Nov. 21, 2019 marked the 236th anniversary of the first untethered, manned hot air balloon flight. The flight was the result of the work of Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, brothers from the small town of Vandalon, France. Their father’s lucrative paper company enabled them to fund their scientific endeavours and[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Helium is an endangered element
The world is running out of helium. This may come as a shock, as helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but it is also a non-renewable resource that is rapidly being depleted. Helium is a light inert gas that belongs to a group of elements known[Read More…]
Big discoveries from tiny rodents
In the past decades, the field of neuroscience has made astounding progress toward unravelling the intricacies of the human brain, but much of how it functions remains terra incognita. Adrien Peyrache, a researcher at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and Canada Research Chair in systems neuroscience, studies how brain structures[Read More…]
From the Brainstem: The ethics of gene editing
Since the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, society has debated whether our understanding of human biology might one day be our downfall. These debates progressed through the transgenic mice and in vitro fertilization of the ‘70s, DNA copying of the ‘80s, viral gene delivery and cloned sheep[Read More…]
The hidden costs of ‘orphan wells’
According to some estimates, there may be up to five million oil and gas wells in Canada and the United States. In Alberta alone, more than 600,000 wells have been drilled—one for every seven people in the province. The consequences of the extraction, refinement, and use of petroleum is well[Read More…]
How robots are transforming the field of law
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest innovations of the modern era, profoundly impacting many areas of society, and the field of law is no exception. During an event titled ‘Artificial Intelligence and the legal sector,’ hosted by the Faculty of Law on Nov. 13, Hannes Westermann, a PhD[Read More…]
The cognitive mechanisms behind depression
One in five Canadians will experience some form of mental illness in a given year. By the age of 40, 50 per cent of the population will have had a mental illness as the result of a complex interaction between personality, biological, and environmental factors. Bipolar disorder has a clear,[Read More…]
Drug testing sewage systems
Substance use is a global issue, affecting more than 235 million people annually. As public awareness of the opioid epidemic grows, up-to-date information on drug use remains critical in addressing these health concerns. The importance of such data led to a study that was published in the journal Addiction in October,[Read More…]
The underlying unity of life
Comparing animals of various sizes has historically been a challenge for biologists. From simple observation, an elephant could not be more different than a mouse. Yet, a universal underlying principle concurrently governs them both. Scaling laws—derived mathematical models that compare an organism’s key life traits to its body mass—present an[Read More…]
The science behind concussions in sports
While thousands of sports-related concussions occur each year in Canada, the mechanisms behind the injury are still shrouded in mystery. Scientists use the word ‘concussion’ to describe the symptoms of damage inflicted on the brain, but they are still working to uncover the underpinnings at the cellular level. Concussions occur[Read More…]
