Author
François Robert
Other affiliations: Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University, California Institute of Technology
Bio: François Robert is an academic researcher from University of Paris. The author has contributed to research in topics: Chondrite & Meteorite. The author has an hindex of 56, co-authored 194 publications receiving 11361 citations. Previous affiliations of François Robert include Centre national de la recherche scientifique & Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University.
Topics: Chondrite, Meteorite, Murchison meteorite, Chondrule, Organic matter
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
••
Donald E. Brownlee1, Peter Tsou2, Jérôme Aléon3, Conel M. O'd. Alexander4 +182 more•Institutions (57)
TL;DR: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study, and preliminary examination shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin.
Abstract: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.
886 citations
••
United States Naval Research Laboratory1, Brookhaven National Laboratory2, Space Sciences Laboratory3, Kingsborough Community College4, University of Münster5, Michigan State University6, Osaka University7, Jet Propulsion Laboratory8, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory9, Kobe University10, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility11, Washington University in St. Louis12, University of Chicago13, École normale supérieure de Lyon14, University of New Mexico15, Kyushu University16, University of Tokyo17, University of Washington18, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory19, University of Jena20, University of Hawaii21, American Museum of Natural History22, Case Western Reserve University23, University of Hyogo24, United States Geological Survey25, Imperial College London26, State University of New York System27, Open University28, Stanford University29
TL;DR: The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides,Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases.
Abstract: The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk.
644 citations
••
Ames Research Center1, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory2, Carnegie Institution for Science3, North Carolina State University4, University of Paris-Sud5, University of Washington6, University of Kent7, University of California, Berkeley8, Goddard Space Flight Center9, Stony Brook University10, University at Albany, SUNY11, Open University12, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory13, University of Münster14, California Institute of Technology15, Parthenope University of Naples16, Stanford University17, Washington University in St. Louis18
TL;DR: The presence of deuterium and nitrogen-15 excesses suggest that some organics have an interstellar/protostellar heritage and a diverse suite of organic compounds is present and identifiable within the returned samples.
Abstract: Organics found in comet 81P/Wild 2 samples show a heterogeneous and unequilibrated distribution in abundance and composition. Some organics are similar, but not identical, to those in interplanetary dust particles and carbonaceous meteorites. A class of aromatic-poor organic material is also present. The organics are rich in oxygen and nitrogen compared with meteoritic organics. Aromatic compounds are present, but the samples tend to be relatively poorer in aromatics than are meteorites and interplanetary dust particles. The presence of deuterium and nitrogen-15 excesses suggest that some organics have an interstellar/protostellar heritage. Although the variable extent of modification of these materials by impact capture is not yet fully constrained, a diverse suite of organic compounds is present and identifiable within the returned samples.
547 citations
••
TL;DR: It is shown that the silicon isotopic composition of cherts more than 550 million years old shows systematic variations with age that support the earlier conclusion of long-term ocean cooling and exclude post-depositional exchange as the main source of the isotopic variations.
Abstract: The terrestrial sediment record indicates that the Earth's climate varied drastically in the Precambrian era (before 550 million years ago), ranging from surface temperatures similar to or higher than today's to global glaciation events. The most continuous record of sea surface temperatures of that time has been derived from variations in oxygen isotope ratios of cherts (siliceous sediments), but the long-term cooling of the oceans inferred from those data has been questioned because the oxygen isotope signature could have been reset through the exchange with hydrothermal fluids after deposition of the sediments. Here we show that the silicon isotopic composition of cherts more than 550 million years old shows systematic variations with age that support the earlier conclusion of long-term ocean cooling and exclude post-depositional exchange as the main source of the isotopic variations. In agreement with other lines of evidence, a model of the silicon cycle in the Precambrian era shows that the observed silicon isotope variations imply seawater temperature changes from about 70 degrees C 3,500 million years ago to about 20 degrees C 800 million years ago.
394 citations
••
TL;DR: In this article, a simple model is proposed to explain the high δD values, and the relationships between δ D values and the concentration of H 2 in the acid residues of carbonaceous meteorites.
389 citations
Cited by
More filters
••
TL;DR: The solar chemical composition is an important ingredient in our understanding of the formation, structure, and evolution of both the Sun and our Solar System as discussed by the authors, and it is an essential refer...
Abstract: The solar chemical composition is an important ingredient in our understanding of the formation, structure, and evolution of both the Sun and our Solar System. Furthermore, it is an essential refer ...
8,605 citations
01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition and found that the variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different individuals raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets.
Abstract: The influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals was investigated by analyzing animals grown in the laboratory on diets of constant nitrogen isotopic composition.
The isotopic composition of the nitrogen in an animal reflects the nitrogen isotopic composition of its diet. The δ^(15)N values of the whole bodies of animals are usually more positive than those of their diets. Different individuals of a species raised on the same diet can have significantly different δ^(15)N values. The variability of the relationship between the δ^(15)N values of animals and their diets is greater for different species raised on the same diet than for the same species raised on different diets. Different tissues of mice are also enriched in ^(15)N relative to the diet, with the difference between the δ^(15)N values of a tissue and the diet depending on both the kind of tissue and the diet involved. The δ^(15)N values of collagen and chitin, biochemical components that are often preserved in fossil animal remains, are also related to the δ^(15)N value of the diet.
The dependence of the δ^(15)N values of whole animals and their tissues and biochemical components on the δ^(15)N value of diet indicates that the isotopic composition of animal nitrogen can be used to obtain information about an animal's diet if its potential food sources had different δ^(15)N values. The nitrogen isotopic method of dietary analysis probably can be used to estimate the relative use of legumes vs non-legumes or of aquatic vs terrestrial organisms as food sources for extant and fossil animals. However, the method probably will not be applicable in those modern ecosystems in which the use of chemical fertilizers has influenced the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in food sources.
The isotopic method of dietary analysis was used to reconstruct changes in the diet of the human population that occupied the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico over a 7000 yr span. Variations in the δ^(15)C and δ^(15)N values of bone collagen suggest that C_4 and/or CAM plants (presumably mostly corn) and legumes (presumably mostly beans) were introduced into the diet much earlier than suggested by conventional archaeological analysis.
5,548 citations
••
TL;DR: It is proposed that chromatin interactions constitute a primary mechanism for regulating transcription in mammalian genomes and is described as a new strategy, chromatin interaction analysis by paired-end tag sequencing (ChIA-PET) for the de novo detection of global Chromatin interactions.
Abstract: Genomes are organized into high-level three-dimensional structures, and DNA elements separated by long genomic distances can in principle interact functionally Many transcription factors bind to regulatory DNA elements distant from gene promoters Although distal binding sites have been shown to regulate transcription by long-range chromatin interactions at a few loci, chromatin interactions and their impact on transcription regulation have not been investigated in a genome-wide manner Here we describe the development of a new strategy, chromatin interaction analysis by paired-end tag sequencing (ChIA-PET) for the de novo detection of global chromatin interactions, with which we have comprehensively mapped the chromatin interaction network bound by oestrogen receptor α (ER-α) in the human genome We found that most high-confidence remote ER-α-binding sites are anchored at gene promoters through long-range chromatin interactions, suggesting that ER-α functions by extensive chromatin looping to bring genes together for coordinated transcriptional regulation We propose that chromatin interactions constitute a primary mechanism for regulating transcription in mammalian genomes © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved
1,602 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, electrical transport measurements on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with intramolecular junctions are reported, showing that a metal-semiconductor junction behaves like a rectifying diode with nonlinear transport characteristics that are strongly asymmetric with respect to bias polarity.
Abstract: The ultimate device miniaturization would be to use individual molecules as functional devices. Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are promising candidates for achieving this: depending on their diameter and chirality, they are either one-dimensional metals or semiconductors1,2. Single-electron transistors employing metallic nanotubes3,4 and field-effect transistors employing semiconducting nanotubes5 have been demonstrated. Intramolecular devices have also been proposed which should display a range of other device functions6,7,8,9,10,11. For example, by introducing a pentagon and a heptagon into the hexagonal carbon lattice, two tube segments with different atomic and electronic structures can be seamlessly fused together to create intramolecular metal–metal, metal–semiconductor, or semiconductor–semiconductor junctions. Here we report electrical transport measurements on SWNTs with intramolecular junctions. We find that a metal–semiconductor junction behaves like a rectifying diode with nonlinear transport characteristics that are strongly asymmetric with respect to bias polarity. In the case of a metal–metal junction, the conductance appears to be strongly suppressed and it displays a power-law dependence on temperatures and applied voltage, consistent with tunnelling between the ends of two Luttinger liquids. Our results emphasize the need to consider screening and electron interactions when designing and modelling molecular devices. Realization of carbon-based molecular electronics will require future efforts in the controlled production of these intramolecular nanotube junctions.
1,485 citations
••
TL;DR: The field is reviewed and how pioneer factors may enable cellular reprogramming is described, which can passively enhance transcription by reducing the number of additional factors that are needed to bind the DNA, culminating in activation.
Abstract: Transcription factors are adaptor molecules that detect regulatory sequences in the DNA and target the assembly of protein complexes that control gene expression. Yet much of the DNA in the eukaryotic cell is in nucleosomes and thereby occluded by histones, and can be further occluded by higher-order chromatin structures and repressor complexes. Indeed, genome-wide location analyses have revealed that, for all transcription factors tested, the vast majority of potential DNA-binding sites are unoccupied, demonstrating the inaccessibility of most of the nuclear DNA. This raises the question of how target sites at silent genes become bound de novo by transcription factors, thereby initiating regulatory events in chromatin. Binding cooperativity can be sufficient for many kinds of factors to simultaneously engage a target site in chromatin and activate gene expression. However, in cases in which the binding of a series of factors is sequential in time and thus not initially cooperative, special "pioneer transcription factors" can be the first to engage target sites in chromatin. Such initial binding can passively enhance transcription by reducing the number of additional factors that are needed to bind the DNA, culminating in activation. In addition, pioneer factor binding can actively open up the local chromatin and directly make it competent for other factors to bind. Passive and active roles for the pioneer factor FoxA occur in embryonic development, steroid hormone induction, and human cancers. Herein we review the field and describe how pioneer factors may enable cellular reprogramming.
1,452 citations