Image libre de droit imaginée représentant des cellules sanguines dans le domaine de la médecine.
LabEx LIO is developing research into biomarkers in collaboration with the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon (LGL -TPE). Together, they study the Earth’s evolution by observing the transfer of matter through isotope ratios. Similarly, these isotope ratios provide indications about the human body and information about certain diseases.
The Earth is a closed system; matter can neither disappear nor be added to it. According to the law of conservation of mass, an excess of a given isotope in one place implies it must be lacking somewhere else. By measuring and studying the isotope ratios of metals in different terrestrial rocks using mass spectrometry, it is possible to evaluate the flow of matter between the different reservoirs that yielded these rocks and compare them to meteorites, which are representative of the original state of the planets.
The human body can be studied in the same way as a planet, and it is possible to observe the flow of matter between organs using isotope ratios. The same basic principle applies and the same mass spectrometry tools are used. Geomedicine offers a different approach to treating common diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, and haemochromatosis. Doctors analyze the quantitative variations in certain biological factors, while geochemists observe their qualitative aspects, which are often early indicators of disease.
Interview with Vincent Balter, CNRS research director at LGL-TPE
Article written by My Science Work in 2016
Key figures
2 inovative projects
- CHIMIO
2 LIO staff
- Mélanie Simon, 3 year old technician at LGL-TPE