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In-person class cancellation and work-from-home / Annulation des cours en présentiel et télétravail In-person class cancellation and work-from-home / Annulation des cours en présentiel et télétravail. McGILL ALERT! Due to freezing rain all'in-person classes and activities on Wednesday, March 11, will be cancelled.

Scientists have long focused on rising temperatures to understand how climate change is reshaping the natural world. But there's a critical blind spot in that picture: rain. A new global study reveals precipitation has been largely overlooked in studies of how climate change impacts birds, even though it can be just as influential as temperature.

Neuroscience review demonstrates that connecting with nature shifts brain activity linked to attention and relaxation, helping explain why time outdoors feels restorative Spending time in nature, even briefly, triggers changes in the brain that calm stress, restore attention and quiet mental clutter, a new study has found.

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.

Two McGill-led studies suggest rooftop panels and smarter planning increase the clean-energy transition's sustainability As solar energy rapidly is becoming the world's largest renewable power source, new research from McGill University offers a clearer picture of how much land that growth could require and how smarter choices could mitigate solar energy's land footprint.

Simon Fraser researchers have uncovered concerning fibreglass contamination in a key estuary on Vancouver Island, raising concerns about how an as-yet overlooked contaminant could affect aquatic birds, marine life and coastal communities that rely on shellfish and seafood. A new SFU study found fibreglass particles buried in the sediment and biofilm layers of the Cowichan Estuary, a 400-hectare intertidal ecosystem used by the Cowichan Tribes First Nations for generations.

New research shows a single year of warmer-than-average Arctic temperatures can cause malnutrition in Arctic seals, intensifying risks to Inuit food security and northern ecosystems already under pressure from environmental toxins, warn Simon Fraser researchers. The SFU study found Arctic ringed seals are struggling to clear persistent contaminants and banned pesticides from their bodies - a long-term health risk made worse when climate-driven changes to sea ice and temperatures limit their access to nutrient-rich food.

The study found higher concentrations of urine are most effective in powering microbial fuel cells, which simultaneously remove pollutants and produce electricity Researchers at McGill University have improved the efficiency of a method for converting human urine into clean energy. The method employs microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which use bacteria to turn organic waste into electricity, providing a sustainable and low-cost means of treating wastewater while generating energy from an abundant source.

As Canada experiences record snowfall, new research from the University of Waterloo suggests that tiny amounts of industrial pollution trapped in snow can change how sunlight reaches the ground below and significantly alter fragile environments. The culprit is black carbon, a sooty form of pollution produced when fossil fuels burn incompletely.

Examining genetic makeup can help conservationists understand which populations are better equipped to survive environmental change,Öland-use change and disease Researchers at McGill University and the United States Forest Service have found that plants living in areas where human activity has caused population crashes carry long-lasting genetic traces of that history, such as reduced genetic diversity.

Data reveals widespread practice in 26 southern countries, calls attention to hazardous-chemical exposure Burning plastic to cook food, heat homes and dispose of trash is more common than many people realize, according to a recent international study led by University of Calgary researchers. The study, among the first of its kind and published in Nature Communications , surveyed more than 1,000 people who work closely with lowand middle-income communities in 26 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

A global synthesis shows microbial activity is accelerating carbon release and mobilizing toxins, complicating climate projections  Microbes across Earth's coldest regions are becoming more active as glaciers, permafrost and sea ice thaw, accelerating carbon release and potentially amplifying climate change, according to a new international review from McGill University.

McGill study identifies most effective methods for early detection of tench, an invasive freshwater fish As the Eurasian invader moves up the St. Lawrence River toward the Great Lakes, researchers offer practical tools to improve detection and contain spread As tench continue to spread through the St. Lawrence River, a study from McGill University provides fisheries managers with guidance on how to detect the invasive species, an essential first step in preventing it from reaching new waters.

An interdisciplinary team including researchers at McGill University has found a range of unexpected chemical contaminants in human milk samples from Canada and South Africa. The chemicals include traces of pesticides, antimicrobials and additives used in plastics and personal-care products. The findings were published across five papers.

Study takes a holistic approach and looks at the phenomenon's broad impacts on biodiversity in North America, Europe Freshwater browning is stunting fish growth of some species, shrinking populations of others and changing the composition of fish communities, McGill-led research suggests. "Browning" refers to freshwater bodies turning tea-coloured, a phenomenon driven by higher levels of dissolved organic matter and/or higher levels of iron in the water.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Waterloo found that members of many Indigenous communities who eat certain types of locally harvested waterfowl, especially ducks with mixed or fish-based diets, may have higher levels of both mercury and healthy omega-3 fatty acids in their blood.

Data from Canada's most populous province add to emerging evidence that air pollution risks go beyond lung and heart health A new study has linked air pollution exposure and immune-system changes that often precede the onset of autoimmune diseases.

McGill-led study finds that by making production more efficient, the feed additive also reduced, on average, the amount of land and water needed for dairy herds  A new international study led by McGill University in collaboration with  Jefo Nutrition shows that supplementing dairy cow diets with microencapsulated B-vitamins can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing milk yield and quality.

Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo have joined forces to take on a pressing environmental problem by using synthetic biology to turn plastic waste into valuable resources. The multidisciplinary group is working together to  review and identify strategies  that leverage synthetic biology, microbial engineering and engineering design to degrade and upcycle plastic waste.

McGill researchers track boulders' influence on snow melt, watersheds using unique combination of methods Crucial 'missing link' between what satellites can observe and what actually happens on the ground could improve climate modelling in certain northern regions Thanks to their use of a unique methodology, a McGill-led research team has obtained new insights into how boulders affect snow melt in mountainous northern environments, with implications for local water resources.