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 […]
A new kind of stem cell
Scientists have observed a new class of stem cell with the capacity to turn into nearly any cell type. Called F-class cells for the fuzzy appearance of its colonies, these cells could potentially be used in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. In a second related paper, researchers with the Project Grandiose Consortium announce a new […]
Des milliers de tonnes de plastiques flottent sur les océans
Au moins 269 000 tonnes de plastique polluent les océans selon révèlent une nouvelle étude. Des chercheurs ont recueilli des petites particules de plastiques flottant sur les océans Atlantique, Pacifique et Indien, dans la baie de Bengale et la mer Méditerranée et au large des côtes de l’Australie entre 2007 et 2013. Ils ont ensuite […]
Thousand tons of plastic floating in the oceans
At least 269,000 tons of plastic pollution could be floating in the world’s oceans, according to a new study. Researchers collected small, floating plastic particles across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean as well as off the coast of Australia, in the Bay of Bengal, and the Mediterranean Sea between 2007 and 2013. They then […]
Une espèce de pic-bois unique : les mâles migrent plus loin que les femelles
Chez le pic flamboyant, une espèce de pic-bois qui se reproduit l’été partout au Canada, les femelles passent leurs hivers plus au nord en moyenne que les mâles. Les ornithologues connaissent bien les différences entre les sexes des distances parcourues pendant la migration, mais c’est la première fois que des chercheurs observent des femelles qui […]
Unique woodpecker species where male travels more during winter migration
Female northern flickers, a woodpecker species who breeds during summer all across Canada, spends its winter farther north on average than males, according to a new study. Sex differences in migration distances are well known, but this is the first time researchers observed female birds that travel less distance than males. The authors believe this […]
Aucun lien entre le vaccin contre le VPH et les comportements sexuels à risque chez les adolescentes
Les adolescentes ayant reçu le vaccin contre le virus du papillon humain (VPH) ne semblent pas adopter des comportenents sexuels à risque. Certains craignaient que cette campagne de vaccination puisse inciter les adolescentes à moins se protéger. Des chercheurs ont suivi plus de 260 000 filles en Ontario, dont plus de 125 000 d’entre elles […]
Les oiseaux regardent où ils vont
Les oiseaux en vol se fient à leur vision afin de connaître leur position dans l’espace selon une nouvelle étude. Des chercheurs ont filmé des colibris faisant du surplace en face d’un écran de projection et ont étudié leurs réactions à la projection de motifs en spirale et de lignes en comparaison avec des images […]
Birds watch where they’re going
Flying birds rely on movements in the surrounding environment to control their position in space, a new study has found. The authors filmed hummingbirds hovering in front of a projection screen and examined the birds’ response to moving bars and spiral patterns compared to static images. The researchers found flying birds are sensitive to movements […]
No apparent correlation between HPV vaccine and risky sexual behaviour
Vaccinating teenage girls against the human papilloma virus (HPV) does not appear to increase risky sexual behaviour. There was concern that receiving the vaccination would cause an increase in such behaviour, however this study shows the concern is unfounded and should not prevent vaccinating girls at a young age. The study followed over 260,000 girls […]
Obesity may shorten life expectancy by 8 years
Individuals who are obese or overweight may be shortening their lives by up to eight years, according to a new study. In addition to this new decrease in life expectancy, obese and overweight individuals have a higher chance of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease earlier in life. The study found that individuals who are overweight to […]
Fruit bats echolocate with wing clicks
Researchers have shown that Old World fruit bats – long thought to be non-echolocating species – use sound to help them navigate in the dark. Experiments showed that the fruit bats were making the noises not with their larynxes, but with their wing flaps. Although this form of echolocation is not as sophisticated as in […]
How risky is ballast water?
Many invasive species – e.g. zebra mussels – hitch a ride across oceans in ships’ ballast water, but a new study shows that some trips may pose more risk than others. Researchers sampled ballast water each day as ships crossed the ocean and discovered that invasive species are more likely to survive a shorter trans-Atlantic […]
Carbon dioxide warming effects felt 10 years after being emitted
It takes ten years for an emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) to have its maximum warming effects on the Earth, a new study shows. It was previously thought that the warming effects from a CO2 emission would not be felt for several decades. The authors conclude that benefit from avoided CO2 emissions, and thus avoided droughts, […]
Hospital deaths dropping in Canada
Hospital deaths continue to decrease across Canada, new data shows. Nearly 60 per cent (47 out of 83) of hospitals in Canada achieved a decrease in hospital deaths over the last five years. Hospitals have made strides in reducing mortality related to heart attack (down 19 per cent), sepsis (down ten per cent) and heart failure (down five […]
Resolving a mastodon mystery in the Yukon
A re-examination of mastodon fossils from Alaska and the Yukon indicates that they are much older than previously thought. Previous studies dated the fossils to the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago. However, at that time the area was largely grassland, and mastodons were forest-dwelling animals. The new study used modern radiocarbon dating methods […]