Science

This map of Ocean Networks Canada’s offshore NEPTUNE cabled networks shows arrival times of the tsunami waves caused by the Tonga volcano. (Photo courtesy of Ocean Networks Canada)

B.C. scientists headed to the bottom of the ocean floor as it reforms

Research jaunt studying and transmitting images from earthquake swarm site off Vancouver Island

  • Jun 10, 2024

 

Nancy Verdin has had three kidney transplants but her immune system rejected all of them. She’s hoping a British Columbia-based pilot project aimed at genetically matching recipients with donor kidneys will give others a chance at a “normal life.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Nancy Verdin

Better matches goal of new B.C. organ donor program

New technology involves genetic sequencing reduce the risk, UBC scientists say

 

A researcher out of British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University says the brains of older adults feel a sense of reward when listening to music, even if it’s a song that they don’t particularly like. A guest listens Arturo Toscanini’s operas on a headphone during the unveiling of the exhibition on the Italian musician and composer, at La Scala opera theatre in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Luca Bruno

B.C. study finds older brains rewarded by music they don’t even like

The brains of older adults feel a sense of reward when listening…

 

Dr. Erika Eliason is an associate dean in the KPU Faculty of Science, recently awarded a medal by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. (KPU/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

KPU scientist honoured for fisheries research

Dr. Erika Eliason’s work has influenced management of sockeye salmon

Dr. Erika Eliason is an associate dean in the KPU Faculty of Science, recently awarded a medal by the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. (KPU/Special to the Langley Advance Times)
FILE - A patient arrives at the Massachusetts General Hospital emergency entrance, Friday, April 3, 2020, in Boston. Doctors in Boston say they have transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient. Massachusetts General Hospital said Thursday, March 21, 2024, it’s the first time a pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

American surgeons transplant pig kidney into human patient in Boston

It’s the first time a genetically modified pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person

FILE - A patient arrives at the Massachusetts General Hospital emergency entrance, Friday, April 3, 2020, in Boston. Doctors in Boston say they have transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient. Massachusetts General Hospital said Thursday, March 21, 2024, it’s the first time a pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Fish swim amidst pink coral in the Lophelia Reef, located in the Finlayson Channel of the British Columbia coast, about 500 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, in an undated handout photo. It started with a tip from the local First Nation of a “bump on the sea floor” where the fish liked to be and led to the discovery of Canada’s only known coral live coral reef. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Fisheries and Oceans Canada, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

B.C.’s coral reef sea floor ‘bump’ that shouldn’t exist fascinating scientists

Lophelia reef off B.C.’s central coast is the northernmost such reef in the Pacific Ocean

Fish swim amidst pink coral in the Lophelia Reef, located in the Finlayson Channel of the British Columbia coast, about 500 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, in an undated handout photo. It started with a tip from the local First Nation of a “bump on the sea floor” where the fish liked to be and led to the discovery of Canada’s only known coral live coral reef. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Fisheries and Oceans Canada, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
A remote operated vehicle captured shimmering water and black smoking chimneys the hydrothermal vents at Explorer ridge off the west coast of Vancouver Island during the 2023 Northeast Pacific Deep Sea Expedition. (Courtesy of the Northeast Pacific Deep Sea Expedition)

Undersea magma off B.C. coast creating drama — for scientists at least

Expected eruption should give researchers chance to learn more about how the Earth’s crust is formed

A remote operated vehicle captured shimmering water and black smoking chimneys the hydrothermal vents at Explorer ridge off the west coast of Vancouver Island during the 2023 Northeast Pacific Deep Sea Expedition. (Courtesy of the Northeast Pacific Deep Sea Expedition)
This undated photo provided by NASA shows four Expedition 70 crew mates posing in the pressure suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft. From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mohgensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. The quartet splashed down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, completing a six-and-a-half-month space research mission. (NASA via AP)

Four astronauts from four countries return to Earth after six months in orbit

Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with…

This undated photo provided by NASA shows four Expedition 70 crew mates posing in the pressure suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft. From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mohgensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. The quartet splashed down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, completing a six-and-a-half-month space research mission. (NASA via AP)
Sunday (Feb. 11) is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and globally there are an estimated 3.5 million unfulfilled roles in cybersecurity, yet the UN found that women make up for only 25% of current positions. (Public domain image).

Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM jobs: Study

Feb. 11 is the International Day for Women and Girls in Science

Sunday (Feb. 11) is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and globally there are an estimated 3.5 million unfulfilled roles in cybersecurity, yet the UN found that women make up for only 25% of current positions. (Public domain image).
An Israeli food tech company says it now has the green light to sell its animal-free milk protein to dairy manufacturers in Canada. Milk is collected from cows on a dairy farm in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Lab-grown milk protein could be headed to Canada soon

Israeli lab says it has permission to use its product in Canadian animal-free dairy products

An Israeli food tech company says it now has the green light to sell its animal-free milk protein to dairy manufacturers in Canada. Milk is collected from cows on a dairy farm in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, June 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in a recent blog post. (Sholto David via AP)

Science sleuths are using tech to find fakery and plagiarism in research

At one cancer institute, published images appeared to be manipulated to make results appear stronger

This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in a recent blog post. (Sholto David via AP)
The Southern Ocean observatory, a package of sensors which includes equipment to measure temperature, oxygen concentration and chlorophyll levels on the water, is shown being deployed at the Juan Carlos I Antarctic scientific station, in Antarctica in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Didac Casado Rodriguez

Victoria-led underwater observatory probing Antarctic waters

Ocean Networks Canada sensors gathering data for climate change and ocean health

The Southern Ocean observatory, a package of sensors which includes equipment to measure temperature, oxygen concentration and chlorophyll levels on the water, is shown being deployed at the Juan Carlos I Antarctic scientific station, in Antarctica in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Didac Casado Rodriguez
UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Mir Faizal and a team of international researchers are trying to blend Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics in their latest study. (Pixabay)

UBC Okanagan professor in uncharted territory with new study of time, space

International research team blending Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics

UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Mir Faizal and a team of international researchers are trying to blend Einstein’s theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics in their latest study. (Pixabay)
Linda Riches, shown in this handout image, tried at least 12 different antidepressants before one worked for her, but she says genetic testing that is publicly funded could help alleviate that type of trial-and-error process so people don’t have to keep struggling while trying so many medications that don’t work for them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Free genetic testing could save country near $1B, UBC study suggests

Matching Canadians with right anti-depressants through pharmacogenomic testing could also save lives

Linda Riches, shown in this handout image, tried at least 12 different antidepressants before one worked for her, but she says genetic testing that is publicly funded could help alleviate that type of trial-and-error process so people don’t have to keep struggling while trying so many medications that don’t work for them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
Agility Robotics’ robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company’s office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Agility co-founder Jonathan Hurst makes a point of describing Agility’s warehouse robot Digit as human-centric, not humanoid, a distinction meant to emphasize what it does over what it’s trying to be. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Humanoid robots are here, but they’re a little awkward. Do we really need them?

Leaders behind the movement say such robots will be needed as human birth rates fall

Agility Robotics’ robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company’s office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Agility co-founder Jonathan Hurst makes a point of describing Agility’s warehouse robot Digit as human-centric, not humanoid, a distinction meant to emphasize what it does over what it’s trying to be. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
A robotic hand with UBC-developed sensor skin on its fingertips is capable of grasping delicate items, such as a champagne flute, without breaking them. (UBC/Paul Joseph)

UBC-developed ‘skin’ giving prosthetics and robots a delicate touch

Sensor skin capable of grasping a champagne flute or egg without damaging them

A robotic hand with UBC-developed sensor skin on its fingertips is capable of grasping delicate items, such as a champagne flute, without breaking them. (UBC/Paul Joseph)
FILE - Japan Prize 2022 laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko, left, and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman, right, pose with their trophies during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Tokyo. The Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for enabling development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, it was announced on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)

Karikó and Weissman win Nobel Prize in medicine for work on mRNA vaccines

Scientists’ discoveries were critical in slowing spread of COVID-19

FILE - Japan Prize 2022 laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko, left, and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman, right, pose with their trophies during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Tokyo. The Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for enabling development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, it was announced on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)
An exhibit of early human species, whose faces have been recreated, are seen inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Science is unlocking the Neanderthal inside you

Science revealing we have far more in common with our extinct cousins than we ever thought

An exhibit of early human species, whose faces have been recreated, are seen inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
William, Prince of Wales, right, visits a FDNY Firehouse on on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Pool Photo via AP)

Prince William, billionaires Gates and Bloomberg say innovation provides climate hope

With deadly extreme weather hitting all over the globe, rising temperatures peaking…

William, Prince of Wales, right, visits a FDNY Firehouse on on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Pool Photo via AP)
Dr. Stuart Turvey poses in this undated handout photo. Dr. Stuart Turvey says a new study suggests four major types of childhood allergies — eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergies — are linked to an imbalance of bacteria the gut. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of British Columbia

Infant antibiotics tied to eczema, asthma, food allergies

Canadian study finds medication can wipe out protective bacteria and introduce harmful ones

Dr. Stuart Turvey poses in this undated handout photo. Dr. Stuart Turvey says a new study suggests four major types of childhood allergies — eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergies — are linked to an imbalance of bacteria the gut. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of British Columbia