Spanning two days, the Annual Trottier Public Science Symposium “Are We Alone?” took the audience to the moon, Mars, and beyond. Focusing on the origin of life in our solar system, the series explored the where and how of alien life. Monday Monday’s first speaker, Planetary Society President Jim Bell,[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Research Briefs—Oct. 15
Seeing is believing In a preliminary UCLA study led by eye specialist Steven Schwartz, 18 legally blind patients were given embryonic stem cells; 10 showed substantial improvements in their vision. Although the research is in its initial steps, Schwartz and other scientists believe that the embryonic stem cell treatment shows[Read More…]
This month in student research: Alex Coutin, U2 Pharmacology
Alex Coutin, who worked at UBC this summer, studied recombinant H3, a protein histone involved in maintaining the structure of DNA in a single haploid yeast cell. He looked at the diverse associations of the ASF1 histone chaperone, another protein responsible for the coiling and folding of these DNA strands[Read More…]
The changing face of space
On Oct. 1, space enthusiasts addressed the evolution of the Canadian space program as part of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2014. The IAC theme this year, Our World Needs Space, hosted discussions that explored the way space inventions could be used on Earth. The panelists—some of the most respected[Read More…]
Research Briefs—Oct. 6, 2014
Graphene sensor tracks down cancer biomarkers Graphene, a six-ringed carbon, has become the centrepiece for new technologies.
Money talks, researchers listen
If art is the exploration of questions, science is the pursuit of answers.
Surviving the internet can be hard
Half a million.
McGill chooses its newest CERC recipient
McGill announced the appointment of its newest Canadian Excellence in Research Chair (CERC), Dr. Robin Rogers, on Sept. 29.
Microbeads discovered in St. Lawrence River sediment
Professor Anthony Ricciardi’s team thought they were going to be studying the Asian Clam—an invasive species—when they dropped their sediment-collecting grabs below the surface of the St. Lawrence River last year. Instead, they found the microbead—a type of microplastic defined as any debris less than five millimetres in size. Rowshyra[Read More…]
Research Briefs — Sept. 30
Face the truth: Mites found on human skin Microscopic eight-legged creatures make their homes in the faces of all people, a study recently published in PLOS ONE has shown. The Demodex mites are a group of hair follicle and sweat gland-dwelling species. Two different species of these mites reside on[Read More…]
