During the Mozambican civil war, which spanned 15 years from 1977 to 1992, armed forces poached African elephants to sell their tusks and continue to fund their respective war machines. This caused a drastic reduction in the elephant population by the time the conflict began to subside. As much as[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Top five podcasts to grab science on the go
For university students, podcasts can provide a much-needed respite from the monotony of studying and attending online classes. Their portable format makes them a great tool to learn science on the go while commuting, running errands, or doing chores. The McGill Tribune has compiled some of our favourite science podcasts[Read More…]
Behind the first pig-to-human heart transplant
Human heart transplants have revolutionized treatments for terminally ill cardiac patients for the last 117 years, but a lack of donors has meant that every year, thousands are left with no other option than to wait on a seemingly endless waitlist. To combat this shortage, researchers are looking into other[Read More…]
Fishing for diversity: Understanding the lake trout’s genome
Faced with the sharp shifts of climate change and continuous human expansion, animals must adapt to survive—an ability that depends largely on a species’ genetic diversity. Professor Ioannis Ragoussis, head of genome sciences at the McGill Genome Centre, is studying this diversity by sequencing the genome of species native to[Read More…]
Projecting global temperatures more accurately
Estimating global climate change with any degree of accuracy is no easy feat. Although climate models all agree that global temperatures are increasing, the rate and extent to which predictions differ leaves us with uncertainty. For example, it is unclear when the Earth will surpass key temperature thresholds, such as[Read More…]
Getting to the roots of hair loss
Hair loss and hair shedding are very common in times of stress and can affect anyone—even those who have no family history of either condition. Apart from genetics, other factors, such as medication, stress, birth control, or lack of sleep can kill the stem cells inside hair follicles. Stem cells[Read More…]
Hot girl summer eclipsed by Hot Exo-Jupiter
Roughly equal to the mass of 12 Jupiters, exoplanet XO-3b was the subject of a recent study led by Lisa Dang, a PhD student studying short-period exoplanets and their atmospheres at McGill. Exoplanet XO-3b is classified as a “Hot Jupiter,” a planet with physical properties similar to Jupiter that has[Read More…]
Researchers pinpoint a gene variant that could provide increased protection against severe COVID-19
It is well known that a person’s genome can predispose them to certain diseases—but can also provide increased protection against other diseases. Geneticists have recently observed that a particular haplotype, a chunk of DNA that encodes several genes, is protective in nature against COVID-19 and results in a reduced risk[Read More…]
Millipedes: A fascinating gateway into the world of entomology
It’s safe to say that most people are familiar with the creepy-crawly known as the millipede; from scuttling out of the dirt in your garden to gnawing on leaves in your attic, millipedes are a common sighting. Many creatures, from spiders to snakes—and even some species of butterfly—evoke fear due[Read More…]
The glowing DNA that can act as protein motion sensors
In the methodical world of scientific research, there is irony to be found in serendipitous stories of discovery. More often than expected, a scientist’s day in the lab is filled with more head-scratching than “eureka” moments. It is in these moments that a curious scientist would dig deeper, even in[Read More…]