Although at first glance just a colorful and simple game, the Rubik’s Cube has been used in both competitions and mathematical research. The puzzle’s main objective is to recreate the original positioning (one color per side) by rotating the cube’s six faces. Originally called the ‘Magic Cube’ by its Hungarian[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
The science of “Black Mirror”
Charlie Brooker’s harrowing British sci-fi series Black Mirror returned to Netflix with six new episodes exploring multiple technologies of questionable ethics. From the digital uploading of human minds to predictive neuroscience technology, the show’s fourth season illuminated some frightening, futuristic concepts. But with real-life advancements in brain imaging, artificial intelligence, and[Read More…]
Meet the virus responsible for this year’s deadly flu outbreak
As January comes to a close, the seasonal flu once again runs rampant across campus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services has deemed the 2017-2018 flu season as the worst in almost a decade. In North America, flu season[Read More…]
Learning a second language may benefit children with autism
For many, fluency in more than one language would be considered an obvious asset. Yet, the concept of a “bilingual advantage” is still widely debated, particularly for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Often, parents are advised to raise children with ASD monolingually to avoid compounding potential language delays resulting[Read More…]
Can vitamin C really cure the common cold?
It’s that time of the year again. Flu season is upon us, and everyone seems to be getting sick. Most people resort to their personal catalogue of remedies and preventive strategies to avoid the winter plague—among them, reaching for a bottle of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. The theory that[Read More…]
Soup and Science casts McGill researchers in the spotlight
From Jan. 15 to 19, the annual Soup and Science lecture series featured professors eager to present their research to students and spectators. The McGill Tribune reports: Assistant Professor Thomas Preston Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Emma Gillies Contributor On Jan. 16, Assistant Professor Thomas Preston from the Department[Read More…]
Lesbians Who Tech are what’s missing from the industry
Unless you are a very specific type of person (white, straight, and male), the tech industry is a frustrating place to work. The fact that one of the world’s fastest growing, most influential fields is so overwhelmingly male is concerning, because the growth and evolution of so many other related[Read More…]
Fast radio bursts tangle with unknown forces
Streaking across the sky with a luminosity far greater than the sun’s, fast radio bursts (FRBs) remain powerful yet mysterious phenomena. They were discovered in 2007 when curiosity inspired the astronomer Duncan Lorimer to search the farthest reaches of space, with the FRBs being powerful enough to surpass the typical[Read More…]
Why science students shouldn’t be afraid to write
For students in the Faculty of Science, the typical evaluation consists of a knowledge-based exam. Large class sizes, characteristic of first and second-year courses, often require evaluators to depend heavily on multiple choice questions. For better or for worse, this means that science students are rarely subjected to the torments[Read More…]
Canada’s fentanyl crisis by the numbers
The scientific community describes the fentanyl crisis in these general words: Catastrophic and growing. Over the past decade, Canadian researchers have observed the deadly effects of the growing trend of cutting fentanyl into powdered party drugs. With the help of Edith Zorychta, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and[Read More…]
