Locally-brewed kombucha is all the rage in Montreal; a new brand seems to line the shelves of hipster cafés every week. Kombucha, along with blue cheese, aged meats, and alcohol, are just a fraction of the foods dependent on fermentation. Fermentation occurs when microorganisms break down glucose to make energy[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
Protecting the powerless
Whales, dolphins, and other members of the cetacean family are now one fin-stroke closer to freedom thanks to the new Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, Bill S-203. The act, which passed in the Senate on Oct 23 and is currently undergoing its second reading in the House[Read More…]
Seemingly-redundant organ discovered to influence development
Scientists have long wondered about the function of rudimentary structures which have no apparent use, such as organs like the appendix and tonsils. In On The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin hypothesized that these vestigial structures are remnants of our evolutionary past and explained their presence using his widely-accepted theory[Read More…]
Electric impulses help paraplegic patients walk again
Three paraplegic patients with chronic spinal cord injuries are now able to walk again thanks to new Swiss neurotechnology and a multidisciplinary team that includes two McGill graduates. The STIMO (STImulation Movement Overground) study published in Nature this month, proposed a new technology to accelerate recovery from spinal cord injuries. This new[Read More…]
The delicate link between political and environmental climates
On Oct. 28, Jair Bolsonaro won the presidential election with 55 per cent of the popular vote. This result has global implications as the Brazilian political climate has the potential to sway the course of the battle against climate change. Bolsonaro has pledged to support the country’s agricultural sector, putting[Read More…]
The tuberculosis inequities of the Inuit peoples
The See Change Initiative collaborated with the Ilisaqsivik Society to host ‘Tackling TB in Nunavut: A Night of Photos and Stories’, a panel and silent auction on Nov. 8. The event aimed to raise money and awareness for the ongoing problem of tuberculosis (TB) among the Inuit people in northern[Read More…]
Tuberculosis: Where are we now?
“We need to science the shit out of tuberculosis,” Madhukar Pai, director of the McGill Global Health Programs, said in front of the United Nations (UN) at their headquarters in New York in September. The meeting was a historic event; it was the first-ever high-level UN meeting organized to address[Read More…]
The McGill Department of Physics presents its third annual Hackathon
“I think everyone wins, and that’s not just a fluff sentence,” Nikolas Provatas, professor in the Department of Physics, said at McGill’s Physics Hackathon. “Everyone wins just by being here. If they go back home and they have something positive to say about science, to me, that’s a success.” From[Read More…]
Can you sea the floor?
From the heights of the ozone layer to the depths of the ocean, greenhouse gas emissions have far reaching impacts and damage natural systems in often unexpected ways. A recent study conducted by McGill researchers found that the seafloor is rapidly dissolving due to manmade CO2 emissions, with particularly notable[Read More…]
Tracking ‘Jaws’
Many lives could have been saved in the movie Jaws if only the town had an effective way of tracking the shark terrorizing their waters. Analysis of environmental DNA, or eDNA, is a revolutionary new technique that enables scientists to follow marine animals, no matter their size. eDNA refers to the genetic material,[Read More…]
