news 2021

A Statistics Canada survey shows more than 1 in 10 Canadians reports being lonely often or all the time. Photo by Mike Toraw of Pexels Elvis knew lonely. And if even the king of rock-and-roll sometimes checked into Heartbreak Hotel down at the end of Lonely Street, it's hardly surprising that a lot of ordinary Canadians are also feeling a bit forlorn these days.

A statistical model developed by Université de Montréal researchers uses a blood biomarker of SARS-CoV-2 to identify infected patients who are most at risk of dying of COVID-19. A statistical model developed by Université de Montréal researchers uses a blood biomarker of SARS-CoV-2 to identify infected patients who are most at risk of dying of COVID-19.

A recent study of network mobility data suggests it may be necessary to re-examine the government's region-based approach to COVID-19 travel restrictions (Aleks Marinkovic / Pexels) By Robert Rombouts, Special to Western News November 25, 2021 When Ontario implemented regionally targeted lockdowns at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a common presumption was that travel from highly restricted regions to those with low levels of restriction will increase, negating the intent of the lockdowns.

With thousands of wells and counting, the Northeast region of British Columbia is one of Canada's most important hubs of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking - the process of blasting pressurized liquid at rock formations to fracture them and release the natural gas trapped inside. Part of the region sits atop the Montney Formation, a massive, football-shaped tract of land that stretches into northwestern Alberta and is believed to contain one of the world's richest reserves of shale gas.

Extreme heat poses an increasing threat to the public, as heat waves are expected to become more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting due to climate change. Although the adverse health impacts of heat are well documented among older adults, less is known about the potential impacts of heat on young and middle-aged adults.

A Western Univesity study has found moms-to-be often find and curate health information on behalf of their partners. Photo by Amina Filkins of Pexels Today's parents-to-be use online tools for health guidance in the same way their parents once dog-eared pages of the What to Expect book series. But a new study has found it's new moms who most often devour digital guidance about parenting - while dads-to-be rely on their women partners to sift and curate information for them.

A significant majority of adult vapers of non-tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes, and who would be possibly impacted by flavour restrictions, oppose flavour bans, but the public health implications of possible flavour restrictions are not clear, according to a recent study.

An international team of scientists has provided further evidence of climate change by measuring the expansion of the troposphere - the lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere - which is being driven by rising temperatures. The researchers tracked the altitude of the upper limit of the troposphere, called the tropopause, from 1980 to 2020.

Researchers from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and Rice University have reported the first measurements of the ultra-low-friction behaviour of a material known as magnetene. The results point the way toward strategies for designing similar low-friction materials for use in a variety of fields, including tiny, implantable devices.

In humans, the dopamine system has been tied to rewards and pleasurable sensations. As well as to memory and learning. A recent study from McGill University, published in Current Biology , suggests that dopamine may also play a key role in shaping what songs female songbirds enjoy, which may ultimately affect mating as females choose (and then remember) their mates based on the songs they prefer.

Researchers at the University of Toronto and its partner hospitals have discovered a way to generate functional cells from stem cells that could open new treatment avenues for people with cystic fibrosis who have liver disease. Funded by Medicine by Design and completed with the collaborative efforts of multiple labs, the research was recently published in  Nature Communications.

Does close contact with patients put dentists at greater risk of catching COVID-19?  According to a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto and three other Canadian universities, dentists appear - perhaps counterintuitively - less likely than the general population to contract the virus.

Health Canada has authorized the use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children 5 to 11 years of age. (FatCamera / iStock) By Western Communications November 19, 2021 Health Canada has approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11, marking another major milestone in the country's pandemic response.

A gene linked to intellectural disability and epilepsy might also be playing havoc with some patients' senses, including sight and hearing, a new UdeM-led study suggests. The SYNGAP1 gene, recently recognized for its role in intellectual disability and epilepsy, may also affect the sensory system of patients with a genetic mutation linked to this gene.

Highly anticipated list identifies a "who's who" of influential researchers A major annual publication has recognized nine University of Waterloo faculty members as being among the most cited in the word. A list published by the global analytics firm Clarivate identifies researchers who demonstrated "significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade." Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top one per cent by citations for field and publication year in the company's global citation index.

By Celine Zadorsky, Special to Western News Researchers at Western and Lawson Health Research Institute played a leading role in a new global study that will change the way surgeons repair leaky valves in the heart. Leaky valve is one of the most common heart conditions, and it often does not present any symptoms. Many patients don't even realize they have a leaky valve, often presenting to doctors only when they are in the late stage of the disease.

Certain regulatory genes in the placenta may be linked to the varying severity of febrile seizures during fever episodes in babies and toddlers, a new study co-led by UdeM's Sarah Lippé suggests. For the first time, a Quebec research team is studying the expression of three families of genes in the placenta and the incidence of febrile seizures in children.

A new study identifies circulating proteins as potential therapeutic targets and screening tools for type 1 diabetes. A research team led by Dr. Despoina Manousaki of the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre and the Université de Montréal has identified three circulating proteins as promising molecules for the development of drugs and early detection tools for patients with type 1 diabetes.

A child plays with sensory-based objects during a day camp in January 2020, held by the Sensory Perception Research lab at Western University. (Maggie MacLellan/Western Communications) By Maggie MacLellan, Special to Western News November 15, 2021 Results of a recent study on sensory abilities in autistic children may have positive consequences to the way supports are provided to them, helping increase their quality of life.

Those planning pregnancy are struggling to weigh the risks and benefits of antidepressant medication based on how research is currently presented, say researchers at the University of Toronto and Women's College Hospital.