news 2021

Global law enforcement agencies are already using the new method UBC researchers have trained computers to predict the next designer drugs before they are even on the market, technology that could save lives. Law enforcement agencies are in a race to identify and regulate new versions of dangerous psychoactive drugs such as bath salts and synthetic opioids, even as clandestine chemists work to synthesize and distribute new molecules with the same psychoactive effects as classical drugs of abuse.

Ancient Indigenous fishing practices can be used to inform sustainable management and conservation today, according to a new study from Simon Fraser University. Working with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and using new palaeogenetic analytical techniques developed in SFU Archaeology's ancient DNA lab, directed by professor Dongya Yang, the results of a new collaborative study featured in Scientific Reports provides strong evidence that prior to European colonization, Coast Salish people were managing chum salmon by selectively harvesting males.

Researchers take step towards more complex quantum simulations  A team of researchers led by an Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) faculty member performed the first-ever simulation of baryons-fundamental quantum particles-on a quantum computer. With their results, the team has taken a step towards more complex quantum simulations that will allow scientists to study neutron stars, learn more about the earliest moments of the universe, and realize the revolutionary potential of quantum computers.

Genes present in specific intestinal cells protect against the development of inflammatory bowel diseases, researchers at UdeM and the MHI show. A research team at the Montreal Heart Institute and Université de Montréal has shown that genes present in specific intestinal cells protect against the development of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Science, Health & Technology Lou Corpuz-Bosshart New UBC research suggests free-roaming cats are likely to blame in the spread of the potentially deadly Toxoplasma gondii parasite to wildlife in densely populated urban areas. The study-the first to analyze so many wildlife species over a global scale-also highlights how healthy ecosystems can protect against these types of pathogens.

Like most sports technology, hockey helmets have evolved exponentially over the past 50 years. Gone are the days of the "egg shell" helmets worn by NHL superstars like Wayne Gretzky and Michel Goulet in the 1970s and 1980s. As the primary piece of equipment used to protect hockey players (professional or amateur) from concussions and other brain injuries, researchers at Western University say it is vitally important to continue improving the quality of hockey helmets.

Repeated listening to personally meaningful music induces beneficial brain plasticity in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease, a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto and Unity Health Toronto suggests. Changes in the brain's neural pathways correlated with increased memory performance on neuropsychological tests, supporting the clinical potential of personalized, music-based interventions for people with dementia.

Around the world increasing mental health inequalities between women and men following the COVID-19 pandemic represent a major public health concern. According to a new study, the lockdown measures due to the pandemic profoundly and unequally disrupted the work-family balance for many graduate students, exacerbating mental health problems.

Surprising as it sounds, all life forms in the ocean, from small krill to large tuna, seem to obey a simple mathematical law that links an organism's abundance to its body size. For example, although small krill are individually only one billionth of the weight of a large tuna, they also tend to be a billion times more numerous throughout the oceans.

New AI model enables computers to analyze text in African languages for many useful tasks Researchers have developed an AI model to help computers work more efficiently with a wider variety of languages. African languages have received little attention from computer scientists, so few natural language processing capabilities have been available to large swaths of the continent.

Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer are just some of the disorders associated with specific genes not "turning on" and "turning off" as they should. By using new CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology, in a recent paper , McGill researchers have described a new technique that scientists across the world can potentially use to explore novel ways of treating diseases associated with dysregulation in DNA methylation.

People are confusing the practice mindfulness with passive acceptance of problems Mindful awareness is about both accepting and engaging with life's challenges, and that's what popularized concepts of mindfulness tend to miss, new research has found. Studying popular concepts of mindfulness, the researchers found most laypeople are confusing the practice with passive acceptance of problems-a misconception scientists say ignores the important work of engaging with them.

Université de Montréal chemists looked at lab samples of patients who recovered from a mild case of COVID-19 and found that those over 50 produced more antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants worldwide, the pandemic's spread is accelerating. A research team led by Joelle Pelletier and Jean-François Masson, both professors in Université de Montréal's Department of Chemistry, wanted to find out whether natural infection or vaccination led to more protective antibodies being generated.

A new joint project between Western University's Faculty of Engineering and Fanshawe College's Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI) , in collaboration with London Hydro, is investigating household energy consumption for electric vehicles (EVs) and how weather factors affect it. EVs charged in Ontario produce, on average, only three per cent of the emissions of a similar gas-fueled car.

Short growing seasons limited the possible size of hunter-gatherer societies by forcing people to rely on meat, according to a recent study by a team of international researchers, including McGill University professor Eric Galbraith. After looking at population size for the roughly 300 hunter-gatherer societies which existed until quite recently, the researchers found that many of these groups were much smaller than might have been expected from the local ecosystem productivity.

Science, Health & Technology Erik Rolfsen Life expectancy in Metro Vancouver can vary by as much as 9.5 years depending on the neighbourhood in which you live, a new UBC-led study has found. Vancouver remains one of the healthiest cities in the world, but inequality in life expectancy between its neighbourhoods has grown considerably since 2001.

Research aimed at helping astronauts deal with isolation and confinement could also have an impact on those back on Earth suffering from COVID-related loneliness. Researchers in Simon Fraser University's iSpace Lab have created a virtual reality experience-called Earthgazing-which will be tested as part of SIRIUS 2021 , a study launching Nov.

A team of computer scientists, including Claude Crépeau of McGill University and physicist colleagues from the University of Geneva, have developed an extremely secure identity verification method based on the fundamental principle that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. The breakthrough has the potential to greatly improve the security of financial transactions and other applications requiring proof of identity online.

Ontarians with chronic hepatitis C can lose up to 20 per cent of their overall income managing their condition Ontarians with chronic hepatitis C can lose up to 20 per cent of their overall income managing their condition, a new study has found. Using survey results from 275 patients, the study analyzed the financial burden of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) on patients treated in hospital and community clinics.

Research team at CHU Sainte-Justine has discovered a more effective and less toxic targeted treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It's called Resolvin-D2. A research team led by Nicolas Dumont, a researcher at CHU Sainte-Justine and professor at the Université de Montréal, has discovered a new therapeutic molecule, Resolvin-D2.