news 2026

Researchers say we need to look at the impact of video games on daily life, not just screen time According to a new study, pre-adolescents who have difficulty managing their video game habits are more likely to experience psychotic-type episodes. In collaboration with colleagues from Maastricht University, a research team from McGill University found that 12-year-olds who showed signs of a gaming problem were more likely than other youngsters to suffer from mild paranoia, adhere to unusual beliefs and have altered perceptions of reality by the age of 13.

A few years ago, researcher Maya Gislason's young child came home from school with her crayon drawing of the Earth in 2020 and 2050. "The first was blue and green; the second was a planet on fire," she says. "Her question to me was: How old will I be when I die in 2050?"  Now, new Simon Fraser University research into the full range of emotions kids and teens feel around climate change is providing one of the clearest pictures yet of how the climate crisis is reshaping young people's daily lives, future thinking and sense of security.

Researchers identify a gene network linked to higher depression risk in women, a step toward finding biological markers for the disorder Scientists have identified a pattern of gene activity present in some female survivors of childhood abuse that is associated with an elevated risk of depression.

Teenagers who are pathological liars also tend to struggle with executive function deficits, such as poor memory or impulse control, researchers have found. This means practitioners may be able to consider treatments centred around executive functioning (such as Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Habit-Reversal Training) for patients who present such patterns, said Victoria Talwar , professor in the McGill Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology.

A rich social environment is associated with better cognitive health outcomes for older adults, study finds With awareness growing that lack of social connection may be a health hazard, researchers say it's important for the public to better understand the connections Research by an interdisciplinary team from McGill University and Université Laval provides new insights into the links between social factors and cognitive health among aging adults.

As runners set their New Year's resolutions, Simon Fraser researchers have dug thousands of Strava posts to map the emotional highs and lows of running and see what makes people stick with it. The first-of-its-kind study has unearthed what makes a run feel joyful-or miserable-by analysing more than 3,200 Strava posts from Metro Vancouver runners between 2010 and 2021.