Dr. Descoins was Research Director at INRA (the French National Institute of Agricultural Research). At a time when there was a huge gulf between biology and chemistry, this researcher came to give a lecture on insect pheromones. He was interested in problems relating to insects destroying crops in the Rhone Valley in France. The most striking thing was the way they identified the pheromones, the substances secreted by the females! Females were collected, mixed and placed in a purification column..

They then placed a male at the end and when it started to vibrate, they gathered the molecule it was emitting. They could thus identify and synthesise it. This molecule is still widely used today to avoid the use of insecticides and pesticides.

This lecture presented an industrial and environmental problem that linked both chemistry and biology. At that time I was doing my thesis in pure chemistry and it made me want to dip my toe into biology. Just one hour-long lecture was enough to change the direction of my whole career!