For some, the key to success on Valentine’s Day consists of an amalgamation of romantic gestures, boxes of chocolate, and dinner dates. However, no number of roses, Laura Secord truffles, or Chardonnay can amount to the necessary spark in our brains to fuel love. While common notions of romance suggest[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Tech Reviews: Apple Alternatives
Alien M14x A true blend of aesthetics and exquisite craftsmanship, the M14x from Dell’s line of Alienware computers is the weapon of choice for dedicated gamers and multi-taskers. Designed for high-performance gaming, the laptop doesn’t fail to deliver in portability and performance. Under the hood, it packs the latest Intel[Read More…]
A bitter pill to swallow: Zoloft’s inefficacy
Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in terms of revenue, is being sued by a woman who claims that the antidepressant drug Zoloft is no more effective than a placebo pill. The plaintiff, Laura Plumlee, alleges that Zoloft failed to alleviate her depression in spite of a three-year treatment course.[Read More…]
Science Capsule
Building a house out of French fries seems like a bad idea, but fried potatoes and lumber are, chemically, very similar. Only one bond distinguishes the food we enjoy from the wood with which we build. Potatoes, made from starches, and lumber, made from cellulose, are both derived from the[Read More…]
Chicken Noodle Soup: Fact or Fiction?
After the debauchery that is Winter Carnival and the exhausting weekends of Igloofest, many of McGill’s finest have begun to suffer from the effects of the common cold. Although cures like sage extract, licorice tea, and kissing a mule’s muzzle—a bit of creative flare on the part of the Romans—[Read More…]
App Reviews
Better Me For those who have trouble making their 8:30 a.m. classes, ‘BetterMe’ provides a fun and ingenious way to wake up in the morning. The app is based on a simple idea—post a status update on your Facebook profile each time you hit that dreaded snooze button. Essentially, ‘BetterMe’[Read More…]
Up close and personal with the human brain
Not many students can say they have touched a human brain, but thanks to the Neuroscience Undergraduates of McGill (NUM), I— along with around 130 other McGill students—can attest to holding not one, but six. On Jan 30, NUM hosted the first event of its kind at McGill: Touching Human[Read More…]
Quantum teleportation: science straight from Star Trek
The words “quantum teleportation” bring forth the image of transporting a person from one location to another. Although it is applied very differently than its portrayal in science fiction movies, teleportation is possible, and has been carried out in laboratories around the world. In 2012, a team of scientists in[Read More…]
Communication critical step in combating tropical disease
For Greg Matlashewski, a McGill professor and former chair of the department of microbiology and immunology, branching out from the lab and into the field had many positive results for his work regarding treatment for visceral leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniasis, transmitted by sandfly bites, is one of many neglected tropical infectious[Read More…]
Fear of vaccination breathes new life into virus
Poliovirus has been eliminated in most of the developing world. Its eradication has been primarily due to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a multilateral proposal passed by the World Health Assembly in 1988. However, three countries—Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan—stand between the GPEI and its goal of making polio the[Read More…]
