news 2022

Research finds chronic adolescent cannabis exposure may harm emotional and cognitive brain development through impact on separate brain regions   Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry researchers have shown that chronic exposure during adolescence to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, may induce long-lasting memory impairments and increased anxiety levels.

University of Waterloo  researchers are developing a new patch that would offer diabetics an affordable, accurate, pain-free, round-the-clock alternative to traditional tests that require pricking a finger for a blood sample every few hours. University of Waterloo  researchers are developing a new patch that would offer diabetics an affordable, accurate, pain-free, round-the-clock alternative to traditional tests that require pricking a finger for a blood sample every few hours.

Scientists at the CRCHUM find that a bacterium called Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 prevents neurodegeneration in the C. elegans worm used to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. CONTENU - A probiotic bacterium called Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus HA-114 prevents neurodegeneration in the C. elegans worm , an animal model used to study amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Therapies to target neuromuscular disorders affecting million of people worldwide are on the horizon thanks to research at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute of Montreal. CONTENU - Neuromuscular disorders affect millions of people worldwide. Now a discovery made at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (IRCM) opens the door to the development of targeted therapies.

The efficacy and safety of taking aspirin before the eleventh week of pregnancy have not been demonstrated for this gestational problem, which affects about 5% of women Preeclampsia is a problem of pregnancy hypertension that increases the risk of premature delivery and leads to the death of approximately 60,000 women and 500,000 children worldwide each year, mainly in developing countries.

Can restricting blood flow to athletes' limbs while training boost performance? University of Toronto researchers investigate Ischemic preconditioning (IPC), a technique used to prepare an organ or tissue for a lack of blood or oxygen supply, was originally developed for use in clinical settings where there is an expected lack of blood and oxygen supply, for example during surgery or after an adverse event like a heart attack.

Discovery will improve diagnosis and open treatment possibilities for thousands of people with this debilitating neurodegenerative condition worldwide New England Journal of Medicine reports the identification of a previously unknown genetic cause of a late-onset cerebellar ataxia, a discovery that will improve diagnosis and open new treatment avenues for this progressive condition.

Researchers at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Lawson Health Research Institute have shown that vaping has a negative effect on a critical layer in the lungs and may harm lung function. The study, published in the PLOS ONE Journal , shows that vaping affects pulmonary surfactant - a layer in the lungs made up of lipids and proteins that allows people to breathe with minimal effort by reducing surface tension.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk Researchers at UBC's Life Sciences Institute have identified a compound that shows early promise at halting infections from a range of coronaviruses, including all variants of SARS-CoV-2 and the common cold. The findings, published this week in Molecular Biomedicine , reveal a potential path toward antiviral treatments that could be used against many different pathogens.

A class of medication for Type 2 diabetes may help older people with the condition reduce their risk of dementia. The findings are contained in a new study by Walter Swardfager , an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and a scientist in the Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience and Recovery at Sunnybrook Research Institute, and graduate student Che-Yuan (Joey) Wu.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.