Indigenous Peoples across North America and Oceania experience higher rates of drug-related harm than other populations. These harms are shaped both by the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism. While Indigenous Peoples in these regions are often willing to access health services that reduce the risks of drug use,[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Are deep-ocean microbes waiting for lunch?
The deep ocean—at least 200 metres below sea level—is home to an organic carbon pool comparable in size to the atmospheric carbon reservoir. This carbon pool has remained consistent in size for millennia. If just one per cent of the deep-ocean carbon were released in the atmosphere through microbial respiration,[Read More…]
When will the Generative AI bubble pop?
With the increasing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in everyday life, professors are grappling with the extent to which AI should be allowed in the classroom. Some allow AI as long as usage is disclosed, some strictly prohibit it, and others view it as a tool that encourages students to[Read More…]
Fact or fiction: Is your brain wired for a specific learning style?
You have likely encountered the idea that everyone learns best through a specific ‘learning style.’ Social media, classroom discussions, and even online quizzes often promote this claim, categorizing students as auditory, visual, writing and reading, or kinesesthetic learners. This conception sounds convincing, and after many years in the educational system,[Read More…]
Lava planets: Where oceans of magma rage and wind breaks the speed of sound
One side of these planets sits at temperatures hot enough not only to melt, but to vaporize their solid rocky surface, creating oceans of molten lava and an atmosphere of vaporized rock. On the other side, the cold is unrelenting—temperatures reach well below -200 degrees Celsius, allowing its surface to[Read More…]
Unraveling the painful mysteries of dyskinetic cerebral palsy
Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is the second most common subtype of cerebral palsy (CP). Children with DCP usually experience serious motor impairments along with comorbidities such as cognitive deficits, communication challenges, seizure disorders, and sensory impairments. Despite its severity, very little is understood about DCP. McGill MD student Victoria D’Amours and[Read More…]
Shop talk: We need to have a word about jargon
A 2020 study on jargon published in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology found that not only did using more jargon harm levels of understanding among lay people, but it also decreased their engagement with the material and their subjective sense of identification with the scientific community at large.[Read More…]
Exploring the role of virtual family participation in adult intensive care unit rounds
Family engagement in patient care is an essential aspect of adult intensive care unit (ICU) practice. The approach includes family members in multidisciplinary care rounds, allowing them to contribute to medical decision-making while being present for their loved ones—yet systemic and individual-level barriers often get in the way. But what[Read More…]
Normal results, hidden illness: Rethinking bloodwork in anorexia nervosa
Blood tests are the cornerstone of modern medicine, often relied on as objective indicators of health. In patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), however, these numbers may be misleading. A new study from Montreal’s Douglas Institute, published in the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, found that women with anorexia nervosa had[Read More…]
Dice: The statistician’s Roman Empire
It’s a rainy Wednesday night in 50 BC, and you’re playing Yahtzee against Julius Caesar. You have four 4s, one 6, and one roll left. You have a decision to make: Do you risk it and try to get a Yahtzee, or settle for a fairly impressive four-of-a-kind? It turns[Read More…]
