ACADEMY
PUBLICATIONS
19 July 2021
Covid-19 crisis : Using the Sustainable Development Goals to restart while ensuring sustainability and resiliency
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the French Academy of Technology has been piloting an inter-academic Working Group “Using the SDGs to restart while ensuring sustainability and resiliency”, mobilizing participants from the Academy of Technology, the Academy of Agriculture and the Academy of Sciences, since April 2020. This collection of notes is intended to be a milestone in a reflection that is still ongoing, and makes public the work already done by the group.
11 May 2021
Innovation in the food industries: impacts of the digital revolution
The food industries represent a link in the food system that extends from agricultural production to the consumption stages. These industries, which convert raw materials into foodstuffs, implement transformation and assembly processes to obtain foodstuffs with constant properties. They occupy the first industrial place in France in terms of employment and turnover. They are made up of a few international groups and, above all, of thousands of small and medium-sized companies and very small businesses that try to take into account multiple criteria to produce attractive, safe and healthy food using environmentally friendly processes. The French food industries are facing […]
12 May 2020
For selective confinement assisted by digital tracing
Open Letter For selective confinement assisted by digital tracing In the absence of a vaccine against Covid19 and treatments to cure this disease, we had to temporarily accept the systematic confinement of the population with the aim of slowing the spread of the epidemic and avoid the saturation of our healthcare system. This could only be achieved at the cost of our freedom of movement, the functioning of the economy, our material and psychological well-being and the quality of education received by our children. In order to put an end to this confinement without triggering a resurgence of the epidemic […]
24 April 2020
Advisory note from the National Academy of Technologies of France on the presence and activity of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater
Considering: – the COVID-19 pandemic linked to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, – the very low number of published data on its presence in wastewater; information published by a research centre in the Netherlands (www.kwrwater.nl) [1], and based on data described as “preliminary”, mentions the presence of the virus genome in untreated wastewater, information taken up by the World Health Organisation [2]; – the recommendation of the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Sanitary Safety (Anses) [3] followed by the inter-ministerial circular [4] prohibiting the agricultural spreading of sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) which has not been proven to be […]
05 April 2018
The transition to industrial scale production of human stem cells for therapeutic use
In a joint report, the two academies outline the state of the art in the use of stem cells in human therapy. They describe in detail the major changes required to move from laboratory work to the industrial stage by complying with European and French regulatory provisions. Finally, they make recommendations to enable France to participate more effectively in ongoing developments in this field, which is currently booming at the international level. The dramatic increase in the results obtained in the use of stem cells in human therapy suggests that it is now possible to use these cells to treat […]
17 June 2016
Health’ foods
The National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF) has been led to the conclusion – following in-depth studies on recent results due to introduction of new technologies in the complex area of health issues and their interactions with foodstuffs and feeding – that there are emerging generations of new products that underscore the importance of this sector to the French economy. NATF would strongly welcome a modification of existing rules and regulations that would enhance and accelerate their development. Certain companies in the foodstuff sector either produce and/or use molecules or microorganisms (probiotics) in their formulae that have noteworthy effects […]
02 March 2016
Joint academic report and recommendations in regard to implenting next generation genome (NGS) sequencing techniques in France
An Academic Report sets out the official stance of the Academy – the National Academy of Medicine of France (ANM) adopted the Report and Recommendations at its plenary session convened Tuesday February 23, 2016 by a vote. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, which allow high speed automated DNA sequencing, DNA sequence analysis and comparisons using big data algorithms are being used more and more in medical diagnosis, to provide prognosis information and for choosing a treatment that best fits the patient. The French “Académie nationale de médecine” (ANM) and “Académie des technologies” (NATF) jointly stress the scientific and medical importance […]
20 May 2014
10 questions to Bernard Le Buanec on GMO
Under press: ‘TEN QUESTIONS’ ABOUT GMBs GMBs (genetically modified bodies) are defined in a European directive as being bodies other than human beings, the genetic material of which has been modified in a way that cannot be achieved naturally by multiplication and/or combinatory techniques. These living bodies are obtained by “transgenesis”. Numerous GMBs are used already in research, in production and are on the market place: micro-organisms produce vaccines, enzymes; mammals produce therapeutic molecules or for use in medical research; rapid growth fish species. The GMBs we hear most about in the media are plants, GM Plants or GMPs. They […]
19 October 2012
Joint advice note issued by the French National Academies of Agriculture, Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, Technologies and Veterinary Sciences in regard to a recent publication by G.E. Séralini et al. on toxicity of a GMB
The French national Academies of Agriculture, Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, Technologies and Veterinary sciences, became acquainted at the same time as the general public with the paper published recently in the review Food and Chemical Toxicology by Gilles-Eric SERALINI et al. where the authors claim that there is a strong tumourigenic and toxic effect in rats through consuming the genetically modified NK603 corn or through low level exposure to the weed-killer Roundup Ready® to which the corn has become tolerant. The 6 signatory academies share the opinion that numerous methodological and interpretation shortcomings in the paper should not be held to […]
13 December 2011
Financing biotechnology start-ups in pharma
Financing of start-ups in the pharmaceutical biotechnologies Academic Advice Note issued by the National Academy of Technologies of France (NATF) The financial chain for pharmaceutical biotech start-ups in France has broken down because of a lack of funding sources, mainly for the downstream phases, which dissuades upstream investors. This trend is accompanied by a decrease in the will of all actors in the field to assume risks (for both conjunctural and structural reasons). If we wish to re-introduce a positive leverage, for both creation and starting phases and also in development projects, there must be a simplification and better coordination […]
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