Despite many linguistic similarities with our southern neighbour, the Canadian accent—or accents—can be as distinctive as our love of hockey, maple syrup, and good manners. The origins of Canadian English can be traced back to the American Revolution in the late 18th century when roughly 45,000 Loyalists—American colonists still faithful[Read More…]
Science & Technology
The latest in science and technology.
What are the rules in Star Wars? MILAMOS aims to clarify military law in space
Outer space plays a vital role in every person’s daily life—from sending a text message, to hearing a broadcast on the radio, to swiping a credit card. However, terrestrial warfare is also dependent on space. So, if one country interferes with another country’s satellites, does this constitute an act of[Read More…]
The case for eradicating malaria with gene-editing technologies
What if we could rid the world of any species that we didn’t like: The annoying ones, the dangerous ones, and the disease-spreading ones? This seems like a tall order and one that carries a number of ethical quandaries. With the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 gene technologies, the once theoretical bioethics[Read More…]
Ask a Scientist: How is spider silk so strong?
How is spider silk so strong? It’s so thin and light! The properties of spider silk—also known as gossamer—can seem mysterious if we try to think of it as a kind of string; however, the strength of spider silk comes primarily from its complex structure on the microscopic scale. Gossamer[Read More…]
Quebec promises to abolish health care accessory fees by early 2017
On Sept. 14, Quebec Minister of Health Dr. Gaetan Barrette announced that as of January 2017, Quebec doctors will no longer be allowed to charge accessory fees—additional fees on services already provided by the Quebec health insurance. Accessory fees have generally been charged for services such as eye drops, injections,[Read More…]
Advances in veterinary practice: Doggy acupuncture and the technological future
Anyone who has ever taken an introductory biology class probably recalls the effort that goes into learning a few evolutionarily basic phyla characteristics. Those who remember will likely appreciate a profession that builds exponentially upon that introductory class in order to diagnose and treat species across the animal kingdom. “Veterinarians[Read More…]
Saskatchewan doctors seek state of emergency over HIV rates
In response to high rates of HIV and AIDS within the province, a group of Saskatchewan physicians is urging the provincial government to declare a public health emergency. According to an open letter signed by a group of 30 physicians on Sept. 19, the 2015 provincial rate of HIV was[Read More…]
Federal government to impose contentious national carbon pricing: Pan-Canada climate plan provokes debate
“We [are] all united in our commitment to stepping up in the fight against climate change, to ensuring that we have a Canadian approach to climate change,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a press conference last November. While Liberal government has made many statements on climate change, until now,[Read More…]
Will legalizing the ivory trade save elephants?: Social media campaign #KnotOnMyPlanet highlights elephant population in crisis
A recent social media campaign, #KnotOnMyPlanet, inundated newsfeeds last week. With high-profile celebrities––like supermodel spokeswoman Doutzen Kroes––pledging to the cause, #KnotOnMyPlanet runs in a similar vein as the once-popular ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In an effort to raise awareness about the illegal ivory trade, the challenge involves tying a knot from[Read More…]
Ask a scientist: Why isn’t the sky blue?
Two questions stood out for our first column. First, “Why is the sky blue?” This is a well-known one, but the subject has also been tackled by just about every scientific blog and answer column under the blue sky. The second attention-grabbing question was “Why isn’t the sky blue?” That query[Read More…]
