First ever picture of a protein The study of proteins has always been essential to understanding diseases. Proteins, which are the little worker bees of the human body are responsible for cleaning out debris, transporting vitamins and nutrients, and even fighting off foreign invaders. Because the function of an individual protein is[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
All for one and one for all
The origin of life on Earth remains a heavily researched topic in evolutionary biology. Among the myriad of questions yet to be answered is how simple, single-celled organisms evolved to be complex and multicellular. While the mechanism for this phenomenon has been elucidated in plants and fungi, little is known[Read More…]
Understanding El Niño
El Niño has been the latest buzzword explanation for Montreal’s—and the world’s—unseasonably warm weather. Normally, the prevailing wind patterns in the Pacific Ocean, known as trade winds, blow east to west. When these winds are weaker than usual, a buildup of warm and wet weather along the West Coast of[Read More…]
Tips on making and achieving a New Year’s resolution
Historically, a new year was marked by an astronomical event. For example, ancient Babylonians began the new year with the first new moon after the spring equinox. Today, however, the new year is simply marked with a date: January 1. While there’s nothing particularly special about New Year’s Day, it[Read More…]
What the galaxies have in store
Last year was an exciting year in space. In 2015, the Dawn orbiter visited the dwarf planet Ceres, scientists photographed the surface of Pluto in unprecedented detail, and Matt Damon even got stuck in space again. But knowing what’s already happened is easy—it’s predicting the future that’s hard. But that doesn’t[Read More…]
The Science & Policy Exchange group is planning for the future
Consider the space race, which occured between 1955 to 1972 and saw the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. competing for superiority in space technologies. This resulted in a drive in innovation and increased incentives to do research. Alone a similar line, consider the impact of education policy decisions. In Canada, most[Read More…]
Biochemist Nahum Sonenberg favours the prepared mind
McGill Biochemistry Professor Nahum Sonenberg likes asking simple questions. He believes that every problem can be broken down into pieces and put together like a puzzle to answer a bigger issue. “Always ask a simple question to get a simple answer,” Sonenberg said. “If you […] want to look at[Read More…]
The study drug debate takes a new turn
The use of psychostimulant drugs like Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse has become increasingly routine for some university students striving for success. In fact, some studies report up to 34 per cent of U.S. college-level students use non-medical psychostimulants for increased academic performance. Use also seems to vary by social group.[Read More…]
Chill out—sea levels aren’t rising as quickly as predicted
Scientists have been warning for years that it may actually be too late to stop climate change despite concerted efforts by the global community. But the world may not be doomed after all. According to a new paper co-authored by McGill Professor Natalya Gomez from the Department of Earth and[Read More…]
Research briefs: Thanksgiving weekend
Pumpkin and mammoth pies Americans who celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend have mastodons and mammoths to thank for the pumpkin pie on the table. In a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, researchers established a link between the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna—mastodons, mammoths, giant[Read More…]
