Description
Honored in Berlin for a major medical innovation, French biologist Franck Zal will present his incredible journey and his book *Un trésor sous le sable* at a lecture and book-signing event.
Among thousands of competing innovations, Franck Zal was recognized for developing a universal oxygen-based medical device derived from the hemoglobin of the lugworm—a marine worm raised in Noirmoutier, with blood extracted in Tours. This major French discovery, the result of fifteen years of research, opens up significant possibilities for organ preservation, wound healing, and the development of a blood substitute. Already used to treat severe burn victims—notably those from the Crans-Montana tragedy—this innovation is saving lives.
At the heart of this scientific journey lies a simple question that arose during beach walks: how can the lugworm survive for up to six hours at low tide without breathing? Observing this marine worm—a distant ancestor of our own red blood cells—led Franck Zal to develop a technology that is now acclaimed worldwide. He will recount this remarkable human and scientific adventure in his book *Un trésor sous le sable* (A Treasure Beneath the Sand), which he will present at this event open to the public.
