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Strings and other things
Growing up, my favourite movie scene was the wand-shop sequence from Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone. The scene opens with Harry entering Olivander’s wand shop, surrounded by towering shelves of wands and surfaces cluttered with tools and scraps of parchment. After trying an array of wands, he settles on[Read More…]
With tumours, it’s what’s on the inside that counts
For the first time, McGill researchers have detected regions of high rigidity within the developing tumour microenvironment (TME) of breast cancer tumours. These findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest new possibilities for mapping the progression of invasive tumours based on the physical properties of the TME, including tissue stiffness. The[Read More…]
A piece of wisdom worth four thousand dollars
It is easy to believe that everyone who falls victim to a scam is uneducated or foolish until you are trying not to cry while informing your parents that you have lost $4,000 in your first year of university. I received a call from the Montreal Police Department as I[Read More…]
Don’t expect much from in-person courses this winter semester
Despite announcing earlier in the semester that the Winter 2021 semester will mostly take place remotely, on Nov. 4, McGill sent an email describing its intention to expand in-person teaching for Winter 2021. The news broke while COVID-19 outbreaks continued to rise within primary schools and high schools, and alongside[Read More…]
What machines cannot learn, and what they should not be taught
Artificial intelligence (AI) developers are no longer satisfied with programs that play checkers and optimize search engine results, and have moved toward loftier ambitions such as diagnosing leukemia and probing the creators’ inner emotions. Humans often perceive AI as being inherently superior to their own minds, completely free of earthly[Read More…]
University should not be financially debilitating
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) is one of many university student unions taking part in Debt-Free Degree, a campaign organized by the University Students’ Council at Western University and the Undergraduates of Canadian Research-Intensive Universities coalition. The campaign’s goal is to advocate for financial accessibility within post-secondary institutions.[Read More…]
Team building is essential to the success of first-year athletes
Team building is often regarded as trivial and little more than a way to “get to know people.” Sure, icebreakers can become repetitive, but there is a valid reason for the constant emphasis on team synergy, especially in sports. The reason is pretty simple: Teams that know and understand each[Read More…]
Our friend, Alex Trebek
Every weekday at 7:30 p.m., Jeopardy!’s title credits flash across the television screen. Three contestants and a family friend walk out onto the floor to an enticing crescendo, their names announced by legendary narrator, Johnny Gilbert, as they receive a well-deserved standing ovation from the studio and at-home audiences. Half[Read More…]
Switch banks: It may save the planet
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) recently became Canada’s first major financial institution to refuse to invest in fossil fuel drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). RBC’s new policy comes after the U.S. government’s controversial decision to open some of the refuge for oil and gas development, to[Read More…]
