It takes a lot of coordination for a group to carry a large load together. It’s a rare ability in the animal world, but one shared by ants and humans. Like humans, longhorn crazy ants (Paratrechina longicornis) use individuals for steering the direction of the group. This collective movement appears to arise by the […]
Category: News tip
The secrets of stink bugs: A new chemical compound and selective egg colouration
Stink bugs, Podisus maculiventris, are able to change the colour of the eggs they lay to better protect them from UV radiation, according to new findings. The researchers expected the colour variation to come from differing levels of melanin, however they found a new compound responsible for the pigmentation. While stink bugs are the first […]
The Cost of Smoking: A Manitoba Study
Cigarette smoking costs Manitoba’s public healthcare system an extra $244 million a year, according to a new study from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. The report also shows that the percentage of Manitobans who smoke is steadily dropping. In 1989, 22% of Manitobans smoked daily and 65% were casual or former smokers. By 2011, these […]
Monitoring a new avian influenza strain in B.C.
Canadian researchers will launch a novel project to shed light on the source of a deadly H5N2 strain responsible for the death and destruction of approximately 240,000 birds in B.C between December 2014 to January 2015. The project funded by Genome BC, Genome Canada, Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will seek to […]
Vote for your favorite research
From the discovery of neutrinos to recognizing the effect of grapefruit on our ability to metabolize drugs, Ontario’s universities have contributed ground-breaking research. What do you think the top research should be? The Council of Ontario Universities is asking the general public to vote for their favourite ‘game-changing research’ here.
The Stars come to SFU
B.C.’s astronomy enthusiasts will be delighted; the Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard located on Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus Courtyard will open its door to the public for the first time on April 17th. The Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard features a six-meter-diameter dome housing a 0.7-metre-diameter reflector telescope which is among the largest in […]
Mercury in endangered Ivory Gull feathers reach a 130-year record high
Ivory Gulls have declined by more than 80 per cent in Canada since the 1980s and have been listed as an endangered species in Canada since 2006. These gulls have the highest concentrations of mercury in their eggs of any Arctic bird, but the reason for their decline is not well understood. Researchers measured mercury […]
Prestigious science award for women goes to UofT professor
Molly S. Shoichet, a professor of chemical engineering from the University of Toronto, has won the 2015 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards for North Americ. Dr.Shoichet received the award “for her pioneering work on the regeneration of nerve tissue and for the development of a new method to deliver drugs to the spinal cord […]
Turn abruptly if you are hunted by a goshawk
Goshawks hunt by fixing their eyes on their prey. Their method is so effective that the hawks pursuit of their target can be over in seconds. Using cameras mounted on the heads of the birds, researchers analysed the raptors’ pursuit strategy from a birds-eye perspective. They found that Goshawks used different strategies at different stages […]
Battle of the brains: Men v. Women
A group of scientists have reviewed the data and the answer is in, men are more likely to be more idiotic than women. The authors reviewed 20 years of the Darwin Awards – which tell the ridiculous stories of how people accidentally kill themselves – and found that men made up 88.7 per cent of […]
The mystery of the old magazines in the waiting room
Physicians waiting rooms contain mainly old magazines and researchers have found that it was because current magazines have a greater risk of being stolen than older ones, a new study reports. Also, they observed that gossip magazines (with celebrity photographs on the cover) were more likely to disappear than other types (Time magazine and The […]
Self-harm on the rise among girls in Canada
New statistics about hospitalizations due to intentional injuries in children and youth aged 10 to 17 – including both assault and self-harm – show that self-inflicted injuries have risen significantly in the last five years, especially among girls: Over the past 5 years, the rate of intentional self-harm–related hospitalizations in girls has increased by more than […]
Key bird habitats under siege
Over 350 of the world’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are under threat, according to a new report. In 2012 protection was suspended in the Bay of Panama wetlands, one of the most important sites for migratory waterbirds in the Americas. Closer to home, British Columbia’s Boundary Bay – Roberts Bank – Sturgeon Bank […]
To visit ED, or not to visit ED?
One in five patients who are discharged from hospital emergency departments (ED) without being admitted could just as easily have gotten the treatment they need at a family practice, according to a new report. Data compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) helps determine which emergency room visits are avoidable and could help […]
Everything you want to know about climate change in three easy lessons
The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) recently released the third and final installment of Climate Insights 101, a free online course designed to help journalists and the public get up to speed on the best available peer-reviewed science about climate change. The new installment, BC Climate Impacts and Adaptation. Through videos and test-your-knowledge sections the […]
Ebola: how ZMAb, and ZMapp, works
Researchers at the Public Health Agency of Canada have studied how the experimental Ebola-treating antibody cocktail ZMAb – a major constituent of the drug ZMApp – fights the virus. They report that the drug binds to the proteins on the surface of the virus and neutralises its activity. The researchers say the findings may help […]
