traits in common. The species constitutes the basic taxon for systematic classification. The higher the rank of the taxon the greater the degree of resemblance (the number of characteristics they have in common) between the individuals concerned (plants, animals, mushrooms, bacteria, chromista) is low, and vice versa.

Science which describes living organisms, names, classifies and categorises them into entities called taxons.

A highly repetitive and non-coding segment of DNA located at the ends of the chromosomes.

Temple consecrated to the worship of Isis, located on the ancient island of Philae. The last known hieroglyphic inscription is found in this temple, inscribed in the year 394 of our era.

An animal belonging to the sub-branch of vertebrates, whose skeleton has two pairs of limbs and whose breathing is by means of lungs. The oldest among them were difficult to distinguish from fish and lived in an aquatic environment.  Ichthyostega is one of the best-known fossils representing this.
Today, the tetrapods include the amphibians, reptiles, the birds and mammals even though some have lost the characteristics of the group (legs in the case of snakes or upper limbs which became wings in the case of birds for example).

Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.
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In the absence of cancer, this cytokine stops the cycle of an abnormal cell, preventing growth and differentiation, leading to apoptosis (the cell dies). But in the presence of cancer, this TFG-β undergoes a mutation, taking control of the surrounding stromal cells and the cells involved in the immune system, thus in allowing the cancer cells to invade.

The first folio work printed by Gutenberg, each page of which contained two columns of 42 lines each and which was composed with the help of Gothic type. Only the initials were still produced by hand and illuminated in coloured ink.

The lakes commonly known as the African Great Lakes extend across the southern part of the Rift Valley (which stretches from the Red Sea to the Zambezi River). These lakes empty into some of the great African rivers such as the Congo and the Nile. The biggest of these lakes is Lake Victoria, with a surface area of more than 68 000 km2. In terms of surface area, it is the second biggest freshwater lake on the planet.

A Liverpool pop group which started to become known in 1962 and which remained active until 1970. The group strung albums and tours together up until 1965, after which they played no more concerts and locked themselves in the studio to experiment with sounds and shake up the codes of popular music.

Between 1378 and 1417, the Catholic Church experienced a deep crisis owing to the fact that there were two claimants to the Papacy – one in Rome and one in Avignon. The Avignon Popes who held office during this period were anathematized by Rome and labelled antipopes. 

A British group famous from the second half of the 1960s and inscribed in the Mod movement.

An American plan for assisting with the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War (1947). It is named after General George Marshall, at the time Secretary for State (Foreign Affairs Minister) in the United States. One of the conditions of this assistance was an agreement between European countries, generally considered to be the prelude to the construction of the European Union. The Plan was rejected by the USSR and Eastern European countries which were under its influence.

The force of Archimedes also called buoyancy is an upwards acting force that any body plunged into a fluid is subjected to. It is the resultant of the pressure forces exerted on the body by the surrounding fluid. It is equal and opposite to the weight of the displaced fluid. So if the weight of the body is smaller than the weight of the displaced fluid, or equivalently if the mean density of the body is smaller than the density of the fluid, the Archimede force dominates and the object floats, otherwise it sinks.

From the General of the same name, Alfred von Schlieffen, commander of the German army. The aim of this plan was to bolster the western front by massing the main bulk of German troops along the Western borders of the Reich, to skirt around and encircle the French troops massed along the French-German border. To do this, the Germans had to pass through the North through Belgium and Luxembourg which was a violation of the neutrality of the Belgian state.

Read the article The Schlieffen Plan

A British group, famous from the end of the 1960s, inscribed within the Mod movement, and which set itself up in opposition to the ‘old rock’ of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The group remains mythical for its participation at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and for having produced one of the first ‘rock operas’ (ambitious rock albums which are characterised by a unity of story in the texts and by an elaborate music using the leitmotif and variations of the same themes over the whole of the album) with the double album Tommy.

Located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the modern town of Luxor, the Theban necropolis is one of the most important ones in Egypt. It contains the tombs of the pharaohs and the New Kingdom’s elite. In total, some 400 tombs have been recorded there.

circulation of the oceans at a large scale. It is caused by the difference in salinity and temperature between masses of water. The cold salt-water sinks close to Norway and Greenland. It is reheated in the Tropics and then rises to the surface again where it cools and so on and so forth as a convector belt. It is estimated that it takes several thousand years for a single molecule of water to complete the circuit.

Activity aimed at regulating body temperature.

Third person, in a legal sense. Person (or state) which is not concerned by an agreement or a contract, because they are not amongst the people (States) which have concluded it, and who have given it their consent by signing it.

The formation of a blood clot in a vein or an artery.

Lymphoid organ situated behind the sternum, in front of the trachea. The thymus is the place where T lymphocyte maturation occurs. The thymus plays a key role in protecting against autoimmunity. Contrary to a generally accepted idea, the thymus functions until at least the age of 60.

These travelling ionospheric disturbances present themselves in the form of periodical variations in the electronic density with a typical wavelength of several hundred km and a period of approximately 15 to 60 minutes. The source of daytime TID’s are atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) generated most commonly at high latitudes, spreading towards the equator.

A situation in which a satellite spins on its axis in the same period of time as it orbits its host. This is the case of the Moon in relation to the Earth. A tidally locked planet, for example, will always show the same face to its star. It will therefore have a permanent day and night side. 

American Rhythm and Blues and Rap producer, composer and singer who was particularly famous during the second half of the years 2000.

An active conglomerate in the media world which contains several press and entertainment companies including AOL, Time Magazine, the TV channel HBO, CNN, the film production company Warner Bros and DC Comics.

http://www.timewarner.com/

A glaze containing tin is used to cover a ceramic surface in order to make the ceramic object more durable, and more waterproof, or to decorate it in some way.

An abbreviated form, and the most common, to designate trinitrotoluene, a nitrate explosive, derived from toluene (a hydrocarbon), particularly powerful, with a chemical formula of C₇H₅(NO₂)₃. The power of atomic bombs is generally expressed by a TNT equivalent. We thus use the kiloton (1,000 tons of TNT) or the megaton (1,000,000 tons of TNT). The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had, for example, a power of around 15 kilotons, or 15,000 tons of TNT. The most powerful bomb ever tested, by the Soviet army, had a power of some 50 megatons, or the equivalent of 50 million tons of TNT.

A medication which acts on the place where it is applied.

A Belgian French language writer and director. Three of his finest novels (Faire l'amour, Fuir, La Vérité sur Marie) constitute a kind of trilogy, a cycle which ‘unites and separates, brings closer and pushes further away the fanciful and seductive Marie and the highly infatuated narrator’ (Bernrad Pivot). The writer has also written the screenplay and/or directed several films based on his novels.

From the Latin toxicum, meaning poison, and Ancient Greek kinesis meaning movement).
Toxicocinetics is the science that studies the future of toxic substances (what they become) in the organism over the course of time. The future of toxins in the organism take place in four stages:
-absorption  (orally, through the lungs, or through the skin);
-distribution (the toxins pass from the circulation of the blood into the tissues and organs);
-metabolism (transformation of substances by the organism);
-elimination (urinary via the kidneys, fecal, or cutaneous by transpiration).

When hydrogenation is not total, it can lead to the formation of a fatty acid called ‘trans’, in relation with the arrangement of the carbon chain around the remaining double bonds. These trans fatty acids have a proven harmful effect on health. 

Transaminases are enzymes that play a role in cell metabolism. They are particularly active in liver cells.
The transaminase blood test is a routine analysis which shows how well the liver is functioning: if levels are too high, this can be a sign that the liver cells have been destroyed and that the enzymes have been released into the blood.
On blood test forms, the transaminases are given abbreviations
- SGOT (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase) or AST (aspartate transaminase)
- SGPT (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase) or ALAT (alanine transaminase)
Doctors also use the ALAT/ASAT ratio to better define the responsible affection.

Technique involving the application of a magnetic impulse to the encephalon through the skull, using a coil.

Proteins which play a part in the generation of RNA messengers from genes.

set of all RNA produced from the transcription of a genome.

RNA molecule that plays an important role in the synthesis of proteins. Carrying an amino acid at one end, it binds to the ribosome where this amino acid is transferred to the protein that is in the process of synthesising.

Describing the transit of Mercury as rare is not altogether correct. It is rather its observation, more precisely its observation from our country that can be described as rare. Mercure passes between the Earth and the Sun every three months or so! However, the orbital planes of the Earth and Mercury mean that the phenomenon is not visible every time. In order for the passage of Mercury to be visible, the Sun, Mercury and the Earth must be aligned. And even when this occurs, not everybody avails of the opportunity. Therefore, on May 9, it is the western part of Europe, the East of North America and a large part of South America that will be able to fully avail of the spectacle (see map). Elsewhere it will be partially or totally absent. Using the word spectacle is a slight exaggeration. The phenomenon is not observable with the naked eye (Mercure is too small) and an instrument capable of 50 times magnification is required to be able to distinguish the small black dot (the planet) passing in front of the Sun! When will the next transits visible from Europe occur? May 7 2049 and November 9 2052…All the more reason to this transit which will undoubtedly be exceptional (weather permitting….):  in our region, Mercury will begin its “crossing” of the solar disc a little after 11H00, which will last more than 7 hours which is a full day’s observation.

A planetary transit in our solar system is therefore very rare because, apart from the conditions of alignment and visibility from certain parts of the globe, it is only possible for Venus and Mercury (the other planets will never be located between the Sun and the Earth!). And the transits of Venus are even rarer, not more than two per century (13 times for Mercury): the last one occurred in 2012, we will have to wait until December 11 2117 for the next transit of Venus… but it will not be visible from our region!
It should be noted that this transits method is mostly used outside the solar system to detect exoplanets and deduce information about them.

Visible zones of the transit of Mercury on May 9 2016 (P.Rocher/IMCCE)

Proteins situated on the cell’s plasma membrane and composed of three parts or domains:  the extracellular domain, the transmembrane domain and the intracellular domain. As their name indicates, these domains are situated respectively outside of the cell, on the plasma membrane and inside the cell. The association of the extracellular or intracellular domain with a molecule produces a reaction at the other end of the transmembrane protein. The transmembrane receptors play a crucial role in intercellular communications and in signal transmission.

Transmutation transforms one chemical element into another by modifying its nucleus. It has to undergo nuclear reactions: the element is transformed by fission caused by capturing very highly energetic neutrons.

Peace treaties of 2 and 3 April 1559, signed in a small town to the south of Cambrai, which put an end to the conflict between France on the one hand, and Spain and England on the other. As France was obliged to abandon its policy of interfering in Italy, they marked the end to the Italian Wars, once and for all, and the beginning of Spanish predominance in Europe.

The treaty creating the European Economic Community was signed at Rome in 1957. Original signers were Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It is popularly known as the Treaty of Rome. It established a common market, a customs union and certain other common policies, like the Common Agricultural Policy and transportation policy.

A multilateral treaty signed in 1968 and which came into force on March 5, 1970. Its reach is almost universal: it has been ratified by 189 of the 193 Member States of the United Nations, including the 27 Member States of the Union European. The NPT is not a disarmament treaty. Its objective is to fight against nuclear ‘proliferation’: a question of preventing atomic weapons spreading to a growing number of countries across the world.
The NPT makes a distinction between:
- Non Nuclear Weapons States (NNWS) and
- Nuclear Weapons States (NWS), in other words those which have exploded a nuclear weapon (or device) before January 1, 1967, or the United States, the Soviet Union (today, the Russian Federation), the United Kingdom, France and China. These 5 countries are in addition the 5 permanent members of the UN’s Security Council.
This discrimination appears paradoxical, notably because of the fact that nine countries, and not five, currently have available a confirmed nuclear armoury. These four ‘extra’ states are Israel, India and Pakistan (none of which are NPT members) and North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT in 2003, a withdrawal the details of which is still disputed.
The basic principles of the NPT:
- the NWS (United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China) are committed to neither transferring nuclear weapons to the NNWS, nor aiding them to acquire them.
- the NNWS commit themselves to not accept the transfer of nuclear weapons and to not try to procure or build them.
In return, the NPT recognises the right of each State which is a treaty signatory to develop research, production and the use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends, such as the production of electricity or medical radio-isotopes. It authorises the NWS to help the NNWS in this respect. The NPT charges the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor the peaceful use nuclear material in the NNWS who have signed the treaty. Following the discovery of the Iraqi clandestine nuclear armament programmes, in 1991, the IAEA’s programme of guarantees was reinforced, to give heightened precision and scope to the Agency’s verifications, in order to increase the effectiveness of the nuclear non-proliferation system.
In addition the NWS grant security safeguards to the NNWS, both positive and negative. Positive: the NWS are committed to come to the aid of the NNWS who are part of the Treaty and who are subject to a nuclear threat. Negative: no nuclear use or threat on the part of the NWS against the NNWS.
Whilst imperfect and discriminatory between the NWS and the NNWS, the NPT has strongly contributed to establishing a general climate of disapproval concerning the acquisition of nuclear weapons. It has in effect defined a recognised international standard, through which the activities of the national actors are evaluated, even if the latter do not subscribe to the principle of nuclear abstinence. Despite its weaknesses the NPT still appears as the instrument which has prevented and continues to prevent the development of nuclear weapons in numerous countries, doubtless more through its simple existence than by the obligations it contains.

the trigeminal nerves are the fifth pair and the largest of cranial nerves. As suggested by their name, the trigeminal nerves are composed of three terminal branches: the ophthalmic nerve (V1)  for innervation of the eye and forehead, the maxillary nerve (V2) for the upper jaw and cheek, and the mandibular nerve (V3) for the lower jaw and tongue. It has mainly sensory functions conducting tactile and pain sensations from the face, mouth, teeth and tongue to the brain stem. It also has a motor part in the mandibular nerve which innervates the masticatory muscles.

A fundamental tenet of Christian faith involving a belief in God, who is unique in three distinct and co-existing persons: the creating Father, the Son (called the Word) and the Holy Spirit (or Paraclete).

A tritherapy used for combatting the HIV virus, which combines the use of three medicines, lamivudine, stavudine and nevirapine. Otherwise known as “the tritherapy of the poor”, this treatment is no longer used in the Northern countries and tends to be replaced by most Southern countries. Stavudine in particular, causes serious side-effects.

Anti-migraine medications which activate a subtype of serotonin receptor. They are used for the treatment of migraine and cluster headache attacks, in the former most often as oral pills, in the latter case in an auto-injectable subcutaneous form., Triptans are not disease-modifying drugs and do not decrease attack. On the contrary, if taken more than once per week they can increase frequency of attacks and chronify migraine. Triptans have a double biological action: they reduce the transmission of pain by blocking the release of certain neurotransmitters by the endings of the trigeminal nerve, and they cause constriction of veins and arteries in the meninges, but also in the heart. They are therefore prohibited for people with a history of coronary heart or cerebrovascular disease, heart arythmias or uncontrolled arterial hypertension or abnormalities of the heart rate.

Related to the nutrition of tissues and organs.

A set of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem. A synonym for food chain.
A chain or trophic network is an ecological term describing the different participants involved in a process of production and consumption of food.
 - Trophic: describes everything relating to the nutrition of a living tissue or organ.
 - Trophic relationship: is the link that unites a predator and its prey in an ecosystem.

Links that connect a predator and its prey in an ecosystem.

Layer of the atmosphere situated at the upper limit of the troposphere and the lower limit of the stratosphere. It is characterised by a stable temperature (around -50°C) though it diminishes with altitude in the troposphere then begins to grow in the stratosphere.

The troposphere is the lowest layer in the Earth’s atmosphere, where most of the meteorological phenomena form. It represents 80% of the total mass of the Earth’s atmosphere. Its thickness varies according to the latitude and the seasons. Hence, the average thickness is 17 km above mid-latitude regions, more than 20 km in the tropics, and barely 7 km in the poles during winter.

Is a chromosomal abnormality in which all or part of one of the sex chromosomes is absent (unaffected humans have 46 chromosomes, of which two are sex chromosomes). Typical females have two X chromosomes, but in Turner syndrome, one of those sex chromosomes is missing or has other abnormalities There are typical physical abnormalities, such as short stature, swelling, broad chest, low hairline, low-set ears, and webbed necks.  Girls with Turner syndrome typically experience gonadal dysfunction (non-working ovaries), which results in amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycle) and sterility. Concurrent health concerns are also frequently present, including congenital heart disease, hypothyroidism (reduced hormone secretion by the thyroid), diabetes, vision problems, hearing concerns, and many autoimmune diseases. Finally, a specific pattern of cognitive deficits is often observed, with particular difficulties in visuospatial, mathematical, and memory areas.

One of the native lady beetles present in our country is the two‑spot lady beetle. It is so called because of the two black spots on the elytra. Another well-known species is the seven-spot lady beetle. The story according to which lady beetles acquire one spot per life year isn’t true. They’re born without spots but the final number appears a few hours after their emergence from the nymphal stage.

The ensemble of techniques and processes allowing texts to be produced. The term also designates the operations of composition as well as the manner in which a text is printed (type of character, layout, etc.).