McGill welcomed hundreds of new students to its campus residences this fall, despite delivering classes remotely. McGill Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) must now balance students’ urge to socialize while protecting the community’s health and safety amid the pandemic. As the number of daily cases continue to increase in[Read More…]
Tag: covid-19
Growing COVID-19 case count pushes Montreal into the red zone
Quebec’s provincial government announced on Sept. 30 that Montreal is now one of three zones in the province under a red alert due to its rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases. From Oct. 1 to 28, the city will enforce new restrictions on public and private gatherings designed to limit[Read More…]
Exploring how artificial intelligence could redefine health care
Before Siri and Alexa, programmers created Eliza. Developed in 1964, Eliza was the first chatbot capable of recreating conversations between a psychotherapist and a patient. This chatbot pushed the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI), a still-emerging field at the time, into the domain of health care. Despite researcher’s best efforts,[Read More…]
McGill must prioritize affordable student housing
Seeking out safe, affordable housing is often a significant source of anxiety for students, one that has only intensified due to the disastrous financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Montreal, in the thralls of a housing crisis, currently has an extremely low vacancy rate of about 1.5 per cent. Low[Read More…]
The hazards of ill-designed science in the age of COVID-19
In recent months, several unpublished papers exploring the link between air pollution and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been swept into the media frenzy surrounding the pandemic. In April, the New York Times reported on an unpublished paper from researchers at Harvard University, which concluded that there exists a positive correlation[Read More…]
From the BrainSTEM: A COVID-19 vaccine is only as effective as it is trustworthy
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into its eighth month, developments in the search for a potential vaccine have fueled hopes of a return to relative normalcy. Over 100 potential vaccine candidates are currently in various stages of human clinical or animal preclinical trials, as private companies and university researchers compete[Read More…]
Far-right COVID-19 conspiracies must not be taken lightly
If one was to pay attention to recent events, it would appear that QAnon zealots, anti-WHO “activists,” and alien truthers have a lot in common. Two weeks ago, all three groups were active participants in anti-mask protests that occurred in Montreal, where Q-related shirts and anti-mask signs seemed to take[Read More…]
Canadian Biotech start-up to begin Phase 3 COVID-19 oral treatment trials
On Sept. 2, Pulmonem Inc., a Canadian biotechnology start-up, received Health Canada’s approval to begin Phase 3 clinical trials to test an oral medication to treat COVID-19. The treatment does not eliminate the need for a vaccine, but can potentially reduce the number of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization by diminishing[Read More…]
‘En Pointe’ is an optimistic return to Montreal’s in-person theatre
For several months, COVID-19 brought Montreal’s theatre scene to a halt, but as public health measures are slowly being lifted, Tableau D’Hote Theatre has emerged as one of the first production companies to offer its patrons a safe theatre-going experience. En Pointe, their current production, is a series of bilingual[Read More…]
McGill launches reimagined study spaces for COVID-19
On Sept. 8, McGill launched Study Hubs, a safe-study alternative to the traditional library experience. The Study Hubs are individual study spaces that are set up in compliance with the university’s COVID-19 safety measures that include the mandatory use of masks and socially distanced study areas. These study spaces are[Read More…]
