news 2022

Cities are responsible for almost 1/5 of the global methane emissions caused by human activities. But most cities don't capture information about the full range of sources of this powerful greenhouse gas. In 2020, a team led by McGill University, measured methane emissions from various sources across the city of Montreal.

New research published in Science shows how the rise of modern agriculture turned a North American native plant, common waterhemp, into a problematic agricultural weed. An international team led by researchers at the University of British Columbia with colleagues at the University of Toronto, compared 187 waterhemp samples from modern farms and neighbouring wetlands with more than 100 historical samples dating as far back as 1820 that had been stored in museums across North America.

Researchers from Western have shown that a fireball that originated at the edge of the Solar System was likely made of rock, not ice, challenging long-held beliefs about how the Solar System was formed. Just at the edge of our Solar System and halfway to the nearest stars is a collection of icy objects sailing through space, known as the Oort Cloud.

A new study led by Yves Brun shows how some bacteria living in a biofilm sacrifice themselves to ensure the survival of the community. CONTENU - Biofilms, complex communities of bacteria, abound around us: on the surface of cheese where they give off flavors and aromas, in streams where they form the slimy substance on rocks, on our teeth where they form plaque.

Science, Health & Technology Alex Walls There's a new branch on the tree of life and it's made up of predators that nibble their prey to death. These microbial predators fall into two groups, one of which researchers have dubbed "nibblerids” because they, well, nibble chunks off their prey using tooth-like structures.

Montreal biologists publish a study demonstrating that photogrammetry allows rapid and precise three-dimensional reconstruction of flowers from two-dimensional images. CONTENU - To better understand the evolution of flowers, a research team in biology from Université de Montréal, the Montreal Botanical Garden and McGill University have succeeded in using photogrammetry to quickly and precisely build, in three dimensions, a model of a flower from two-dimensional images.

Engineering researchers make a media splash with sleek new 'splash-free' urinal design By Brian Caldwell Faculty of Engineering Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo followed their curiosity and called on nature for inspiration for a new urinal design that has attracted internatinal attention by solving the messy problem of splash-back.

AI can help identify biases in news reporting that we wouldn't otherwise see. Researchers from McGill University got a computer program to generate news coverage of COVID-19 using headlines from CBC articles as prompts. They then compared the simulated news coverage to the actual reporting at the time and found that CBC coverage was less focused on the medical emergency and more positively focused on personalities and geo-politics.

Researchers identify genes and markers associated with resistance to a commonly used hormone treatment Researchers at Laval University have discovered markers and genes associated with resistance to a hormone treatment commonly given to people with prostate cancer. These advances, reported in an article published by NAR Cancer , could lead to better use of this treatment and the development of new, more effective cancer treatments.

There's more to a strand of hair than meets the eye. This human tissue is a chronological record-keeper of the adversities endured by the human body and mind. A new study co-authored by researchers at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Drug Safety Lab analyzes the relationship between war exposure, current living conditions, hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.

Researchers in engineering, health search for new ways to detect bone fragility, prevent fractures By John Roe Faculty of Engineering Engineering and health experts at the University of Waterloo are collaborating on research that may lead to breakthroughs in preventing a serious, all-too-common injury - broken bones.

Experimental physicists at the University of Toronto are closer to understanding why some icicles form with ripples up and down their outsides, while others form with smooth, slick, even surfaces. By growing icicles from water samples with different contaminants like sodium chloride (salt), dextrose (sugar) and fluorescent dye, the researchers discovered that water impurities become entrapped within icicles as they form and subsequently create chevron patterns that contribute to a ripple effect around their circumferences.

New research shows promising results using neurotechnological approaches to treat depression in youth. The research, led by Simon Fraser University (SFU) professor Faranak Farzan, is published in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. Researchers investigated the clinical and neurophysiological effects of using brain stimulation followed by cognitive exercise for treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in 26 youth (aged 16 - 24 years old).

University of Waterloo researchers take a novel approach to public health analysis High school students who have a large weekly allowance, friends who smoke and low levels of physical activity are more likely to use multiple substances over time. Conversely, being older, being Black and eating breakfast daily were factors associated with a smaller chance of transitioning to multiple use.

Does evolution follow certain rules? Can these rules be predicted? Southeast Asia's tree shrews break multiple rules when it comes to body size variation - with an unexpected twist - according to researchers from McGill University, University of Cambridge, and Yale University. The findings shed new light on the effects of climate change on the evolution of body size in animals.

Waterloo researchers develop treatment scheduling method to target heterogeneous tumours Researchers at the University of Waterloo have identified a new method for scheduling radiation therapy that could be as much as 22 percent more effective at killing cancer cells than current standard radiation treatment regimens.

Poverty linked to Facebook and Instagram addiction in teens Adolescents from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to report addictive use of social media, according to an international team of researchers including McGill University Professor Frank Elgar. The findings show a link between economic inequality and problematic use of social network platforms and instant messaging applications.

A new study co-authored by Western researcher Anna Zajacova shows that racial and ethnic disparities in pain prevalence in the U.S. are far larger than previously realized, with multiracial and Indigenous (Native American/Alaska Native) adults reporting the highest levels of pain. She says this finding is significant because pain can be used as a barometer of mental and physical health of a population.  "We aren't talking about one particular type of pain, we are looking at pain overall," said Zajacova, sociology professor at Western.

Science, Health & Technology Collins Maina Pregnant women may need to take more supplemental iron than current Health Canada guidelines recommend, after two UBC researchers found high rates of iron deficiency in a recent study. The research investigated iron deficiency prevalence among 60 pregnant women in Metro Vancouver and found that over 80 per cent of them were likely iron-deficient in late pregnancy despite taking daily prenatal supplements that provided 100 per cent of the daily iron recommendation in pregnancy.

The James Webb Space Telescope reveals another first: a full menu of atoms, molecules, and even signs of active chemistry and clouds in the distant 'hot Saturn" known as WASP-39 b. CONTENU - Known for beaming stunning images back to Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just scored another first: a molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world's skies.