In the ‘nanoworld’ a human hair is huge: roughly 100,000 nanometres in diameter. Dr. Peter Grütter, a McGill University physics professor, has committed himself to understanding the miniscule realm of nanotechnology. Dr. Grütter’s group develops microscopes used for research in the emerging field of nanoelectronics—tiny computers that use the nanometre[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Why should I put plastic on my window in the winter?
In Montreal, the sound of ripping plastic is the first sign of spring, as the city tears off window coverings to let in the first warm breezes. Unfortunately, spring is a distant prospect, and the first cold breezes are just beginning their assault. The basic science behind window coverings is[Read More…]
Nightmares may be evolutionary survival tool
Nightmares have always been a dreaded human experience. In certain cultures, they were thought to be premonitions of the future. It was this ominous notion that prompted indigenous cultures to construct dream catchers. When a bad dream entered the dreamer’s sleep, the webbing of the dream catcher supposedly trapped this[Read More…]
Trottier Symposium serves up science to curious public
Last week, the McGill Office of Science and Society hosted the Lorne Trottier Public Science Symposium, a lecture series that brings science to the public. Food: A Serving of Science featured four lectures on the science of diet and nutrition. The panelists explored topics ranging from fad diets to the[Read More…]
McGill hockey lab has high impact on gear
Your professor could be testing the hockey gear that you bought this season. Researchers in the McGill Ice Hockey Research Group perform tests for some of the biggest companies on the market, and are involved in numerous projects involving the safety and efficiency of ice hockey equipment. One of the[Read More…]
Naturopathic medicine: health care boon or bane?
Last week, SUS hosted its annual Graduate and Professional Schools Fair. Some students were surprised to see the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and the Ontario College of Homeopathic Medicine listed next to the McGill University Department of Human Genetics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.[Read More…]
This Week in Research
HIV Vaccine Researchers at the University of Western Ontario and Sumagen Canada are one step closer to creating a marketable HIV vaccine. Last week, Dr. Chil-Yong Kang successfully completed the first phase of human clinical trials. The vaccine SAV001-H, is a genetically modified, killed whole-virus vaccine. First, the virus is[Read More…]
The tentative link between autism and genius
Jacob Barnett is only 13, but he is set to become a paid atrophysics researcher at Indiana Unversity-Purdue University Indianapolis. He believes that he is close to disproving Einstein’s theory of relativity. Matthew Savage is now 20, but he was solving complex mathematical problems at the age of six, and[Read More…]
McGill lab uses novel technology to model human body
While most McGill students are likely more interested in finding free food than understanding the biological processes that allow them to digest it, researchers at McGill are using new technologies to examine digestion, and other important physiological processes. To determine exactly how the body digests without using human test subjects,[Read More…]
Open Access offers antidote to overpriced journals
To students leaving the academic world, the cost of information may come as a shock. Without access to the extensive collections of the McGill library, journal articles cost around 30 dollars per view. The library pays thousands of dollars per journal subscription. In 2011, McGill paid $12,224,900 for journals and[Read More…]
