Des chercheurs peuvent maintenant voir en temps réel comment la fibrose kystique attaque les poumons et les empêchent de combattre certaines bactéries. Cela est rendu possible grâce à une nouvelle technique qui utilise des rayons X ultralumineux provenant du Centre canadien de rayonnement synchrotron pour irradier la trachée de porcs. Les chercheurs ont pu ainsi […]
Researchers shed (X-ray) light on how cystic fibrosis causes lung damage
Researchers are now able to directly visualize, for the first time, how the ability of airways to deal with inhaled bacteria is impaired in cystic fibrosis (CF) thanks to a new technique. Previous research has suggested that CF – which is caused by a mutation in the gene for a protein called CFTR – prevents […]
Des arbres qui empiètent sur les vaches
Quand les prairies et les savanes se transforment en forêt, les populations de bétail comme les vaches laitières et les boeufs diminuent selon une nouvelle étude. À l’aide d’une simulation informatique, les auteurs montrent qu’une augmentation de 1% du couvert forestier correspond à une baisse de 2% du nombre moyen de vaches par kilomètre carré. […]
Are trees crowding out cows?
Livestock like beef cows can suffer when grasslands, shrublands and savannas shift to a more tree-covered landscape and new research has put a number on this effect. Using computer models the authors show that for every 1 per cent increase in tree cover, the number of reproductive cows per square kilometre drops by about 2 […]
Citizen scientists help find pieces of deep space stardust
Particles discovered by volunteers sifting through photos from NASA’s Stardust spacecraft are very likely dust from the vast space between stars, according to a new paper. The particles were collected by exposing a soft absorbent material called an aerogel to the vastness of space. When the spacecraft returned to earth, the aerogel was photographed under […]
Is it our fault that glaciers are retreating?
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. […]
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 […]