A new paper helps quantify how much of the global loss of glaciers can be attributed to human activity as opposed to natural variation in earth’s temperature. The study uses a mathematical model to compare the amount of glacier melt that would have been expected based on natural and man-made forcings to the actual amount. […]
Posts by Kelly Fram (KellyFram)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Public Health
A group of doctors has published an editorial raising concerns about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – a trade agreement between Canada and eleven other Pacific Rim countries – and the effect it could have on the public health system. In particular the authors cite possible changes to intellectual property rules that could impact medications or […]
The missing link between ADHD, substance abuse and behaviour problems
Researchers have found that ADHD, substance abuse and conduct disorder develop from the same neurocognitive deficits, which in turn explains why they often occur together. Using personality and behavior tests coupled with fMRI brain scans on 1,778 European adolescents at age 14, they identified three neurocognitive dimensions in different part of the brains that were […]
Chilean earthquake wasn’t the one scientists expected
Scientists had long expected a major earthquake in the subduction zone adjacent to northern Chile, but the magnitude 8.2 earthquake that occurred on April 1, 2014 was not it, according to a new study. Stress along the fault had been building since the last major quake in the area occurred in 1877. However, an analysis […]
Le tremblement de terre au Chili n’était pas celui que les chercheurs attendaient
Des chercheurs attendaient depuis longtemps qu’un tremblement de terre majeur frappe le nord du Chili, mais celui de magnitude 8,2 survenu le 1er avril 2014 les a surpris. Selon une nouvelle étude, l’énergie s’accumulait dans la faille chilienne depuis le dernier gros tremblement de terre dans cette région en 1877. Toutefois, le tremblement de terre […]
Terrifying airplane flight offers unique insight into PTSD
A terrifying near-accident on an airplane has offered new insight on how a person’s memory processes influence the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.) In 2001, Air Transat flight 236 nearly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after running out of fuel; at the last minute the pilot was able to land safely on a small […]
Hand sanitizers in classrooms do not reduce school absences in children
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers in classrooms do not lead to reductions in the rate of school absences in children, a new study shows. The researchers conducted a randomized trial on 68 city primary schools (2443 children aged between 5-11 years old) in New Zealand. They found that the rate of absence was similar in the […]
De nouveaux outils pour expliquer la diversité génétique des caribous
Les chercheurs savent que pour maintenir la diversité génétique chez les caribous, il faut éviter que les populations se fragmentent. Une nouvelle étude montre toutefois que cela peut être plus difficile que prévu. Présentement, les aires identifiées comme des habitats pour les caribous ne tiennent pas compte du changement des saisons. Par exemple, un pâturage […]
New tools to explain genetic diversity in caribou
Maintaining healthy genetic diversity in caribou means ensuring that populations don’t become fragmented, but a new study underlines just how tricky this can be. Currently, caribou preserves are constructed without taking into account how the habitat needs of caribou change throughout the year; for example, land that is prime pasture in summer may be snow-covered […]
Des physiciens expliquent un comportement étrange de la lumière
Des physiciens ont réussi à expliquer les résultats d’une expérience menée en 2012 où des photons semblaient agir simultanément comme des particules et une onde, ce qui n’est pas possible en physique quantique. Dans la premièrere expérience, des photons composant un rayon de lumière en forme d’anneau étaient coupés en deux et certains des photons semblaient […]
Physicists explain bizarre quantum behaviour of light
Physicists have explained the results of a 2012 experiment in which photons appeared to be simultaneously acting as a wave and a particle, something that should not happen according to quantum physics. The authors of the new paper show that photons can behave differently depending on what part of the ring they came from. This […]
A new explanation for the Big Bang?
The big bang poses a big question: if it was indeed the cataclysm that blasted our universe into existence 13.7 billion years ago, what sparked it? Three researchers at Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario explored a new idea about what might have come before the big bang in a Scientific American cover story called The […]
Quantifying breast cancer risk to due gene mutation
Researchers have accurately quantified the risk of breast cancer due to a mutation of a known gene linked to the disease. The study tracked 362 people from families known to carry mutation of a gene called PALB2 which has been linked to breast cancer. Researches found that among those younger than 40, the risk of breast […]
Mercury is rising in the oceans
Mercury levels in the ocean have more than tripled in some regions as a result of human activity, a new study reports. Researchers measured mercury levels during several recent expeditions to the Atlantic, Pacific, Southern and Arctic oceans. The research team found that mercury content of surface water had three times the amount of mercury compared […]
Canadian contribution to the next Mars rover
On July 31, Nasa announced the seven instruments that will be included in its next Mars rover, to be launched in 2020. One of the instruments, the Radar Imager for Mars’ Subsurface Exploration (RIMFAX) will conduct shallow profiling of the geological structure of Martian subsurface as the rover drives along the surface. Canadian earth scientist […]
Lighting the way for more tomatoes
Researchers have found a gene in a wild species of tomato that allows the plant to tolerate continuous light, potentially leading to a 20% yield increase in commercial varieties. One of the major limitations for crop productivity is the amount of light available each day but cultivated tomato plants often develop damaging leaf injuries when […]
