The ANSES Fougères Laboratory coordinated the Protox project, which aimed to propose a strategy for determining protein toxicity using new approach methodologies (NAMs). Whether through food or our environment, we can be exposed to novel proteins whose health risks need to be assessed while minimising animal testing. Kevin Hogeveen, a toxicologist at the Fougères Laboratory and project coordinator, explains.

ANSES has published the list of research projects selected following the call for proposals of the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health, issued in late 2023. The projects will receive a total of €7.78 million in funding. This research seeks to provide new knowledge on environmental risks to human health in the general or occupational populations, as well as on risks to ecosystems.

Type D influenza is a flu virus that mainly affects cattle. However, ANSES's Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort Laboratory recently isolated the virus in pigs for the first time in France. This crossing between species illustrates the importance of research aimed at improving the study of a possible risk of virus transmission to humans.

The metabolic activity of cells could be used to determine the concentration above which a substance is toxic. A study conducted by ANSES scientists has explored this innovative approach, which could identify the concentration above which a substance poses a risk to human health based on in vitro test results.

The presence of certain bacteria or chemicals can modulate the intestinal microbiota of pigs and chickens. Studying these factors could help at the farm level to tackle micro-organisms that are pathogenic to humans, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella .

Neonicotinoids have long been used to combat aphids in crops Repeated use of these active substances has led to the selection of insects capable of resisting them. A study on the green peach aphid carried out by ANSES in collaboration with a research scientist from the University of Exeter (UK), revealed that resistance was based on two distinct mechanisms in this species. One is specific to the product's mode of action and the other is based on its degradation. The scientists' findings show that interactions between resistance mechanisms are possible, which is vital knowledge for adapting and adjusting control strategies.

The small hive beetle is a parasite of honey bees. It was first detected on Reunion Island in July 2022. Genetic analyses conducted by ANSES's Sophia Antipolis Laboratory have revealed that the specimens that arrived on the island are similar to those found in China and the Philippines.

Scientists from ANSES, the Dynamicure joint research unit (Inserm/Universities of Caen and Rouen) and Caen University Hospital recently joined forces to study Klebsiella pneumoniae , a bacterium that is pathogenic to humans and horses. By analysing strains of K. pneumoniae collected from horses over a period of almost 30 years, they found a wide diversity of strains, some with increased antibiotic resistance

ANSES has developed a method for culturing Campylobacter hepaticus. Cases of poultry becoming infected with this bacterium have increased in France since 2019. Culturing it should provide an opportunity to track its spread on farms through genetic characterisation.