news 2022

Even though many global cities incorporate greenspaces such as pocket parks and community gardens into their urban planning efforts, new UBC research shows those plans often fail to include the needs of youth and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. As a result, this age demographic can miss out on the known social, physical and mental health benefits of these nature-based solutions.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that honey improves key measures of cardiometabolic health, including blood sugar and cholesterol levels - especially if the honey is raw and from a single floral source. The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials on honey and found that it lowered fasting blood glucose, total and LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, triglycerides and a marker of fatty liver disease.

Tick-borne pathogens, known for causing illnesses such as Lyme disease, are on the rise in Central Canada - presenting new risks in areas where they were never previously detected. The findings from researchers at McGill University and the University of Ottawa demonstrate the need for more comprehensive testing and tracking to detect the spread and potential risk of tick-borne pathogens to human and wildlife populations throughout Canada.

COVID-19 is the ninth pandemic, or large-scale epidemic, the world has experienced in the past century - and it won't be the last. To help the public and policymakers better navigate the next global outbreak, the University of Toronto has created the Institute for Pandemics (IFP) based at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

In the summer of 2020, months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic,  Samira Mubareka  and her colleagues began testing wildlife in Ontario and Quebec for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. "Pretty early in the pandemic, we knew that there was spillover from humans to animals," said Mubareka, who is a clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and an associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Findings from a new trial suggest that lowering dialysis temperatures does not lead to improved patient outcomes, despite previous studies suggesting otherwise. Published in the Lancet , the four-year trial of more than 15,000 patients was done in 84 of 97 hemodialysis centres in Ontario, and, in terms of the number of patients, it was the largest hemodialysis trial ever published worldwide.

The expression of the viral protein Vpu is essential in allowing infected cells to evade the elimination mechanism known as ADCC, a new study shows. The type of virus used as a model to study the efficacy of non-neutralizing antibodies against the virus responsible for AIDS has a crucial role to play, according to a new study led by Andrés Finzi, Université de Montréal professor and researcher at the CHUM Research Centre.

The World Health Organization's most recent estimates (2016) are that over 4.2 million people die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution (often referred to as PM 2. A recent study involving McGill researchers now suggests that the annual global death toll from outdoor PM 2.5 may be significantly higher than previously thought.

Poor sleep quality is associated with breast inflammation, a condition that can activate cascades of reactions leading to cancer Poor sleep quality may promote inflammation of breast tissue and increase the risk of breast cancer, suggests an exploratory study published in the journal Cytokine . Indeed, the Laval University research team behind the study showed a correlation between sleep quality characteristics and certain inflammatory markers associated with breast cancer risk.

Science, Health & Technology Brett Goldhawk Early intervention with catheter cryoablation can halt disease progression, reduce risk of serious health impacts A national study led by UBC researchers at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation is shedding light on how to more effectively treat atrial fibrillation (AF) - a common heart rhythm problem associated with increased risk of stroke and heart failure.

Canadian chemists specializing in nanotechnology draw inspiration from nature to create molecular transporters that optimize the release of therapeutic drugs.

Q&A with Giorgia Sulis, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health As the flu season begins and the COVID-19 pandemic continues, pneumococcal vaccination is more important than ever to prevent disease and death from pneumonia and other forms of pneumococcal disease.

Never before in the history of modern medicine has the world experienced a shutdown of elective surgical systems as was experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Western University researcher Janet Martin. An expert in global access to safe surgery, Martin and a team of experts from around the world have published a study in The Lancet that aims to help to improve resilience of hospitals against future surgical cancellations and backlogs worldwide.

Higher exposure to a certain type of traffic-related air pollution called particulate matter may be linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to a meta-analysis by Western researchers published this week in Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While at Western, graduate student Dr. Ehasan Abolhasani specifically looked at fine particulate matter which consists of pollutant particles of less than 2.5 microns in diameter suspended in air.

Individuals who deal with anxiety are not less hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine Individuals who deal with anxiety are no less hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine compared to those without anxiety, according to new research. The new study led by the University of Waterloo aimed to investigate the relationship between vaccine hesitancy, psychological factors associated with anxiety, and individuals' reasoning for and against getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

People who follow sleep duration recommendations are likely to live longer, according to a study by researcher Julie Carrier, professor in the Psychology Department, and her colleagues. Are you an adult aged between 18 and 64 who sleeps 7-9 hours a day? Or are you over 65 and sleep 7-8 hours a day? Following these Canadian recommendations on sleep duration could increase your life expectancy.

Simon Fraser researchers are advocating for the inclusion of genomic data into forecasting models to better understand the spread of infectious diseases. The researchers say incorporating this data into forecasting models can inform monitoring, coordination and help determine where resources are needed.

Interrupting prolonged sitting with periodic activity "snacks" may help maintain muscle mass and quality, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto. Daniel Moore , an associate professor of muscle physiology at the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Eduction (KPE) who led the study, found that short bouts of activity, such as two minutes of walking or body weight sit-to-stand squats, allow the body to use more amino acids from meals to build muscle proteins.

A protein called 'numb' acts as a regulator of intracellular tau levels - and could someday be used to treat neurogenerative diseases, an UdeM-IRCM study finds. CONTENU - A mechanism has been found that controls cellular levels of tau, a protein whose abnormal accumulation is at the root of tauopathies, a class of devastating neurodegenerative diseases.

Researchers at the University of Toronto are inching closer to realizing a life-saving brain cancer treatment by using gold nanoparticles to make radiation therapy more effective and less toxic for patients. In their battle against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a rare, fast-growing cancer that begins in the brain, the multidisciplinary team has discovered that the nanoparticles can keep radiation tightly focused on the tumour, shrinking its size and preventing damage elsewhere in the body.