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A heart consists of million of cells, most of which beat in unison at a rate of 50 to 120 beats per minute. Heart cells consists of myocytes who beat and fibroblasts who do not beat. The motions of the fibroblasts are visualized by stop-motion microcinematography. A culture of heart cells of rats is observed. At the beginning, myocytes are scattered, then after one or two weeks, they are grouped together and beat synchronously. This regrouping of myocytes, forming homogeneous cells areas, is…

During the 19th century a craze for microscopy developed in England and France. Microscopy technicians like Harold Dalton created real paintings on a microscopic scale using micro-organisms (diatoms and radiolarians) and fragments of butterfly wing.

In the Veys bay, in Normandy (France), there is one of the three largest centers of oyster farming, which is threatened by an excessive concentration of a worm species called lanice conchilega.

Nestled in an underwater grotto on the Provence coast, a tiny sponge only a few centimetres long yields its secrets to scientists. Its feeding behaviour is unique!

Proteins are macromolecules at the basis of the cell functions of living organisms. To know their functions, one must know their structure for the shape is closely related to the function. Using X-rays cristallography it is possible to visualize molecular structures. When an organic molecule in solution evaporate, a crystal deposit is formed. The crystals, lighted by an X-rays beam, produce a diffraction pattern which is used to reconstruct the structure of the molecule. The source for X…

Fifteen minutes in the strange and fascinating world of our nerve cells. Thanks to time lapse microcinematography, the complex phenomena occuring in the brain are visualized. We can see the birth of nerve cells, we can see them growing, working, dying…. These images brings to the fore two principal actors : the glial cells, building the structure and cleaning the brain, and the neurons, responsible of intercellular communication.

The forest of Fontainebleau forms a set of complex ecosystems rich in plant and animal species, a remarkable ecological heritage. The film retraces the geological history and human use of the forest.

In the Gard region an old lead and zinc mine still contains waste material. Rain dissolves this into large quantities of arsenic, which flows into a stream in the area. Marc Leblanc, a CNRS researcher, analyzes the contaminated water and seeks to understand the complex chemical reactions produced in it. He demonstrates the function of aerobic bacteria which contribute to limiting the pollution.

In 1991, CNRS founded the primatology station of Rousset, near Aix-en-Provence, designed for the breeding and raising of baboons for research purposes.

In order to preserve the biodiversity of the several million plant and animal species, a gigantic census is necessary. This is the goal of taxonomy, the science of the classification of living things. Seven researchers from different disciplines - biologists, botanists, entomologists, and paleontologists - describe their work.

In the context of evolution of species and geographical biodiversity, variations of recognition signals between individuals during courtship are studied. Drosophila teissieri, a fruit fly living in the African forest is used as a research animal model.

Five researchers (Luc Montagnier, Daniel Prieur, Pierre Chambon, Alain Prochiantz and Christo Goridis) explain why animal models are used in the scientific research in order to understand mankind.

Two microbiologists, Daniel Prieur and Patrick Forterre study Thermophilic bacteria which are microorganism that thrives at relatively high temperatures (100°C or even more). Those bacteria proliferate near warm spring. A shorter version of this film is available, called "Extreme bacteria".

In March 2007, a new oceanographic ship of the INSU (French National Institute for Earth Sciences and Astronomy), the “Côtes de la Manche” cleared off. He is devoted to the study of biology, physics and chemistry of the coastal and estuarial ecosystems of the English Channel, and also of the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This short film shows its first missions.

Presentation of the researches and the accomplished progresses about the trisomy 21, a chromosomal anomaly, which affects one person on 700 at birth.

The toromiro is a small tree which had grown on the Easter Island for about 35.000 years. Human pressure, linked to important climatic fluctuations and the massive importation of sheep during the 19th century, provoked its extinction. The toromiro was saved by Thor Heyerdahl in 1956, who preserved some seeds. An interdisciplinary program is devoted to its culture and its reintroduction on the island. This program needs some genetic investigations.

Near the city of Strasbourg, the Centre for primatology Louis Pasteur is dedicated to the breeding of primates for the pharmaceutical laboratories and also to the study of their behavior.

Within the European research program "Measuring and Modelling the Dynamic Response of Remote Mountain Lake Ecosystem to Environmental Change", mountain lakes and their fauna are studied with the goal of a better understanding and more effective protection of their ecological system.

Sophora tomomiro is a legendary tree which used to grow abundantly on the Easter Island. This sacred tree, whose wood has an exceptional quality, disappeared from his natural biotope in the 1960 ' s.

Epidemiologic study of a cats population (Felis catus), led at the Claude Bernard University located in Lyon, in order to observe the circulation of the FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) which causes the same phases that the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).

Presentation of the CNRS Department for Life Sciences: 3 300 researchers explore the mechanisms of the living beings (from the biosphere to the atom) in 361 laboratories.

In Chad, palm groves of Borkou are an essential wealth for nomads. In this desert region, a water-table has allowed the development of a palm grove composed of about 1 200 000 date palms, which produce 7 000 tons of dates per year.

Study of the pacification behavior among the Tonkean macaques, bred in relative liberty in the Center for primatology of Strasbourg.

At the end of the 19th century, E.J. Marey and E. Muybridge separately invented instruments which permit to study the musculoskeletal movements of the big mammals, in particular the horse. Observing the musculoskeletal of small mammals is complicated, because their movements are fastest and their fur hides their limbs. The tachycineradiography, a technique which associates high-speed cinematography to radiography, permits to discover the whole geometry of their skeleton, and to analyze their…

The Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines, a CNRS laboratory associated with the University of Lyon, has developed a software program, ANTHEPROT (ANalyse THEorique des PROTéines), which enables the manipulation and analysis of three-dimensional models of protein structures.

Study on the tree-frogs behavior (Phyllomedusa bicolor) in their natural environment (the tropical forest of Guyana) and in breeding stock.

Researchers at the Jacques Monod Institute (Paris) are studying the peptides in the venom of the tree frog Phillomedusa bicolor, searching for new hormones in order to design synthetic molecules for therapeutic uses.

In the Jacques Monod Institute, monkey tree frogs (phyllomedusa) are bred in a greenhouse, in which their biotope has been recreated. Their behavior inside the greenhouse is studied and shown in this film.

Tachycineradiography at 500 frames a second enabled this study of locomotion and burrowing technique in a small Caucasian rodent.

To counter the damage caused by the European corn borer, INRA has been researching biological controls. Scientists have found a tiny parasitic wasp, called a trichogramma, capable of parasiting the pest.

The different phases of life of the king penguins in Crozet Islands during their annual period on land to moult and breed, and the method of automatic surveillance of 150 breeders set up by a group of scientists from the CNRS.

Professor Slonimsky's team has deciphered part of Chromosome 3 of baker's yeast, chosen for its many analogies with the human chromosome.

A team of scientists is studying the tropical forest in French Guiana to understand the main mechanisms of the ecosystem. A particular focus is how the forest renews itself, a system based on the transport and scattering of seeds by fruit-eating animals.

The life of the bee and the organization of the hive's inhabitants around the queen. Physiological changes enable the worker bee to fulfil several different occupational functions in the course of its life.

To remedy the poor quality of plywood sheets made from Landes pines, researchers have developed a method of measuring the stresses, strains and compression operating within the wood.

The different stages in the respiration of the African lung-fish, Protopterus.

A study of several species of amphibia in their natural surroundings, showing their reproduction, locomotion and feeding behavior, and the remarkable mode of development that enables the adults to lead an amphibian life.

Ecological film-maker Alain R. Devez and Jean-Pierre Gasc, researcher at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, explain the principle of "tachycineradiography" at 500 frames a second, which enables observation of the skeletons of small vertebrates in movement, slowed down to 1/20th normal speed.

J.P. Lecanuet studies the reactions of the human foetus to sound stimuli and its ability to distinguish between different sounds.

The Elite system, linking two infrared video cameras to a computer, analyses human locomotion in three dimensions, in light or dark. It enables research into the way the brain controls the motor function.

Four vertebrates (a jird, a dwarf lemur, a golden mole and the herbivorous lizard Angolosaurus skoogii), recorded by "tachycineradiography" at 500 frames a second, enabling observation of their skeletons slowed down to 1/20th normal speed.

Scientists at the Gobabeb station in Namibia are studying the diversity and originality of the ways in which living things adapt to a desert environment with its very sharp climatic contrasts.

Introduction to the research work of the Montpellier Botanical Institute, on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary. The Montpellier school of botany is famous for its work on systematics, plant morphology, ecology, palaeobotany and palaeoecology.

CNRS researcher Pierre Jouventin explains the principle of using Argos beacons to study the directions and distances flown by the great albatrosses that nest on Crozet Islands.

Comparative analysis of the agonistic and sexual behavior of two nocturnal geckos of the same family, Eublepharis macularius and Paroedura pictus.

Collecting tropical plants in the forests of New Caledonia and extracting their active compounds in ORSTOM's Nouméa laboratory and the CNRS laboratory in Gif-sur-Yvette, with a view to pharmacological applications, especially in the fight against cancer.

Study of Volvocales, microscopic single-celled or colonial algae belonging to the Chlorophyta (green algae) division.

Study of Dinophyceae, microscopic single-celled algae that live in fresh or salt water and are members of the Pyrrhophyta division.

Integrated pest control using parasites to eliminate insect pests in greenhouses. The biology of the most harmful pests and of their natural enemies.

The most widespread and spectacular galls found in France, caused by insects or fungi. The development of the parasite and the building of the gall.