Ever pictured a cross between Squidward from Spongebob and a grumpy English Bulldog? If not, look at a picture of the infamous “blobfish” and wonder at the mysteries of life. According to the New York Daily News, the blobfish, or Psychrolutes marcidus, was voted “World’s Ugliest Fish” by the Ugly Animals[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
MNI research sheds light on link between magnets and memory
Desperately looking for new ways to cram for upcoming exams? Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) of McGill University have discovered a way to improve sound memory performance in the brain using magnetic pulses. The researchers of the study, published on March 23 in Neuron, asked study participants to[Read More…]
Montreal’s AMERICANA Conference: ‘From Innovation to Action’
The AMERICANA Conference, a forum and international trade show for environmental technologies, was held from March 21 through March 23 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. With over 12,000 participants, 200 kiosks, and 200 conferences, the conference hall was packed. The participants and speakers represented 36 countries including Morocco,[Read More…]
What’s the deal with CRISPR?
CRISPR offers the potential to cure presently untreatable cancers and diseases. Moreover, it could revive an extinct organism, such as the mammoth, using tiny bits of genomic information that scientists have collected through their serendipitous discoveries. “CRISPR is a gene editing technique that allows investigators to alter the gene sequence[Read More…]
McGill conference commemorates World Tuberculosis Day
The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) remain the top two leading public health challenges of the 21st century. First identified in 1882, mycobacterium tuberculosis is by far the world’s most successful pathogen: One-third of the world's population is infected, with 10.4 million new infections and 1.8 million deaths in 2015. In recognition[Read More…]
Indigenous communities continue to face disproportionate barriers to health
Dr. Ojistoh Horn, from the nearby Mohawk Kahnawake Nation, spoke at the Women’s Health Conference hosted by McGill’s Comparative Healthcare Systems on March 11. The conference aimed to spark conversations on the structural and social determinants of health within Canada. After attending medical school at the University of British Columbia,[Read More…]
Coffee-naps: A scientifically based life hack
University life is known for many things, but an overabundance of sleep is not one of them. The endless onslaught of lectures, papers, labs, and midterms that McGill throws at its students is not conducive to getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep every night. For many students,[Read More…]
Will artificial intelligence be able to replace human vision?
In 2014, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking warned us of the dangers artificial intelligence (AI) poses to mankind. He told BBC News, “Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.” Hawking is best known for his predictive theorem—called Hawking radiation—which predicts that black holes release blackbody[Read More…]
OpenMedia McGill equips students with encryption tools
In a rapidly evolving world where people’s information is becoming more accessible and privacy is quickly eroding, anti-surveillance tools are increasing in popularity. To overcome a lack of privacy, OpenMedia McGill, in partnership with HackMcGill, acquainted students with anti-surveillance tools, like Tor and Signal, in a workshop on March 16.[Read More…]
Fresh off the Petri dish: The emerging industry of cellular agriculture
Which came first: The chicken or the egg? In the not too distant future, the popular dilemma may become less universal. On March 13, Effective Altruists at McGill, with the support of Greenpeace McGill, hosted an informative presentation delivered by co-President Yarrow Eady entitled, “Saving the World through Biotechnology.” Eady[Read More…]
