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Science, Health & Technology Lou Corpuz-Bosshart Plant-eating animals more active, carnivores more cautious around humans One of the largest studies on wildlife activity-involving more than 220 researchers, 163 mammal species and 5,000 camera traps worldwide-reveals that wild animals react differently to humans depending on where the animals live and what they eat.

On World Sleep Day, we look at how neuroscientist Valérie Mongrain studies sleep to help doctors diagnose Alzheimer's disease earlier and predict the onset of epileptic seizures. Sleep takes up almost one third of our life, yet many of its secrets remain unexplained. To penetrate the mystery, neuroscientists are trying to decipher some of the mechanisms of this basic biological function, so key to good health.

A U.S.-Canada study co-led by UdeM researchers offers key understanding of Ebola virus replication and potential therapeutic targets. Scientists in Canada and the U.S. have discovered a new way in which Ebola - an often deadly virus affecting people mostly in sub-Saharan Africa - reproduces in the body.

From -failed- experiment to world-changing discovery, Waterloo PhD candidate turns unexpected bacterial sample into novel research Sometimes an experiment doesn't go as planned. That's science. But a -failed- experiment or unexpected results can be the avenue to a discovery you could never anticipate.

The hippocampus - a seahorse-shaped region of the brain which plays a particularly important role in cognitive aging and memory function - has been studied as a singular region for several years. However, there remains a gap in understanding the factors underlying ageor disease-related changes between the different regions of the hippocampus, or subfields, until now.

A discovery by a team of researchers at the University of Calgary offers new insight into how the brain works, particularly during defensive or exploratory behaviour. Dr. Patrick Whelan, PhD, principal investigator of the study, says the team was able to pinpoint specific neurons in the brains of mice that trigger movement based on the context of the situation.

UCalgary research looks at impact of several factors on frequent recurring headaches in kids and teens A University of Calgary-led study of associations between lifestyle and headaches in children and adolescents finds vaping and smoking cigarettes or cannabis is linked with frequent headaches, or headaches occurring more than once a week.

McGill study finds ability to solve food puzzles is the only predictor of innovation, brain size in wild birds When certain species of wild birds and primates discover new ways of finding food in the wild, it can serve to measure their flexibility and intelligence.

Combined exposure of the skin to cigarette smoke and UV rays could accelerate premature aging . Research has already shown the consequences of cigarette smoke and sunlight separately. A team from Laval University and the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval has now investigated the harmful interaction between cigarette smoke and UV rays, as humans are rarely exposed to a single environmental factor.

A new study shows oxygenation levels in the placenta, formed during the last three months of fetal development, are an important predictor of cortical growth (development of the outermost layer of the brain or cerebral cortex) and is likely a predictor of childhood cognition and behaviour.

McGill and Vanderbilt researchers describe for the first time the mechanism of calcium transport in ionotropic glutamate receptors that helps drive the cellular processes that lead to learning and memory A new study from a team of McGill University and Vanderbilt researchers is shedding light on our understanding of the molecular origins of some forms of autism and intellectual disability.

A research team from McGill and Vanderbilt Universities describes for the first time the mechanism of calcium transmission by ionotropic glutamate receptors, a mechanism that contributes to the cellular processes underlying learning and memory. In a new study , a research team from McGill and Vanderbilt Universities sheds light on the molecular origins of certain forms of autism and intellectual disability.

Society learned about the value of mRNA during the COVID-19 pandemic when we saw scientists and medical professionals harness its power to deliver a vaccine for the virus within a year. Now, University of Waterloo pharmacy associate professor Emmanuel Ho has developed a novel nanomedicine loaded with genetic material called small interfering RNAs (siRNA) to fight human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using gene therapy.

An UdeM-led study reveals the combined effect of genetics and food availability, and points the way forward to promoting cortical growth after birth in small babies. Postdoctoral fellow Daniel Vosberg and CHU Sainte-Justine researcher and Université de Montréal medical professor Tomas Paus Credit: Véronique Lavoie, CHU Sainte-Justine A new population-based study led by CHU Sainte-Justine researcher and Université de Montréal medical professor Tomas Paus reveals the roles of maternal and fetal genes in the growth of a baby's cerebral cortex.

In long-time couples, women are more affected than men by the cumulative effects of stress as measured by the physiological indicator known as allostatic load, a U.S.-Canada study suggests. The chronic stress that builds up over decades in a relationship affects each member of the couple differently; in heterosexual couples, the woman is more likely to display negative physiological markers than her spouse.

Developed in Montreal, the device - a 3D-bioprinted, miniaturized chip - promises to advance understanding of cardiovascular disease and aid in the development of new precision treatments. Scientists at the Centre de recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine, affiliated with Université de Montreal, have developed a device that accurately simulates the electrical activity, mechanics and physiology of a human heart.

Athletes often suffer injuries to ligaments in their knee s, particularly to the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. W hile surgery to replace these torn ligaments is becoming increasingly common around the world it often needs to be re peated. That's because it has proved challenging to anchor fibrous, soft and wet ligament grafting material into hard bone.

New paper argues that Large Language Models can reveal breakthroughs humans alone cannot The past year has seen major advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. The ability of these models to interpret and produce human text sources (and other sequence data) has implications for people in many areas of human activity.

Chemists at UdeM explain how molecular systems at the origin of life may have evolved, a development that could lead to new and improved nanosystems. By attaching molecules together, scientists at Université de Montréal think they've found how molecular systems at the origin of life evolved to create complex self-regulating functions.

Dr. Pierre Billon, PhD, was frustrated with the time it took to get genetic analysis done at specialized private labs. Results of DNA samples that he needed for his research weren't available for weeks and sometimes months. Outsourcing to genome facilities was also expensive. Billon was convinced there was another approach that could provide results faster and in a more cost-effective way.