Many undergraduate students desire to delve into research at McGill in labs led by primary investigators and professors. Undergraduates themselves, however, have equally promising initiatives to lead exciting investigations. One of these student groups, McGill iGEM, is an undergraduate synthetic biology research team that has made impressive progress in recent[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Is vitamin B12 supplementation always good for you?
The global vitamin B12 supplement market is poised for significant growth in the upcoming years. Although daily oral vitamin B12 supplements typically contain doses far exceeding the recommended amount, the impact of such high levels of vitamin B12 on gut health remains unclear. In a recent paper, Samantha Gruenheid, Chair[Read More…]
“A Disease of the Past”: Our lacklustre response to Tuberculosis
Lena Faust, a Ph.D. student in epidemiology at McGill, first became interested in tuberculosis (TB) while learning about another disease: COVID-19. What caught her attention, however, were not the diseases themselves, but the difference in global response to each. “With COVID-19, we quickly developed lots of different vaccines that are[Read More…]
AI’s transformative impact on radiology: Insights from the Feindel Brain and Mind Lecture
Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world of healthcare by storm, revolutionizing the way physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. The Feindel Brain and Mind Seminars featured radiology—an area that AI has impacted substantially—during its Sept. 13 event hosted at The Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital. Saurabh Jha, Associate Professor of Radiology[Read More…]
McGill nutritionist shares sports nutrition tips at Trottier Symposium
McGill hosted the 2023 Trottier Public Science Symposium, “Ready, Set, Go! Use and Abuse of Science in Sport,” on Sept. 13-14 in Moyse Hall. The symposium featured talks by renowned experts who offered their perspectives on nutrition and the broader role of science in sports. One of the talks was[Read More…]
Global collaboration is key to avoiding extinction
As the world is adapting to global-scale environmental crises, the scientific community must collaborate like never before. Current, unparalleled rates of biological diversity loss demand prompt implementation of science-informed policy. In response, scientists belonging to the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), co-chaired by Andrew Gonzalez, professor[Read More…]
Ad Astra: McGill Rocket Team’s successful launch
On Aug. 29, 2023, the McGill Rocket Team, having driven the ten hours from Montreal to Timmins, Ontario, successfully launched their lovingly-engineered rocket Porthos. The vehicle flew to a height of 10,000 feet, and most impressively, the flight used a fully student-researched and developed hybrid engine. Project Porthos earned them[Read More…]
A guide to McGill’s first-year science lecture halls
Leacock 132 Any analysis of McGill’s intro-level science lecture halls has to start with Leacock 132, by far the most infamous room in a U0 Science student’s life. The largest lecture hall at McGill, Leacock 132 seats 650 people. While the space has an impressive resume, having hosted speakers such[Read More…]
Discovery of new mechanisms elucidates breast cancer metastasis
Finding more effective drugs that target certain aggressive forms of breast cancer first requires a deeper understanding of the disease’s progression mechanisms. The need for increased insight into the mitigation of breast cancer growth fueled a seven-year-long study at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Nathalie[Read More…]
The journey of a microplastic: An unfolding story
From the packaging of an online order to the takeaway cup holding a morning coffee, plastic is everywhere. In 2019, humans produced 460 million tonnes of plastic, an enormous increase from the mid-twentieth century when roughly two million tonnes were produced annually. A key aspect of plastic pollution is that[Read More…]