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Science & Technology

PCR: The unlikely hero of the COVID-19 pandemic

by Justin Galouzi on

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Since the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique by Kary Mullis in 1985, scientists have taken for granted the ability to make millions of DNA copies. Despite being hailed as a groundbreaking technology at the time, its spotlight was stolen in 2013 by CRISPR, a precise gene editing tool. Over the past year, however, PCR has regained attention as a COVID-19 diagnostic tool.

PCR exploits the cell’s natural process of division to amplify DNA sequences. When cells divide, they replicate their genetic material, passing one complete set of genetic material to each daughter cell. In human cells, the genetic material mainly consists of DNA. To copy DNA, the cell separates the two strands and replicates the genetic code base by base. Polymerases, a family of proteins, serve as catalysts in this process: Without them, cells would be unable to replicate.

In PCR, DNA strands are separated by heating to a temperature between 48-72 degrees Celsius. However, the naturally occurring human DNA polymerase denatures in these high temperatures. To address this problem, scientists often use another member of the polymerase family: The thermostable Taq polymerase.

“Taq polymerase is capable of resisting the high temperatures needed to separate the two DNA chains,” Dr. Rodrigo Reyes, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at McGill, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “This is because it was originally isolated from a thermophilic bacteria, Thermus aquaticus, that grows at temperatures of about 70 degrees Celsius.”

The PCR replication cycle is done 30 to 40 times to yield as many DNA copies as necessary, with each cycle doubling the quantity of genetic material. Since PCR is the first step in certain DNA sequencing techniques such as the Sanger method, its ability to produce up to 1 billion copies allows for the analysis of large genetic datasets. 

“Our capacity to amplify DNA is like a superpower,” Reyes wrote. “PCR is an essential tool in many biomedical research applications. But it is also widely used outside of research labs.”

In addition to detecting COVID-19, PCR can also detect several other diseases. Moreover, it is essential in DNA profiling, a process that compares genetic information between different people. Certain regions of DNA are similar for every person while other regions vary between individuals. PCR amplifies one or more of these variable regions so scientists can compare DNA samples. This is particularly useful in forensics, where genetic material found at a crime scene can be amplified and cross-correlated with databases to identify an individual. Scientists can also match DNA samples to a descendant by observing similarities in the DNA sequences to determine if two people are related.

PCR’s other uses range from testing for antibiotic resistance to studying biodiversity in aquatic environments.

“Taq polymerase is used to amplify the few molecules of DNA that can be found in water samples, helping to detect the presence of particular organisms in these environments,” Reyes wrote.

According to Reyes, Taq polymerase also has its flaws: It can only synthesize short sequences of DNA at a time. This is particularly limiting when researchers want to analyze large amounts of genetic data. Furthermore, PCR must be performed in a special instrument called a thermocycler that generates excessive heat, limiting access to these tests to well-equipped laboratories.

Reyes’ lab hopes to produce human-engineered polymerases that can extend the genetic code in bacteria and allow them to make DNA by using other types of building blocks in addition to the four nitrogenous bases currently found in nature.

“[These engineered polymerases] would help to extend the chemistry that cells can use,” Reyes wrote. “Such advancement would eventually help in our goal of using bacteria as small factories for the synthesis of a diverse range of useful chemical compounds used in our daily lives, and help to decrease our dependence on oil-based products.”

McGill, Montreal, News

East Asian Studies department hosts town hall on anti-Asian racism

by Maya Mau on

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The East Asian Studies department held a town hall session on March 23 to discuss the spike in anti-Asian racism in the United States and Canada. Over 50 participants, including faculty members and students, attended the town hall and engaged in discussions about their ongoing experiences. The department also released a statement standing with members of the community grieving from the shooting in Atlanta on March 19, where eight people—including six Asian women—were murdered. 

The recent spike in anti-Asian racism involves acts ranging from microaggressions to physical violence, with many pointing to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-Chinese rhetoric. The spike in incidents of anti-Asian racism is not confined to the United States: A Chinese Canadian National Council report from Sept. 2020 showed that since the pandemic, there were more hate crimes per capita against people of Asian descent in Canada than in the United States.

Yuriko Furuhata, associate professor in the East Asian Studies department who specializes in Japanese film and media, believes that the media of all sorts—including entertainment and news—plays a role in shaping public perception of minority communities. Furuhata explained that as an Asian American woman, she recognizes how deeply these tragedies can affect people, and emphasized that she wanted to provide a safe place for students.

“As someone who grew up in Japan and is now working and living in Canada, I recognize that I occupy multiple positionalities, and I would like to acknowledge that we cannot flatten differences and privileges within Asian communities,” Furuhata wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “As an educator, I also believe that knowledge based on solidarity can be empowering and collective learning is important in order to counter and fight against the power of negative knowledge such as racial and gendered stereotypes.”

Monica Batac, a PhD candidate in the School of Social Work, attended the town hall because she felt disheartened by McGill’s institutional silence on anti-Asian racism, and hoped for an opportunity to discuss the next steps to confront anti-Asian racism. A member of Pan-Asian Collective (PAC)—a Montreal-based organization that aims to empower Asian communities—Batac has often felt that McGill fails to offer resources to students to learn about Asian Canadian history.

“PAC should be celebrated for doing […] peer and popular education,” Batac wrote. “Many of the topics address pressing issues and untold histories, concerns, and movements we don’t even hear about in our university classrooms.”

During the Fall 2020 semester, Batac taught EAST 303—a Chinese studies topics class that focussed on “Unsettling Asian Migrations: Experimenting Pedagogies for Decolonization.” In her class, Batac integrated social work, feminism, and ethnic study pedagogies to discuss the impact of racism against people of Asian descent. Batac is grateful that her class allowed students to understand the Asian immigrant experience and wished there were more spaces—like the town hall—in which underrepresented communities can have such discussions.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to teach this one-time course, because the students and I left knowing the class community we created was unique,” Batac wrote. “It is a shame on McGill that such spaces are rare.”

The McGill administration spoke to The McGill Tribune on how they plan to address anti-Asian racism on campus. On behalf of the university, Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle emphasized that McGill is working to take concrete action to implement more equitable hiring processes and increase student awareness on racism in general, but did not mention any specific plans to prevent anti-Asian racism.

“Though we are making progress, this work is ongoing and more remains to be done,” Mazerolle wrote. “The EDI Strategic Plan and Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism are two recent examples of McGill’s efforts in increasing the representation and success of equity-deserving groups on campus [….] We are committed to a respectful and inclusive environment for students, staff, and faculty. Our priority is to ensure the success, well-being and safety of all.”

McGill, News, Private

McGill Senate presents annual report on sexual violence

by Ella Milloy on

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The McGill Senate convened on March 24 to vote on several motions and present annual reports from various branches of university governance, including the Senate Nominating Committee and the Board of Governors (BoG). Governors approved PGSS Academic Affairs Officer Sophie Osiecki’s appointment to the Senate’s Committee on Student Grievances and also discussed a report on sexual violence.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier provided an update on campus affairs, focussing heavily on planning for the Fall 2021 semester, which reiterated much of the same information that the administration had shared previously with students and faculty. Fortier believes that the March 12 virtual town hall on planning the Fall 2021 semester, which drew almost 2,000 participants, was a success.

“Based on what the team is monitoring, it is probably to be expected that we will not see the very worst case scenario nor the most optimistic, but probably something in between,” Fortier said. “This is based on the rate of vaccination, the evolution of the virus in our community, [and] the effectiveness of the vaccine. All of these factors are being monitored in terms of trying to get a sense of what Fall 2021 could [look like].” 

The Senate was briefed on several topics including McGill University’s recent partnership with University of the People, a not for profit organization intended to provide affordable education to those in need. They also discussed the progress of the McGill24 fundraising campaign, and the upcoming plans for McGill’s bicentennial launch.

The meeting continued with an update from the Associate Provost of Equity and Academic Policies Angela Campbell on McGill’s current Policy against Sexual Violence. 

“There are four aspects to the report that cover the four main objectives of the policy,” Campbell said. “[They are] prevention through education of sexual violence, establishing and maintaining a climate and culture in which all members of the community enjoy a safe and respectful learning and working environment, survivor support, and effective and timely response to reports.”

Next, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Fabrice Labeau presented the university’s annual enrolment report, providing an overview of the university’s progress towards the goals set out in McGill’s Strategic Academic Plan (2017-2022). The plan seeks to increase the number of applicants from Quebec CEGEPS and colleges, francophones, and Indigenous students, and maintain current international student enrolment rates.

Senator Leela Riddle-Merritte questioned Labeau on the inclusion of Black students in McGill’s enrolment goals and reports. Labeau explained the challenges Enrolment Services face when obtaining McGill’s demographic statistics. He outlined what steps are being put in place to gain a better understanding of the composition of the student body.

“The question of including Black students in these reports and numbers goes back to another complicated problem that we have when we are dealing with underrepresented groups in our students is the self-identification or identification for the sake of statistics,” Labeau said. “We are making progress here in terms of having a better sense of who is applying to McGill and who is at McGill through student surveys that we are now doing at the student [intake-level].”

Moment of the Meeting:

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier started the meeting with memorial tributes to two McGill professors who recently passed away. The Senate honoured Emeritus Professor Mario Onyszchuk of the Department of Chemistry and Emeritus Professor Francisco Galiana of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

Soundbite:

“We are also running outreach programming that we are co-creating with Indigenous communities. We have had two Indigenous outreach associates help us build programming and launch it in collaboration with McGill students. We have recently hired a Black community outreach associate who will be building on that model and developing relationships in the Black community to deliver a similar kind of outreach programming directly there.” 

– University Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services Gillian Nycum on steps to improve outreach in under-represented communities.

McGill, News

McGill partnership with University of the People establishes transfer program

by Madison Edward-Wright on

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On March 18, McGill announced that beginning in Fall 2021, it will partner with University of the People (UoPeople), an online, tuition-free university. The collaboration will allow academically outstanding students enrolled at UoPeople to transfer to McGill to complete their degrees. 

Founded in January 2009 by its current president Shai Reshef, UoPeople strives to make higher education more accessible. In 2014, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) officially recognized UoPeople as a legitimate university institution providing education online. 

Currently, UoPeople offers bachelor’s, master’s, and associate’s degree programs in business administration, computer science, health science, and education. Any student completing an associate’s degree at UoPeople with high academic standing can apply to transfer into a McGill program of their choice. 

According to Reshef, of the approximately 57,000 enrolled students, roughly 6,000 are refugees including undocumented immigrants in the United States, and survivors of events such as the Rwandan genocide and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Reshef believes UoPeople’s students will benefit from the partnership with a university like McGill.

“This partnership presents an incredible opportunity, especially for these students who are historically underrepresented in higher education, to complete their degree at McGill and realize their full potential,” Reshef wrote.

The teaching and administrative staff at UoPeople consists of volunteers from universities across the world. The President’s Council, which acts as an advisory board to UoPeople, consists of current and former university principals and chancellors, including McGill’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier. 

In a 2014 TED Talk, Reshef advocated for increasing the accessibility of higher education through the elimination of almost all tuition fees. There are now 57,771 students enrolled at UoPeople, and the school has formed partnerships with institutions such as NYU, University of California Berkeley, the University of Edinburgh, and Harvard Business School Online. 

The only payments students make to the institution include a $60 USD application fee, a $120 USD course assessment fee—if they are completing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree—and a $240 USD fee if they are completing a master’s degree. UoPeople also grants scholarships to students who cannot pay these fees. 

McGill University confirmed in an email to the Tribune that it would receive no financial compensation from UoPeople for accepting its students, and that UoPeople transfer students would pay McGill tuition fees. 

The transfer process for students from UoPeople to McGill has several steps, including numerous immigration documents and fees to cover travel and living accommodations. In addition to scholarships provided by UoPeople, McGill Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle stated that UoPeople transfer students would be able to apply for McGill financial aid. 

“Qualified applicants from University of the People will be able to apply to the full range of programs at McGill,” Mazerolle said. “McGill will also consider all UoPeople applicants for bursary support to ensure that financial barriers do not preclude accepted applicants from pursuing their education.” 

The Office of International Student Services (ISS) at McGill has prepared a variety of programs to make the transition to life in Montreal as easy as possible for UoPeople students. Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) Ayo Ogunremi stated that SSMU welcomes students from all backgrounds to the McGill community, noting that inclusion is a key tenet of the Society’s Policy on Accessible Education and Academics.  

“[We] explicitly recognize that Western academia is systematically inaccessible, especially to students from marginalized socioeconomic or sociocultural backgrounds,” Ogunremi wrote in an email to the Tribune. “[SSMU] sees it as a priority to affirm the belonging of these students at our university, where they may often feel unwelcome.”

Student Life

The intimacies of internet language

by Wendy Zhao on

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Physically distanced from each other, our conversations with friends, family, and strangers are taking place predominantly in the cadences of text messages. While common sentiments warn that constant texting can harm relationships and make us ineloquent writers, frequent internet users know that online socialization is not a cause for despair. Although it breaks the rules of formal writing, the complexities of internet language can communicate an emotional precision that rivals even the most sophisticated writing. Particularly at this juncture of isolation, internet language helps to connect people across the distance. 

In her book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, internet linguist and MA ‘13 Gretchen McCulloch explores the evolving internet language and celebrates it as a valuable human project. According to McCulloch, the rules of informal online communication are uniquely capable of accurately connoting the subtleties of tone.

“We no longer accept that writing must be lifeless, that it can only convey our tone of voice roughly and imprecisely, or that nuanced writing is the exclusive domain of professionals,” McCulloch writes in Because Internet.

The rules of internet language are shaped by the social spaces they are concocted in: Twitter limits users to 280 characters, TikTok only allows videos under 60 seconds, and the handheld sizes of phone screens can make anything over a few sentences appear excessive.

Digital platforms prevent lengthy explanations, forcing us to write precisely in order to avoid miscommunication. In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Kasia Van Schaik, writer and doctoral candidate in the Department of English, discussed how the constraints of online platforms are akin to the structures of poetic forms, helping spur the creative use of language. 

“[Social media] platforms reflect the ephemerality of our experience on earth, measuring out the days in moments and short reflections,” Van Schaik said. “[They] perform the formal duties of poetic forms like the villanelle, haiku, or the ghazal, which require a certain number of lines and/or stanzas and adhere to strict rhyme or syllabic schemes. As poets and artists know, constraints can actually be liberating. They can provide a structure that demands more ingenuity from the poet.” 

Inventive digital jargons spread in private rooms of conversation as well, making each virtual citizen capable of expanding the catalogues of internet language. Faith Ruetas, U1 Arts, recognized the evolution in the way she conveys shock through text after picking up expressions from friends: First “I-”, then “eye-”, and finally the eye emoji itself. 

“If I hear something that sounds interesting or that sounds funny then I’ll slip that into my online vocabulary and integrate [it] into the things I send other people,” Ruetas said. “I think the way I text online is always evolving.” 

With tight word limits, internet users often break the formal rules of writing to better express their emotions. In the landscapes of digital conversation, minute alterations make for a big difference. Tildes convey irony, periods have a passive-aggressive reputation, and expressions with “u” rather than “you” tend to contain more emotive content.

The expressive powers of internet language are especially important in the COVID context: An even wider spectrum of feelings are now shared through text rather than verbally. 

On McGill’s subreddit, a space for news and discussion, students can find small moments of catharsis. Every Friday, a post surfaces allowing users to vent feelings that require all-caps expression. Messages on the weekly post express a range of emotions including stress, rejection, and personal loss, producing a shared tone of accepted calamity.  

Yu Xuan Zhao, U3 Arts, finds that sharing difficult emotions can feel less daunting through the screen. 

“I feel like there’s something special about seeing a person’s face when you tell them any kind of news and can hear their voice,” Zhao said. “But, I find I’m more willing to be vulnerable with my emotions through text because it’s a lot easier to manage yourself. I can feel more in control of the situation.” 

As a U1 representative for the McGill English Department Student Association, Ruetas has ventured onto digital platforms like Discord to lessen the sense of isolation in new students. For her, the different ways people communicate through text provides an avenue to deepen familiarity in virtual friendships. 

“I think I’ve gotten to know people just through texting [….] I think when you look at the way people text, you can definitely get a bit of their personality.” 

In vast arenas of online voices, attunement to the nuances of digital communication can cultivate feelings of community. Ruetas described how memes, multimedia creations layered with references to internet culture, feel especially like shared secrets bridging people in exclusive understanding. 

“Memes are like big inside jokes shared across cultures and languages, often forming internet cultures and languages of their own,” Ruetas said. “Anyone can see a meme and laugh, but there’s really a feeling of community—of being in on the joke—when you can recognize the layers of irony and references that others baked in.” 

Internet language can help maintain intimacy in existing relationships as well. The private group chat is widely celebrated as a space of collaboration for creative communities and a haven of solace for BIPOC in face of hostile boundaries in the real world.

When time allows individuals to gain a shared understanding of one another’s virtual languages, digital communication can feel less like a substitute for in-person connections. John Smith, U2 Arts, and his partner learned to adapt to a long-distance relationship at the onset of the pandemic. Smith explained how their attunement to each other’s forms of digital expression helps them feel understood while texting. 

“I think we still have our little miscommunications every now and then, but we’ve been together for a little over five years now, so we’ve really gotten to know each other’s ways of texting and adapted to the other’s expectations,” Smith said. “We know what emojis to use, how much expression to show with caps and exclamation.” 

While physical interactions are halted, digital spaces will continue to hold emotions both mundane and melodramatic, celebratory and tragic. 

Like with any form of communication, misunderstandings are unavoidable. However, the complexities of internet language help us to declare these feelings with confidence even through the screen, assured we will be understood.

Sports

Outdoor activities to beat the end-of-semester blues

by Adam Burton, Sophia Gorbounov on

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Winter is never an easy time for students in Montreal. With indoor gatherings banned and limited outdoor activities, these past few months have been especially challenging. Yet, the start of daylight savings, the extension of curfew, and the improvement of the weather are excellent reasons to leave the house, be active, and catch some rays in a COVID-safe fashion.

Spikeball

Spikeball is not just for shirtless fraternity brothers: Its portability, fast setup time, and low skill required make it the ideal lawn game.

Spikeball is essentially volleyball on the ground. Two teams of two gather around the circular net on the grass, one player serves, then the opposing team has three chances to return the ball. Spikeball can be enjoyed by players at all skill levels, ranging from casual first-timers to hardened athletes looking to jump, dive, and put their body on the line.

Finlay Douglas, U4 Science, has played the game for several years and thinks it has a lot to offer in the way of fast-paced fun.

“Spikeball is great because everybody can play it,” Douglas said. “It’s easy to learn, but it also has a high skill cap, so you can always work to get better.”

Breaking out the spikeball net on a sunny spring afternoon is sure to make one the centre of attention in any friend group.

Kick the Can

A childhood favourite to many, Kick the Can is still fun for fully grown adults. A dynamic combination of tag, capture the flag, and hide and seek, Kick the Can involves one person designated as “it” who must capture hidden players, and trap them all before another player frees those already caught. 

Understandably, most McGill students have not played tag since their pre-teens and have forgotten how exhausting full-out sprinting to escape their friends can be. Kick the Can is a great adrenaline-inducing way to bond with friends and relive the joyful nostalgia of childhood hide-and-seek.

Water balloon fights

Although it may sound preposterous, water balloon fights actually require a fair amount of tactical athletic skill. Hand-eye coordination is needed to aim and throw water balloons with high precision at moving targets. Endurance and cardio are key components as well: Running away from one friend while simultaneously running towards another requires agility for long periods of time. A package of balloons is available for purchase almost anywhere, and avid ballooners may even consider purchasing a water balloon nozzle for efficient balloon filling. 

While not a professional sport, or even an official recreational one, water balloon fights may be just the thing to bring out the childhood joy needed after a long winter of little sun and few opportunities for outdoor fun.

“Growing up in Florida, honestly [water balloon fights] were just a way to get out and have a good time,” Rachel Kalmanovich, U3 Arts, said to The McGill Tribune. “It’s running around and hitting your friends with sacks of water. What’s not to love?”

Mini golf

As the last piles of snow melt, many students are bringing back their favourite pastime: Mini golf. Although it cannot be played on any old lawn, Montreal offers a number of locations for mini-putting. 

Putting Edge Centre-Ville has reservation slots for groups of up to 12 miniature golfers, and their website details the COVID-19 procedures in place to keep visitors safe. Further north, Parc d’Amusement Anjou is a half-hour drive away from downtown Montreal and boasts two 18-hole mini golf courses. For those willing to ditch grassy golf for a more adrenaline-filled activity, the park also offers go-karting.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV, Pop Rhetoric

Why we are obsessed with obsession

by India Blaisdell on

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Hannibal Lecter has been a fixture in contemporary horror since his introduction in Thomas Harris’ seminal 1981 novel Red Dragon. Even though Harris, at the time, may not have understood why readers wanted more of his character, media featuring or referencing the character has been around for 40 years. CBS’s new show, Clarice, although it legally cannot use his name due to ownership issues, is the most recent addition to the Lecter canon. Lecter––a respected forensic psychologist, staunch supporter of the arts, and cannibalistic serial killer––is reminiscent of literary vampires. He is magnetic, charming, refined, and excruciatingly intelligent; it is hard for anyone to divert their eyes from him despite his inherent evil and insanity. Protagonists such as Lecter challenge the audience to expand the limits of their empathy and recognize their own yearnings and desires in villainous characters. 

Due to Lecter’s legendary status—a consequence of Anthony Hopkins’ unsettling performance in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)—it would be easy to chalk up his lasting popularity to the camp and gore of the stories which feature him. The fan cult of Hannibal Lecter, however, is substantially less interested in cannibalism and murder than it is about the dichotomy of attraction and repulsion, all-consuming love, and desire. Harris’ 1999 novel, Hannibal, and NBC’s 2013 TV show adaptation of the same name both feature characters—Clarice Starling and Will Graham, respectively—falling in love with Lecter. Both relationships are loaded with manipulation and mind games, and are a far cry from healthy representation. In fact, the ending of Harris’ novel was so vehemently rejected by audiences that Jodie Foster famously refused to reprise her role as Starling for the film adaptation. NBC’s Hannibal fully embraces Harris’ vision for the characters, highlighting the seductive nature of a character like Hannibal Lecter. The show also goes further: Where the 1999 novel preferred subtext and thinly veiled references regarding Starling and Lecter, the show has Graham (Hugh Dancy) explicitly ask whether Lecter (Mads Mikklesen) is in love with him. 

“Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you, and find nourishment at the sight of you? Yes. But do you ache for him?” Bedelia du Maurier (Gillian Anderson), Lecter’s therapist, tells Graham.

Transcending the relationship at hand, this question turns a mirror to the audience, explicitly bringing them into the narrative of the show. The audience is thrust into a moment of introspection, and identify parts of themselves in these morally bankrupt characters. This question has been asked in many other works, from the origins of the literary vampire—Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula—to more modern works such as Netflix’s You (2018-), BBC’s Luther (2010-2019) and Killing Eve (2018-), and Paul Thomas Anderson’s exceptional Phantom Thread (2017).

All of these works challenge the audience to understand and empathize with characters while simultaneously accepting the immorality of their actions. By gaining the audience’s empathy, these works force society to question the notion that media should only reflect the best of humanity. The fictional mutually obsessive relationships at the centre of each story have the inherent ability to heighten the already overwhelming emotions of desire and attraction. Although some may find it morally corrupt, these stories gain popularity by allowing audiences to live vicariously through the on-screen dynamics. 

Watching Killing Eve’s Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and Eve (Sandra Oh), Hannibal‘s Will and Hannibal, and Phantom Thread’s Alma and Reynolds poison, stab, shoot, and maim each other in the name of love is a dazzling and intoxicating experience one could only wish for themselves—although, without the bloodshed. These shows, movies, and books are, in the end, about how far one can go for someone they love. For many people, having someone passionately confess their love to them is all they could ask for. With this in mind, The Silence of the Lambs’s iconic Valentine’s Day release makes perfect sense. 

Science & Technology

Sick and tired: How the medical field neglects women’s health

by Zoe Karkossa on

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Compassion and respect towards patients are essential to delivering effective healthcare. Despite advances made by activists and patients alike, the medical field perpetuates its extensive history of sexism, putting women’s lives and well-being at risk. From dismissive doctors to inadequate research, the healthcare gender bias prevents women from receiving the medical services they need and deserve.

Women have long been subjected to harmful medical practices. Since their inception in the 1930s, lobotomies—known as a horror story of ignored medical ethics—were overwhelmingly performed on women. By inserting a needle deep into the brain, surgeons severed the connections between the frontal lobe and the rest of the brain. Originally developed to alleviate anxiety and insomnia, lobotomies were known to leave people more docile and without the ability to feel intense emotions—if they even survived.

The mid-20th century explosion of the pharmaceutical industry also imposed drastic effects on women’s health. Tranquillizers such as Valium were overprescribed to women between the 1950s and 1970s, leading to severe side effects including addiction. Despite these known issues, the excessive prescription of these drugs, aided by the financial incentive associated with it, continued until the drug patents expired in the 2000s.

In addition to women’s behaviour being wrongly pathologized, their legitimate health concerns have also been dismissed and disbelieved for millennia. Medical professionals often wrongly attribute women’s symptoms to stress, mental illness, or vague hormonal imbalances. Even COVID-19 symptoms are more likely to be overlooked in women, despite the urgency of quickly identifying and containing infections. 

“Nearly every time I went to the doctor after the age of probably 11, […] the doctor would undermine whatever I was asking about, and […] attribute whatever my ailment was solely to anxiety,” Annie Costello, U1 Arts, said in an interview with The McGill Tribune.

Since doctors are less likely to take complaints from women seriously, receiving an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment can be frustrating and exhausting. Long lists of personal anecdotes demonstrate that women often suffer years of unnecessary pain and illness before their medical issues are identified. Such diagnostic delays put women’s lives at risk, and are responsible for up to 80,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. 

“I definitely have maintained that self-doubt every time I go to the doctor, even anytime I feel ill,” Costello said. “Every time I go, I get convinced it is something I am making up. It’s beyond frustrating at this point because I don’t actually know now if I actually am ill.” 

Although medical sexism puts all women at risk, other layers of oppression only serve to compound the issue. Modern gynecology in North America is built on the brutal abuse of enslaved women, and this legacy had led to Black women still facing damaging disparities in healthcare access. Indigenous women, as well as undocumented immigrant women detained in the U.S., have long been subjected to forced sterilization, with cases reported in Canada as recently as 2017.

High medical costs and inaccessible care have devastating effects on poor and unhoused women, who are often forced to neglect health issues. Disabled women also face a variety of sociocultural, financial, and structural barriers when accessing medical care. Queer women are also subjected to discrimination in medical institutions; preventative screenings for cervical cancer are less common due to the false assumption that lesbian women are at a lower risk for this disease. Trans women, as well as all other trans people, frequently face prejudice and neglect from medical professionals. Additionally, recent health protection rollbacks under the Trump administration leave them at severe risk of discrimination.

Even when illnesses are correctly diagnosed, treatment options available to women can be severely limited. There is a glaring lack of research into health issues that predominantly affect women, and also into the ways sex and gender influence the consequences of common illnesses—medical studies by the National Institutes of Health were not mandated to include female subjects until 1993. 

Inadequate funding is another major factor in this research gap, according to Dr. Lucy Gilbert, professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Department of Oncology at McGill. 

“You first have to publish and do the research, and then ask for the money,” Gilbert said in an interview with the Tribune. “You need money to do the research, but they won’t give you money unless you do the research and show that you are getting results.”

Health concerns affecting the female reproductive system are particularly neglected, despite their high prevalence among cisgender women, transgender men, and non-binary people assigned female at birth. Two common diseases are polycystic ovary syndrome, which can lead to mood disorders, diabetes, infertility, and endometriosis, a cause of chronic pain and fatigue. Despite these two illnesses affecting up to 18 and 10 per cent of cisgender women respectively, doctors still do not know what causes them or how to cure them.

The medical literature on how these diseases affect transgender people—as well as the potential impacts of hormone therapy—is exceedingly small. Additionally, they may face barriers and stigma in accessing reproductive healthcare.

Common medical issues affect women in unique ways, as disease prevalence, medication dosage, and symptoms vary based on sex and gender. Many medical trials actively exclude women, leading to a large gap in information on how medications affect half of the human population. 

A wide range of illnesses are exacerbated by this lack of gender-conscious medical research. Women are less likely to recognize the symptoms of heart attacks as well as seek and receive appropriate care. Though the biological causes behind Alzheimer’s disease have yet to be elucidated, two-thirds of patients with Alzheimer’s disease are women. Lung cancer is currently the deadliest form of cancer among women, and is twice as likely to occur in women in a non-smoking population—proposed theories include women’s exposure to secondhand smoking and differences in biological reactions to nicotine, but there is no scientific consensus explaining the troubling statistic. 

Although there is still much work to be done, positive advances have been made in a variety of fields. Significant research has contributed to reduced mortality rates for breast cancer, cervical cancer, and cardiovascular disease in women. Additionally, the proportion of female doctors in several countries has been consistently increasing over the past decades.

“People have begun to understand that women have a lot to offer, that we are the intellectual equals of men,” Gilbert said. “At top levels, there’s a huge gap still […] and this must be bridged. A few women pushing through the glass ceiling will not be enough, the whole glass ceiling must come down.” 

Some studies have concluded that women are better doctors: They are more likely to follow clinical guidelines and communicate effectively, and are less likely to interrupt their patients. 

Increasing education and awareness is also an essential step to empowering and protecting women. Medical Herstory, a non-profit founded by gender health equity advocate and McGill alumna Tori Ford, BA ‘19, is focussed on giving women a voice and helping them navigate the murky waters of the healthcare system, through workshops on patient advocacy and medical education. 

“[Part of Medical Herstory’s mission] is about empowering young people, how to advocate for yourself in medical settings, and also acknowledging why it is so difficult, why do you feel like you don’t have enough time, like you can’t find your voice,” Ford said in an interview with the Tribune.

Ford emphasized the importance of community-building and connecting with others, on top of providing people with the tools they need to demand adequate healthcare. 

“Unfortunately, we like to think about the medical system as this benevolent system, but it’s really not and it causes a lot of harm,” Ford said. “Finding ways to protect yourself, to know your rights, and to get the care you deserve [is essential].”

Features

Just a phone call away

by Alaana Kumar on

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At 22 years old, I have lived in four cities across three different countries. Each move has come with the gruelling process of saying goodbye to loved ones and cultivating a new social circle in an unfamiliar place. While others my age may find comfort in living in one place their entire lives, I find solace in knowing I have acquired something in my childhood that is invaluable: A large network of relationships.  away

As the romanticization of letter writing, rotary dial phones, and life before technology grow, we can overlook how we are fortunate to today’s digital interconnectedness—one that no generation before us has been able to experience. With the invention of the cell phone, then FaceTime, and now Zoom, reuniting with family members, catching up with old friends, or sustaining a relationship from opposite sides of the country is easier than ever. With just the click of a button, lonely nights no longer seem as frightening as they once did. 

In the past, a move to a different city meant the end of a friendship, and leaving for university meant only hearing a parent’s voice when returning home for the holidays. Now more than ever, students are leaving home to attend university somewhere new. For some, this decision is made easily upon the assurance that they can still connect with their hometown lives. 

With the ongoing pandemic bringing about the rise of Zoom fatigue, it is common to take for granted the gift that is virtual communication. While Zoom meetings and isolated work environments are not ideal, early curfews and time indoors would be much harder without the technologies that currently occupy our days.

Ironically, it is these casual FaceTimes, three-hour-long phone calls to home, and Zoom parties where individuals vent frustrations about virtual life that make the situation a little more bearable. Michelle Yu, BCom ‘16, reflects on how staying in touch with her McGill friends has only strengthened their bonds since graduating, and has made it easier to continue these friendships as time passes. 

“I think a big part of what is special with long distance relationships in today’s era is the sense of comfort that you can quickly slip back into when you are reunited,” Yu said in an interview with the McGill Tribune. “A lot of that is thanks to social media and technology. We’ve been given these tools that have allowed us to stay informed and engaged with our loved ones [….] It has really shown that relationships can stand the test of time and distance.”

In times of uncertainty, we often cling to familiarity. For students living abroad or university graduates starting a new chapter in a foreign city, reaching out to someone who understands your roots can help organize your thoughts and remind you of how far you’ve come. away

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