IChO

I took part in the International Chemistry Olympiad which runs from November to the end of January. In Clermont-Ferrand, we were around 60 pupils who met for 4 hours every Wednesday in order to gain more in-depth knowledge of Chemistry.

The theme this year was Chemistry and Sport. There’s no sport without chemistry! For example: chemical experiments lead to the discovery of new materials to build better equipment. And there are illegal molecules too (like cocaine, testosterone, or morphine)...

The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual competition for high school students all over the world. The first IChO was held in Prague in 1968. The event has been held every year since then. The delegations that attended the first events were mostly countries of the former Eastern bloc and it was not until 1980, the 12th annual International Chemistry Olympiad, that the event was held outside of the bloc (in Austria).

The idea of the International Chemistry Olympiad was developed in the former Czechoslovakia in 1968. It was set up with the aim of increasing the number of international contacts and the exchange of information between nations. Invitations were sent by the Czechoslovak national committee to all socialist countries, except Romania. However, in May 1968, relations between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union became so delicate that only Poland and Hungary took part in the first international competition.

I think these events are also opportunities for the students to meet people from all around the world who share similar interests, to visit different places, and to discover different cultural practices. The IChO competitions help to create friendly relations among young people from different countries; they encourage cooperation and international understanding.

I really liked taking part in this competition, especially as I could carry out all sorts of chemical experiments in the laboratories!

Article by Mathilde D.

What are the ties between a mother and her unborn baby? Article by Mathilde D.

The ties between mother and fetus are biological, psychological and sensory:

• Biological: the umbilical cord brings all the food and the vital elements for the well-being of the fetus. It is the physical link everyone knows about.
• Psychological: it includes the attitudes and reactions of the mother during pregnancy. Doctors have demonstrated that if a mother is really stressed the newborn baby may get eczema or become an anxious child later. There is also a transgenerational memory, meaning if the mother goes through a very difficult ordeal during her pregnancy, the baby will be psychologically affected by this event. He may then develop phobias or other mental problems.
• Sensory: it is really important that parents talk to their child during the pregnancy in order to provide her/him with affection and love. After the birth, the parents’ voices will be really important for the baby because they are the first sounds s/he will recognize. Haptonomie, the ability of parents to communicate with their child without the use of words, is also very important: they have to use their hands and rub the stomach in order to interact with their child.

Unfortunately, some babies will never get the attention needed from their parents... Some surrogate mothers, for example, deprive their fetus of the necessary sensory attention because they consider the baby as not really being their own...

Mathilde's ambition is to become an obstetrician. Studies are long (11 years or more) and very difficult (with two major exams). But she thinks it will be worth the effort because improving the health of mothers and their babies is so important.

Here's what they found last Monday...

Killer evidence of the smoking gun theory at last!