International Women’s Day on March 8 recognizes the accomplishments of women in various fields all over the world. The International Women’s Day website describes the day as an opportunity to “[celebrate] the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.” While all of these are important pursuits that should be[Read More…]
Ask a Scientist
The causes and symptoms of allergies
Allergies always seemed so simple: Here’s a list of foods and environmental factors that you should avoid, since your body treats them like enemies. Dr. Christine McCusker, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill, is the Director of the Division of Allergy & Immunology at the Montreal[Read More…]
Image generation is rendering advertisements artificial
Decadent delicacies in food advertisements are not always what they seem to be. In these commercials, motor oil poses as pancake syrup, mashed potatoes become scoops of ice cream, and craft glue replaces milk in a bowl of cereal. Today, a rendering technique called physically based rendering (PBR) allows advertisers[Read More…]
Helium is an endangered element
The world is running out of helium. This may come as a shock, as helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but it is also a non-renewable resource that is rapidly being depleted. Helium is a light inert gas that belongs to a group of elements known[Read More…]
Ask a Geologist: How do islands form?
Earth’s surface is constantly changing due to a number of natural processes: Rivers transport sediment, glaciers carve valleys, and colliding tectonic plates build mountains. One of the planet’s most impressive talents, however, is the formation of islands. In recent decades, various new islands have popped up. The island of Nishinoshima[Read More…]
Where did these butterflies come from and where are they off to?
As summer transitions into fall, an increased flow of insect and bird migrations takes off. The McGill campus, as well as greater Montreal, has experienced a southbound butterfly migration in preparation for the winter. Although these butterflies are commonly misidentified as monarchs, they are actually Vanessa cardui, or Painted Ladies.[Read More…]
Building sustainable materials inspired by nature
On Sept. 14 at Soup and Science, students were made privy to the exciting field of Sustainable Materials Chemistry, as presented by Matthew Harrington, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. “Since 1950 we’ve accumulated over five billion metric tonnes of plastic in our environment and landfills with a[Read More…]
From mutation to malformation: Developmental syndromes
On Sept. 12, Soup and Science featured some of the cutting-edge developmental biology research going on at McGill. Over an egg salad sandwich and a bowl of chicken soup, The McGill Tribune met Loydie Jerome-Majewska, pediatrics professor and medical scientist, to hear about her research regarding developmental syndromes. Between two and[Read More…]
Curing cancer with 1’s and 0’s
Rapid chemical analysis that takes days to complete in a lab can now be done with the click of a button. A self-proclaimed “Beast in Science,” associate professor in the McGill Department of Chemistry, Nicolas Moitessier, worked with his team of computer engineers and biochemists at the Moitessier Research Group[Read More…]
Ask a Scientist: How is spider silk so strong?
How is spider silk so strong? It’s so thin and light! The properties of spider silk—also known as gossamer—can seem mysterious if we try to think of it as a kind of string; however, the strength of spider silk comes primarily from its complex structure on the microscopic scale. Gossamer[Read More…]
