Open Access Publications (Univ. de Genève)
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1267 research outputs found
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Comprendre la notion d\u27engagement à travers le prisme de l\u27approche enactive
No full textL’engagement des apprenant·e·s est souvent pensé à l’aide d’approches nous invitant à comprendre cette notion en isolant certaines variables afin de déterminer les relations qu’elles entretiennent entre elles. Dans le cadre de cet article, nous proposons de l’approcher de façon systémique afin d’étudier les éléments favorisant un engagement générant des apprentissages à la fois significatifs pour les apprenant·e·s et les enseignant·e·s. Nous adoptons l’approche enactive (Varela et al., 1993) car cette dernière nous permet à la fois d’étudier la notion d’engagement du point de vue de l’acteur·trice et de ne pas mettre l’accent uniquement sur l’individu ou sur l’environnement, mais de comprendre l’unité qu’ils forment (De Jaegher & Di Paolo, 2008). Nous nous intéressons alors à ce qu’une conception enactive de l’engagement implique dans un contexte d’enseignement-apprentissage et réfléchissons particulièrement à la question de la responsabilité de l’engagement des apprenant·e·s. Puis, nous abordons la notion d’espaces d’actions encouragées (Durand, 2001, 2008) afin de réfléchir aux conditions favorisant, dans une perspective enactive, la construction d’apprentissages significatifs non seulement pour les apprenant·e·s, mais aussi pour les enseignant·e·s
Finding the straw that breaks the cancer\u27s back?
No full textOne of the major challenges in cancer therapy is the recurrent emergence of resistance. In pancreatic cancer, we uncovered one such resistance mechanism. Inhibiting a protein which is highly expressed in a therapy-resistant subtype of pancreatic cancer could pave the way for new therapies and improve survival of patients
The Achilles’ heel of superbugs that survive salty dry conditions
No full textNosocomial infection has become a serious global challenge in modern healthcare facilities due to the persistence of superbugs. To survive in highly sanitized hospitals, superbugs produce beneficial substances such as mannitol to sustain their growth. We uncovered that a mannitol-producing protein is vital to help the bugs persist in salty and dry conditions, and may be the key to their demise
Pluto orbits in elegant arrangement with the giant planets
No full textPluto has such a peculiar orbit that people have wondered how it exists. In our new work, we found that the orbital architecture of the giant planets lies in a Goldilock\u27s zone that allows for the survival of Pluto and many other similarly peculiar trans-Neptunian objects. A slightly different arrangement of the giant planets would’ve ejected Pluto long ago from the solar system
Plagued for millennia: The complex transmission and ecology of prehistoric Yersinia pestis
No full textThe plague bacterium Yersinia pestis is known as one of the most infamous and deadliest pathogens in human history. Using archaeogenetics we reconstructed 17 ancient genomes from the late Neolithic and Bronze Age in Eurasia to explore its early diversity and evolution. Our data suggest ecological differences between these prehistoric strains and modern as well as other pandemic Y. pestis strains
How do immune cells enter tissues to protect the body?
No full textImmune cells can move within our body, even between firmly attached cells. How do they overcome these impediments? Studying fruit fly embryos, we have discovered that immune cells take advantage of dividing cells. Because intercellular attachments disassemble during division, it creates a weak spot in the dense tissue, through which immune cells can migrate
UV light is not all bad for DNA
No full textCould the cellular mechanisms that cause sunburns help creating more stable therapeutics? Studying the effect of ultraviolet light on strands of DNA put together in various structures, we have discovered that gentle irradiation could protect the DNA from being degraded. This overcomes a major hurdle for translation into clinics without requiring extensive modifications
Thunderstruck! A quasicrystal made by lightning
No full textA material with characteristics between crystal and glass has been accidentally created by an electrical discharge (likely a lightning strike) in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The material is a quasicrystal with 12-fold symmetry, impossible for ordinary crystals. Transient high-pressure and high-temperature conditions seem to ease the formation of quasicrystals in nature
Smaller, faster, more complex? Watching a phase transition with X-ray eyes
No full textWhenever a material changes phase, by melting, crystallizing, or changing symmetry, it always begins at the nanoscale. With a new ultrafast X-ray microscope we’ve taken the first video of this elusive process, revealing a surprising simplicity underlying solid-to-solid transitions in quantum materials excited by lasers
Taking off with quantum sensors on unstaffed aerial vehicles
No full textThe extraordinary performance of quantum sensors based on cold atoms will enhance our understanding of the world around us. While ground-based devices are currently in use, their deployment by Unstaffed Aerial Vehicles (UAV\u27s) requires significant reductions in size, weight, and power. This work has realised the first step towards the deployment of cold atom-based sensors on UAV’s