What is it about? Stijn Kuipers of King’s College London has published in 2019 an interesting study on the contribution of synthetic biology in the evolution of biological weapons. This is an opportunity for us to redefine what synthetic biology is and to examine in detail what it could contribute to the improvement of biological…
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By François NR Renaud, Scientific Advisor Vaccine has never been in the news so much It must be admitted that if the scientists had wanted to sabotage their research work they would not have done it otherwise. Well helped moreover by poor communication on the part of politicians and by the continuous news channels always…
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By François NR Renaud, scientific adviser Gloves, whose origin goes back to antiquity, are elements of hand protection; handling (against abrasion), protection against heat or cold (firefighters, metallurgists, welders), protection against chemical or biological products (chemical industry, laboratories), against CBRN threats, against cuts (butchers). They are therefore personal protective equipment (PPE). As far as…
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By François NR Renaud, Scientific Advisor At a time when containment is being debated, I would like to talk to you about Adrien Proust? The story goes that Adrien Proust is certainly less well known than his son Marcel (“in search of lost time”), or even his wife Jeanne Proust, a loving mother who played…
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A short history In Philadelphia, during the 58th American Legion Convention, scheduled for July 21-24, 1976, the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel welcomed the 182 participants. The hotel is a bit “old-fashioned” and the air-conditioning system needs to be repaired. A young 26 year old employee is in charge of controlling it but he falls ill (headaches, aches…
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By François NR RENAUD, honorary professor The explosion in the port of Beirut, on August 4, 2020, of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, which destroyed a large part of the Lebanese capital, invites us to remember the usefulness of this product but also its drawbacks and in particular its explosive aspect. History The spectre of…
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Prof. François NR Renaud, Scientific Advisor The Covid-19 outbreak brings us into the mysterious world of vaccines. It has to be said that an effective vaccine against the Sars-Cov-2 virus would be of great use in the fight against the new coronavirus. By the way: What is a vaccine? An “antigen” or, better yet, an…
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What’s this about? We have talked several times about the effectiveness of masks in protecting against Covid-19. These include type 1 or 2 surgical masks, FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3, FMP1, FMP2 and FMP3 and alternative category 1 or 2 masks! All the more so since these masks meet different standards whose criteria do not always…
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In this blog, we followed the Covid-19 outbreak by analyzing its beginning and its evolution from China, then the means of protection such as masks (history of masks, masks for medical use, other masks such as OCOV and measurements of its capacities), the means of disinfection of the coronavirus, treatments (by approaching the modes of…
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What can be observed The number of deaths due to the disease and counted on a daily basis is decreasing; The general excess mortality has reversed; The R0 (number of people infected by a sick person) is almost everywhere less than 1 (1 sick person infects less than 1 person) so the outbreak is regressing…
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What’s this all about? The pandemic at Covid-19 seems to be going away. For us scientists, it has revealed a very large number of lessons: how to deal with such an emerging virus? what pathogenicity? (small gripette or very serious disease?) ; what treatment (hydroxychloroquine, paparacetamol, remdesivir?); reliability of the viral diagnostic test (30% false…
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What’s this all about? We have already talked in this blog about the different masks filtering aerosols. In this period of so-called “deconfinement”, masks are more and more in demand. It is now well understood that the wearing of masks by caregivers, professionals in contact with the public or people moving around in the street…
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Abstract Let us take advantage of the lessons learned during this unprecedented pandemic, which could be long-lasting, to change our convictions, to question our truths in terms of protecting men and women in general and people who, because of their job, their function or their responsibilities are, on a daily basis, exposed to the risks…
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As the Covid-19 pandemic is still spreading across our territory, we will be looking at the various treatments currently being tested and potentially capable of stopping the progression of the disease in humans. The disease The surprising thing about Covid-19 is the extreme variability of the disease. Classic clinical signs appear after an incubation period…
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The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading inexorably across the planet and nearly 3 billion people are confined. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading from person to person via respiratory droplets. We are therefore applying strict barrier measures to limit the number of contaminations, particularly among the elderly, among whom the virus claims the most victims. As in…
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The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic period we are currently living through shows a cruel lack of masks to protect oneself. This is an opportunity for us to review respiratory masks: the different types of masks? for whom? for what use? how to use them? That’s as many questions we’re going to try to answer. What is this…
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In the evening when the French President of the Republic has just announced important measures to protect the population from the deleterious effects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it seemed important to me to put in order all the information concerning this new coronavirus. Human coronaviruses Four coronaviruses are responsible for the second cause of respiratory…
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We have often spoken in this blog about biological agents and their possible applications as biological weapons. This is the case of Lyme disease, anthrax, smallpox, plague, prions, influenza or even Ebola. While the Covid-19 epidemic is on the point of becoming a pandemic, and authorities in all countries are mobilized to stop the progression…
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1- What is it about? In all areas, standards make it possible to measure the conformity of a product to a given use. This is the case, of course, of the ISO 27065 standard which determines the performance requirements for protective clothing to be worn by operators applying pesticides (phytosanitary) and for re-entry workers (those…
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Coronavirus Background They belong to the family Coronaviridae. These are enveloped viruses in which the nucleic acid is a single-stranded RNA. They owe their name to the presence of protuberances on their periphery giving them a “crown” appearance under the electron microscope. Pathogenicity A number of them directly infect humans (human coronavirus) and are found…
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Some professionals require CBRN protection even though they are already equipped with PPE that specifically protects them in the performance of their job: this is the case for deminers, (EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal), firefighters exposed to toxic fumes, helicopter pilots or fighter pilots. Ouvry has developed an undergarment that can be worn underneath normal equipment…
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