On Sep. 28, 2023, students, faculty, and sponsors gathered at the McGill Engine Centre—a Faculty of Engineering hub dedicated to supporting McGill’s technological innovators and entrepreneurs. The TechAccel Showcase spotlighted a total of 11 student teams from both the Winter and Summer 2023 cohorts. As one of McGill Engine’s key[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Based on traits: Selecting more resilient wood for future wood-building industries
Before concrete and steel, wood was the predominant material in many human endeavours. Nowadays, while wood has been mostly replaced, its usage remains common. Wood construction specialists, however, continue to rely on only a few species, limiting their survivability against climate change. To ensure the viability of forestry and building[Read More…]
Annual Environment Public Lecture explores an economic approach to clean energy
On Oct. 5, McGill’s Bieler School of Environment hosted their annual Environment Public Lecture. For this occasion, Moyse Hall Theatre was speckled with professors and students curious to hear how Gernot Wagner, a climate economist and lecturer at Columbia Business School, would argue that the solution to the climate crisis[Read More…]
How exoenzymes changed the fate of organic matter
The very first life on Earth appeared 3.8 billion years ago as individual cells called heterotrophs, which were dependent on external food sources. Over the years, these simple heterotrophic cells underwent countless evolutionary changes, transforming into the planet’s diverse range of present-day animals. Despite the critical importance of evolution for[Read More…]
McGill experts discuss cell biology at 36th Soup and Science event
McGill’s Faculty of Science organized the 36th edition of Soup and Science from Sept. 25 to 29 in the Redpath Museum. The event offered the McGill community and beyond the opportunity to discover research from multiple fields, such as geography, physics, and computer science, in a relaxed and interactive environment.[Read More…]
Achieving alternate futures in the Anthropocene
Eleven thousand seven hundred years ago, Earth exited the last major geological epoch—the Ice Age—entering a period of relative warmth and stability, called the Holocene. Researchers, however, believe that the planet is ready for a new term: The ‘Anthropocene,’ denoting a time during which humans drive substantial change to our[Read More…]
Science in the city: ALL IN 2023 unveils future of AI in Montreal
On Sept. 27 and 28, Montreal hosted ALL IN 2023, a conference bringing together industry specialists and cutting-edge researchers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. Experts gave speeches and participated in panels on a wide variety of topics, including AI’s impact on[Read More…]
Analysis finds COVID-19 has now infected three-quarters of Canadians
Although the Omicron COVID-19 variant emerged in November 2021, scientists are just beginning to trace how the massive surge of infections unfolded by testing blood samples from throughout the pandemic. This is because antibodies against COVID-19 can be detected in blood for months after an infection. The analysis was led[Read More…]
“Seeing” viruses in real time
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2022, when thousands of people were getting sick every day, healthcare professionals were worked to the bone. One particularly difficult task in preventing the spread of COVID-19 was contact tracing. In other words, finding out who was sick and how they[Read More…]
McGill iGEM takes on innovative synthetic biology research
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…]