news 2021

Q&As Erik Rolfsen When it comes to COVID-19, peace of mind is difficult to come by. But thanks to new research compiled with data from UBC's first on-campus clinical study, a new self-administered rapid antigen test will soon be available in Canada. It's a tool that could help combat growing uncertainty, prevent transmission and potentially save lives.

Findings show strong antibody evasion and binding with human cells that contribute to increased transmissibility-and that vaccination remains the best defence UBC researchers are the first in the world to conduct a molecular-level structural analysis of the Omicron variant spike protein. The analysis-done at near atomic resolution using a cryo-electron microscope-reveals how the heavily mutated variant infects human cells and is highly evasive of immunity.

By now, many are aware that the pandemic has affected lower-income groups the most within countries, including in Canada. But what most do not know is that income inequality - the economic distance between higher and lower-income groups within individual countries - is also driving national COVID-19 infection and death rates.

Professor Rafael Najmanovich and his team have applied their modelling of possible variations of the virus responsible for COVID-19 to investigate the Omicron variant. Last summer, a team of researchers at Université de Montréal succeeded in modelling the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 , the virus responsible for COVID-19, and simulating more than 17,000 possible mutations on a computer.

Preparing for an online start to the winter term: for more information. Wearables can provide insight into patterns of health-related behaviour and disease symptoms  Remote monitoring of health-related behaviour with wearable sensor technology is feasible for people with complex health conditions, shows a recent University of Waterloo study.

Early studies in mice show this potential vaccine could produce stronger and longer lasting immunity to fight against variants. A Western University team's novel approach to developing a COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in inducing a robust immune response, early data shows. Several COVID-19 vaccines have been licensed and used for nearly one year now to protect people from the virus.

Researchers from the University of Toronto have confirmed the critical role played by the brain's hippocampus in updating our memories when those recollections are shown to be inaccurate. The hippocampus is part of the brain's limbic system - the amalgam of neurological components that, among other functions, creates and retrieves our memories.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk For the first time, Canadians can access a new test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, thanks to a study being led by researchers at UBC's faculty of medicine. The test-which measures proteins known as biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord-could assist with earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the disease, giving patients and their families much needed answers and assistance with planning.

Reducing mercury pollution entering lakes lowers how much harmful mercury is found in freshwater fish destined for consumers' plates. This is according to a new paper . During the study, conducted over 15 years, scientists intentionally added a traceable form of mercury to an experimental lake and its watershed.

Hummingbirds' metabolisms are so fast that they face an ever-looming threat­­: running out of energy and dropping dead. That's why the birds evolved a physiological trick, an ability at the centre of a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough's  Welch Lab  and Western University.

Maternal pheromones play an important role in infant sociability, according to a new study at CHU Sainte-Justine. Maternal pheromones enhance synchrony between the infant's and the mother's brains, suggesting their role in the development of the baby's "social instinct" and opening the door to new therapeutic strategies for developmental disorders.

When baby 'Neve' died 10,000 years ago, she was accorded a proper burial recognizing her as a full person, archeologists on a dig in Italy find. The baby girl was born roughly 10,000 years ago, after the end of the last Ice Age in what is now Liguria, northwestern Italy, but didn't survive more than two months.

Frequent changes in safety guidelines caused people to judge experts negatively Officials could boost public trust in COVID-19 health recommendations by including reminders that changes to recommendations are expected as science evolves, a new study has found. The research team first predicted and found that reminders of the frequent changes in safety guidelines caused people to judge experts negatively.

Researchers at SFU's School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) urge parents and guardians to educate their children on the potential risks associated with biowearable technology devices when gifting this holiday season. Biowearable technology devices, or biowearables, are interactive smart devices worn on-body, such as smart watches and fitness trackers.

Environment Herbicide Roundup disturbing freshwater biodiversity As Health Canada extends the deadline on public consultation on higher herbicide concentrations in certain foods, research from McGill University shows that the herbicide Roundup, at concentrations commonly measured in agricultural runoff, can have dramatic effects on natural bacterial communities.

A first-of-its-kind study by Schulich Medicine & Dentistry researchers dispels a controversial gender dysphoria theory that activists and experts have called inaccurate and harmful to transgender people. Greta Bauer, PhD, and her team at Trans Youth CAN! found no evidence in a recent study to support the idea of rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) - a proposed condition often used as an argument against providing gender-affirming medical care to young people.

Metabolic disorders associated with excessive weight gain can lead to changes in parts of the brain that are responsible for motivation and mood, UdeM researcher Stéphanie Fulton finds. Obese people run a higher-than-average risk of depression or anxiety, the result of a combination of factors: poor diet, lack of physical activity and an accumulation of fat cells in their body called visceral adipocytes.

Science, Health & Technology UBC Media Relations Researchers say Canada's experience offers a roadmap for other countries Abortion remains safe after Canada removed restrictions on the medical abortion pill mifepristone in November 2017. That's one of the key findings from a UBC-led study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine .

An international team of scientists, including a Western University researcher, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that facilitates more personalized treatments for depression and improves patient outcomes.

The causes of psychiatric disorders are poorly understood. Now, in work led by researchers at McGill University, there is evidence that a wide range of early onset psychiatric problems (from depression, anxiety and addictions to dyslexia, bulimia, and ADHD) may be largely due to the combination of just three factors.