Birds aren't the only ones who might feel their lifestyle's been a bit restricted lately. France’s rural cats enjoy a good hunt. But the avian flu has put the lid on sporting felines living in affected areas.

Five of the nine districts of Lyon, the second largest French city, are being monitored for the H5N1 virus, better known as “Bird Flu”.

In June 2011, a demonstration was held in Paris to protest nuclear power. Among the demonstrators were two precocious little girls who had a lot to say on the subject. The interviewer could hardly get a word in!

Being born premature is risky, but thanks to modern medical techniques, six out of ten babies who are born greatly premature will grow up to be perfectly healthy children.

Tuberculosis remains a deadly disease—affecting 10.6 million people annually and killing one person every twenty seconds. The recent development of multidrug-resistant strains of the bacteria has made TB even more threatening. Especially affected are areas without the proper means of fighting the illness. Eight countries accounted for more than two thirds of the global total: India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the WHO, 13 billion dollars would be required to effectively combat the disease.

Billions (oui, milliards!) of birds migrate from Africa every year, and with bird flu developing rapidly, their arrival to France is closely monitored at the Marquenterre National Park. Learn how French scientists and engineers there have taken innovative measures to make it difficult for the virus to settle in the mud where the birds like to feed.