Faculty of Science - research-news

2024 Interdisciplinary Research Development (IRD) Award Recipients Announced

ƽ��岻�� — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 17:12:10 +0000

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2024 Interdisciplinary Research Development (IRD) Award! As part of the Computational & Data Systems Initiative, these awards are presented by the ƽ��岻�� Collaborative for AI & Society (McCAIS) and encourage interdisciplinary research aimed at understanding and positively influencing the impact of AI on Society. The projects target a range of issues, from the enhancement of sustainable agriculture to supporting indigenous education.

How climate change is affecting where species live

ƽ��岻�� — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:44:19 +0000

As the climate warms, many species are on the move, raising new challenges for policy-makers around the world. Shifts in the ranges of mosquitoes and disease-bearing ticks and bats are introducing illnesses such as malaria and Lyme disease into regions where health-care systems are unprepared. Movements of commercially important fish from one jurisdiction to another are shifting job opportunities and causing trade disputes.

Millions of gamers advance biomedical research

ƽ��岻�� — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 15:01:01 +0000

Leveraging gamers and video game technology can dramatically boost scientific research according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology.

Safer, more efficient drug discovery

ƽ��岻�� — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:09:11 +0000

ƽ��岻�� researchers have discovered a safer and more efficient technique for testing new drugs while they are in development.

A promising discovery in a rare neurodegenerative disease

ƽ��岻�� — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 16:13:27 +0000

Imagine being middle aged and starting to feel that you are off balance a lot and that you are having a hard time coordinating your movements. Those are among the symptoms of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, known as SCA6, a rare neurodegenerative disease which typically appears in adulthood and worsens over time. Over time, other problems such as slurred speech and difficulty seeing or seeing double, may also appear. It is estimated that fewer than 5,000 people in the US have the condition, which is the result of genetic mutations in the cerebellum.

Soup & Science: ƽ��岻��’s stew-pendous serving of research

ƽ��岻�� — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:23:57 +0000

Recently, ƽ��岻�� undergraduate students had the opportunity to savor an enriching blend of knowledge and soup at the 37th edition of Soup & Science. This week-long event, occurring once a semester, highlights research taking place on campus. This semester’s showcase included topics across disciplines, ranging from quantum meta-photonics to optogenetic stimulation in roundworms, and students were able to learn and engage with these topics in an intimate setting.

Species diversity promotes ecosystem stability

ƽ��岻�� — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:36:04 +0000

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts?

Energy poverty: an overlooked determinant of health and climate resilience in Canada

ƽ��岻�� — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 21:08:11 +0000

Despite Canada being an important energy producer, not all Canadians can access or afford adequate levels of energy services at home to meet their needs, maintain healthy indoor temperatures, and live a decent life—a situation known as energy poverty. Depending on the measure, 6–19% of Canadian households face energy poverty. Health risks associated with energy poverty are documented in countries with milder climates.

Alfonso Mucci elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union

ƽ��岻�� — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:53:11 +0000

Alfonso Mucci, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has been elected an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow. He joins 53 other individuals in the 2022 Class of Fellows. AGU, a nonprofit organization that supports 130,000 enthusiasts to experts worldwide in Earth and space sciences, annually recognizes a select number of individuals as part of its Honours and Recognition program. Since 1962, the AGU Fellows Committee has selected less than 0.1% of members as new Fellows.

Undergraduate students celebrated for summer research

ƽ��岻�� — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 17:24:00 +0000

On August 10, thirty or so undergraduate students gathered in Leacock 232 to share their experiences as researchers in the Faculty of Science over the summer.

Making data science accessible to all

ƽ��岻�� — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:24:06 +0000

The Faculty of Science’s new Computational and Data Systems Initiative will help researchers unlock the power of data-intensive research methods

If you follow science news, you will almost certainly have encountered the term ‘modelling’. From understanding climate change, to predicting the course of a pandemic, to developing the pharmaceuticals to fight one, scientists seem to have a ‘model’ for everything. But have you ever wondered just what the term means and how scientists go about creating models?

Real-time alert system heralds new era in fast radio burst research

ƽ��岻�� — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 16:10:21 +0000

ƽ��岻�� scientists have developed a new system for sharing the enormous amount of data being generated by the CHIME radio telescope in its search for fast radio bursts (FRBs), the puzzling extragalactic phenomenon that is one of the hottest topics in modern-day astronomy.

Stress affects our motivation – but not necessarily our ability – to do difficult tasks

ƽ��岻�� — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 19:27:50 +0000

Stress increases people’s tendency to avoid cognitively demanding tasks, without necessarily altering their ability to perform those tasks, according to new research from ƽ��岻��.

“Generally speaking, people are demand-averse,” says Ross Otto, an assistant professor of psychology at ƽ��岻�� and the senior author of a recent paper in Psychological Science. “[Our study showed] stress increases that aversion.”

Hidden magma pools pose volcanic eruption risks we can’t yet detect

ƽ��岻�� — Tue, 11 May 2021 18:59:27 +0000

New research co-authored by ƽ��岻�� Earth and Planetary Science professor John Stix challenges conventional views about scientists' ability to reliably predict volcanic eruptions.

Network science study of Montreal bilinguals could deepen understanding of real-world language use

ƽ��岻�� — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 17:57:37 +0000

Psychology researchers at ƽ��岻�� have used network science – a mathematical technique for revealing connections and patterns – to gain novel insights into Montrealers’ experience of using French and English.

The unique approach has brought to light subtle differences as to which social settings Montreal bilinguals discuss certain topics and whether they use French, English or both languages to discuss those topics.

A more sustainable way to make DNA-based medications

ƽ��岻�� — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 17:40:16 +0000

Scientists at ƽ��岻�� have developed a solvent-free method for making oligonucleotides, short strands of DNA of growing significance in research and the pharmaceutical industry.

Cause-and-effect approach could help machines become better learners

ƽ��岻�� — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 19:38:11 +0000

For human beings, the ability to generalize – to extract broad principles from our experiences of the world and use these principles to help us make decisions in new situations – is an essential skill for navigating everyday life. But for those working in the field of artificial intelligence, getting machines to generalize in this way has been a notoriously difficult challenge.

Innovative simulations and analysis accelerate search for COVID-19 treatment

ƽ��岻�� — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 13:50:52 +0000

ƽ��岻�� researchers are using cutting-edge computer simulations and analytical techniques to identify and validate promising compounds in the search for a treatment for COVID-19.

Nicolas Moitessier, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, is using computer simulation software that he has developed over the past 15 years to predict the properties of molecules that have yet to be made.

ƽ��岻��-made instrument reveals previously unseen quantum mechanical behaviour

ƽ��岻�� — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 14:05:22 +0000

In a step forward for the field of quantum mechanics, ƽ��岻�� researchers have achieved a breakthrough in sensitive measurements of the wave-like properties of electrons.

Undergraduate research celebrated

ƽ��岻�� — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 14:49:50 +0000

Around 75 students joined faculty and staff from the Faculty of Science at Thomson House last week to celebrate their experience as undergraduate researchers over the summer.

In his welcoming remarks, Bruce Lennox, Dean of the Faculty of Science, acknowledged the students’ contributions in ƽ��岻��’s “intense research environments”.