news 2024

First-of-its-kind Canadian study found 10 Ontario children died of an opioid-related cause between 2017 and 2021 A new study from Western researchers in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario highlights the scope of opioid-related deaths in young children in Ontario, while providing a clearer picture of the risk factors.

Breastfeeding, child nutrition and exposure secondhand tobacco smoke at an early age may play a role in the onset of inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study conducted on Quebecers. A research team led by Professor Marie-Claude Rousseau of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and Dr. Prévost Jantchou, reseracher at the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Université de Montréal has made several promising discoveries regarding risk factors for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).

Professor Vincent Denault shows that legal decisions by Australian judges have used myths about "body language" to assess the credibility of witnesses. Nonverbal behaviour in the courtroom can significantly influence how judges assess the credibility of witnesses in their rulings.

Western researchers are taking a unique global approach to finding an effective treatment for people living with long COVID. Led by Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professor Douglas Fraser, the projects represent the first multi-continental research conducted on long COVID, with study sites in Africa and North and South Americas.

A genetic signature in newborns can predict neonatal sepsis before symptoms even start to show, according to a new study. The study, led by UBC and SFU researchers in collaboration with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, has the potential to help healthcare workers diagnose babies earlier, including in lowerand middle-income countries (LMICs) where neonatal sepsis is of particular concern.

What is the "most Canadian" animal' Spoiler: it's not the beaver, or the moose. Published today in the journal The Canadian Field-Naturalist , the study from a team of Simon Fraser researchers ranks, for the first time ever, species of terrestrial vertebrates in Canada by their level of Canadian evolutionary distinctness: the amount of time animals have evolved independently from other Canadian species.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo have developed a new technology that can hold an entire course of antibiotics in one tiny dose and deliver on demand just the right amount of medication that a particular patient needs to fight an infection. This breakthrough in targeted medicine is the result of two new studies that tested this drug-delivery system on two bacterial strains that negatively affect millions of people worldwide.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have reimagined the construction of modular homes with the development and testing of an innovative new design that allows the structures to be more easily relocated, reassembled and reconfigured in either urban or remote areas. The design of the Structural Timber and Applied Research Team (START), located in Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering, uses cross-laminated timber (CLT) and a wall-to-floor connection with few bolts needed in each connection.

A collaborative study sheds light on how cannabis use affects brain development in young people, the main one being atrophy of certain regions of the cerebral cortex. Cannabis use may lead to thinning of the cerebral cortex in adolescents according to a recent study led by Graciela Pineyro and Tomas Paus , according to a recent study led by Graciela Pineyro and Tomas Paus, researchers at CHU Sainte-Justine and professors at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Medicine.

University of Waterloo researchers have developed an innovative double-skin building façade that contains microalgae and uses machine learning to generate energy. Operating a building is often costly given the price of heating and energy usage, accounting for 37 per cent of global CO2 emissions.

Parents' cellphone use can have a direct impact on their preteens' mental health, according to a study. The effects include increased hyperactivity and inattention. There have been numerous studies of the effects of screen time on children. But kids aren't the only ones using cellphones; parents are just as likely to be seen glued to their devices at the park, at a restaurant and at home.

People with opioid use disorder in British Columbia who received methadone had a 37-40 per cent lower rate of treatment discontinuation compared with those who received buprenorphine/naloxone. The new research, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association , evaluated the risk of treatment discontinuation and mortality in people prescribed opioid agonist treatment (OAT) over a 10-year period.

McGill discovery explains link, highlights the importance of adequate vitamin D intake, especially in children. As Canadians brace for "vitamin D winter" - months when the sun's angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin - a McGill University study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

According to the Heart & Stroke Foundation , each year around 60,000 Canadians experience their first heart attack. Heart attacks happen when blockages in the coronary arteries prevent oxygen and nutrients from reaching the heart, leading to cell death and scarring. This damage can eventually result in heart failure.

A new study reveals children with autism have a keen interest in letters and numbers - something their parents don't always spot. During diagnostic assessments, many autistic children spontaneously head to the magnetic board with letters and numbers. How common is this interest in letters and numbers among autistic children?

What can Twitter tell us about how people complied - or not - with public-health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic? Quebec researchers Hélène Carabin and José Denis-Robichaud investigate. Did the extent to which people used social networks - especially Twitter - really reflect how much they supported - or not - the public-health measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic? Quebec health experts Hélène Carabin and José Denis-Robichaud , helped by Erin Rees , who specializes in risk assessment at the Public Health Agency of Canada, went looking for answers to that question.

New research gives another reason to take folic acid supplements while pregnant. A new study by Simon Fraser researchers has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviours in their children. Researchers from SFU's Faculty of Health Sciences, led by PhD candidate Joshua Alampi, published the study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

By generating mice with genetic mutations that disrupt the brain's TrkC-PTP? protein complex, researchers at the UdeM-affiliated IRCM find a key way that brain cells communicate. Scientists at Université de Montréal and its affiliated Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) have uncovered unique roles for a protein complex in the structural organization and function of brain cell connectivity, as well as in specific cognitive behaviors.

PUM launches a collection of comic strips. The first two volumes address the problems of access to vaccination during the pandemic and the sociology of young people in public places. A new collection entitled "Enquêtes scientifiques" is being launched this autumn by Presses de l'Université de Montréal (PUM), offering an original and accessible approach to disseminating scientific approaches in the form of comic strips.

Oct. 10-11, campus is open to McGill students, employees and essential visitors. Most classes are in-person. See Campus Public Safety website for details. Les 10 et 11 octobre, le campus est accessible aux étudiants et au personnel de l'Université, ainsi qu'aux visiteurs essentiels. La plupart des cours ont lieu en présentiel.