Difficulty: Intermediate
France
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.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Will French dentists soon have their patients grow new teeth, instead of filling in the old ones? New techniques using restorative molecules and even stem cells (which can be found in the baby teeth of children) will go a long way toward helping people smile filling-free.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
French scientists study 740,000-year-old Antarctic ice samples and find clues that point to a relationship between greenhouse gases and global warming. It is feared that the record high carbon and methane levels of today will cause severe climatic change in coming years.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Even the Chinese agree with French astronaut Jean-François Clervoy: the great wall of China is NOT visible to the human eye from space, not even from a low orbit. Chinese astronaut Yan Liwei, who orbited the earth fourteen times in a Chinese spaceship, couldn’t see it either.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Hipsters all over the world are surely mourning the loss of their favorite instant-nostalgia art medium: the Polaroid. With the recent closing of the last two remaining Polaroid factories in the U.S., it looks like that familiar and much-loved “ch-click-whrrr” sound will soon become a thing of the past. Polaroid has plans to soon launch products suited to the digital era. But can anything ever compare to the one and only original? Only time will tell.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Beautiful snow Leopards and Madagascar tortoises! The European Program protects rare species such as these in zoos, with the goal to eventually release them (or their children) back into the wild.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Sure, everyone likes to laugh, even the French, but can it really be good for your heart? Scientists seem to believe mais oui!
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Ten months of training go into learning to fly a helicopter, but less time is being spent aloft. More and more flight hours are logged in a hyper-realistic simulator that allows young pilots to hone their skills without ever leaving the earth.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Paris to Marseille for just 19 euros. Passengers are thrilled, but the ticket agent unions are not. These internet-only sale prices are putting their jobs at stake. Onboard, passengers can get a massage, or rent a DVD player, making for a more relaxing trip. Book your seat today!
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Rail travel between Paris and Marseilles used to be a lengthy ordeal. In 1950, the road trip took over ten hours, as did the train. By 2001, the TGV needed only three hours.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
The mortality rate for people with AIDS in France is one fifth of what it once was. Not only that, but modern medications are much easier to schedule.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Virtual service providers hope to provide a cheaper alternative to the French mobile phone market. Debitel, a German company, hopes to reach would-be cell phone users who have not yet purchased a phone.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
It’s been suggested by some that global warming is a myth, but a large scientific study suggests otherwise. The first to suffer will be the animals that call the northern icecap home, such as polar bears and seals.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France, Senegal
Youssou N’Dour, one of the world’s most beloved French-speaking musicians, hails not from France, but from Africa.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
France
Elisa speaks with her mom about the good old days when technology was not so invasive. Her mom reminisces about the times when you had to write a letter instead of sending an email or text. Still, she admits that modern life has its advantages, now that you can video chat with faraway relatives.
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