On Oct. 19, McGill announced a pause in the rollout of its five-year, $50 million Rayonnement du français initiative, intended to increase access to French-learning resources in order to improve students’ and staff’s knowledge of the language. In an email to the McGill community on Oct. 25, Principal and Vice-Chancellor[Read More…]
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Let’s reel in the disappointment surrounding Kim Ng’s departure from the Marlins
On Oct. 16, Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins announced that they would be parting ways with Kim Ng, the first woman to hold the position of general manager (GM) in any of North America’s four major men’s sports. In a statement, Marlins’ chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman announced that[Read More…]
Amina Kudrati-Plummer wins SSMU VP Finance special by-election
On the afternoon of Friday Oct. 20, polls for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice President (VP) Finance by-election came to a close with only 12.4 per cent of eligible students voting. Amina Kudrati-Plummer won the election with 60.6 per cent of the votes. The only other candidate,[Read More…]
Counter-protestors rally against anti-trans demonstrators outside Roddick Gates
Over 400 people congregated in front of the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke on Sept. 20 to join the Protect our Trans Siblings counter-protest against the 1 Million March 4 Children. There was a heavy police presence on-site to separate the two sides, which later confronted each other in heated exchanges[Read More…]
Advancing scientific frontiers through undergraduate research
On March 15, the fourth Undergraduate Poster Showcase took place in the Students’ Society of McGill University Ballroom, bringing in a new cohort of student scientists. Nearly 400 attendees congregated that evening to learn from the 117 students presenting their projects, ranging from earthquakes melting rocks to building a safer[Read More…]
Stiffer DNA hydrogels open new paths for biomedical applications
Besides acting as the backbone of genetic material, DNA is getting significant attention for being a versatile building block of nanomaterials—particles one-thousandth of the diameter of a hair strand—including a type of nanomaterial called DNA hydrogels. As a rising star in the field of nanoengineering, which is the study of[Read More…]
Call off the search for a “normal” brain
A “normal” brain—also termed “neurotypical”—has long been used in cognitive science research as a benchmark for brain activity comparisons. But this distinction between brains actually limits neuroscience research and has long escaped the notice of experts. Jakub Kopal, a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at McGill, researches the effect of genetic[Read More…]
Alveolar macrophages, the lungs’ safeguard
Pulmonary infections—such as COVID-19 and the flu—in which bacteria or viruses enter and damage the lungs, are among the leading causes of death in older adults. Elderly people’s increased susceptibility to pulmonary infections is attributed mostly to immune systems that weaken over time. The initiation of immune responses to protect[Read More…]
The barriers to gender-affirming care at McGill and beyond
CW: Mention of suicidal ideation Transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming individuals face innumerable barriers by simply existing in a world wrought with transphobia. The U.S. National Transgender Discrimination survey report on health and health care found that transgender individuals in the U.S. are over four times more likely to contract[Read More…]
Space Crickets: Creative solutions to deep-space hunger
Landing a human on Mars remains the holy grail of the exciting 21st-century space science arena, with agencies such as the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) investigating longer human-piloted space voyages. During the McGill Bicentennial Space Week last May, Julie Payette, former astronaut,[Read More…]
