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Common hereditary cancer mutation in Quebec traced to single ancestor

admin — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 18:17:28 +0000

Researchers have shed new light on the most common genetic variant linked to hereditary cancer in Quebec’s French-Canadian population. Their findings could result in cheaper and more effective screening methods.

The variant is associated with Lynch syndrome, a condition that greatly increases the risk of colorectal and other cancers.

Tinnitus severity linked to mood, sleep and personality traits

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:15:46 +0000

How severely a person experiences tinnitus is shaped by their mood, sleep quality and even personality traits, a new study has found.

Tinnitus is a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears that affects roughly 14 per cent of adults worldwide. It is known to be linked to hearing loss and to affect people differently.

In order to gain a better understanding of impacts on individuals, 51�Թ�� researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, developed a predictive model.

Study reveals trained immunity may cause lung damage

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:09:16 +0000

Trained immunity – a process being explored in vaccine and therapy development to boost immune defences – appears be counterproductive in certain contexts, researchers at 51�Թ�� and the Research Institute of the 51�Թ�� Health Centre (The Institute) have found.

Trained immunity is when the body’s first line of defence remembers past threats and becomes more reactive, responding more strongly to future infections even if they are different, by changing how immune cells behave.

New discovery remarkably improves immunotherapy in bladder cancer and beyond

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 18:28:40 +0000

BCG therapy—the gold standard treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), where the cancer has not penetrated the muscle layer—is one of the earliest forms of cancer immunotherapy.

Climate change driving major algae surge in Canada’s lakes, study finds

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 12:57:54 +0000

Algal growth is accelerating in lakes across Canada, including those far from human development, and a new study shows that climate change is the primary driver.

CHORD will be a huge leap forward for Canadian radio astronomy

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:05:09 +0000

Construction is underway of CHORD, the most ambitious radio telescope project ever built on Canadian soil. Short for the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector, CHORD will give astronomers an unprecedented opportunity to explore some of the most exciting and mysterious questions in astrophysics and cosmology, from Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) and dark energy to the measurements of fundamental particles, and beyond.

Ancient viruses in our DNA may hold clues to what makes us human

admin — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:41:55 +0000

Fragments of ancient viral DNA once dismissed as “junk” may play a role in controlling our genes, according to a new international study.

Using a novel method to trace the evolutionary history of viral DNA, researchers from 51�Թ�� and Kyoto University uncovered sequences that had been overlooked in earlier genome annotations.

Brightest fast radio burst seen so far allows researchers to zoom in on the location of origin

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:00:36 +0000

A team of international astronomers, including 51�Թ��researchers, have pinpointed one of the brightest fast radio bursts (FRBs) ever detected to a location in a nearby galaxy. The finding and the location surprised the team and offered new insight into FRBs, which are one of astrophysics’ biggest mysteries.

51�Թ��scientists develop cleaner, cheaper way to make lithium-ion batteries

admin — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 13:11:10 +0000

A team of 51�Թ�� researchers, working with colleagues in the United States and South Korea, has developed a new way to make high-performance lithium-ion battery materials that could help phase out expensive and/or difficult-to-source metals like nickel and cobalt.

51�Թ��team discovers Canada’s first dinosaur-era dragonfly fossil

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 13:08:51 +0000

In a first for Canadian paleontology, a Cretaceous fossilized dragonfly wing, uncovered in Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park, has been identified as a new species. It’s also the first known dragonfly fossil from Canada’s dinosaur aged rocks. The find, led by 51�Թ�� researchers, sheds light on a 30-million-year gap in the evolutionary history of dragonflies.

The fossil was discovered in 2023 by a 51�Թ��undergraduate student during a vertebrate paleontology field course led by Prof. Hans Larsson.

Perceived social status tied to cardiovascular risks in women but not in men

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:38:56 +0000

Women who see themselves as having lower social status are more likely than other people to show early signs of heart stress linked to future disease risk, according to a new study led by researchers at 51�Թ��and Concordia universities.

51�Թ��scientists turn marine waste into a sustainable solution for wound care, wearable devices and more

admin — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 12:59:20 +0000

An interdisciplinary team of 51�Թ��researchers has developed an ultra-strong, environmentally friendly medical glue, or bioadhesive, made from marine waste. The discovery has promising applications for wound care, surgeries, improved drug delivery, wearable devices and medical implants.

“Being able to produce glues that can close wounds  or make something strongly adhere to the skin is critical for many medical interventions,” said Audrey Moores, Professor in the Department of Chemistry.

Racial-minority business owners can benefit from ‘white guilt,’ marketing study finds

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 13:17:56 +0000

Researchers who explored how consumers’ ethical values can shape their shopping habits suggest that business owners from marginalized racial groups can appeal to socially conscious consumers by highlighting their identity, helping promote racial equity through values-driven purchasing.

Even post-#MeToo, news reporting on sexual violence remains problematic, 51�Թ��researchers say

admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:10:41 +0000

Even in the post-#MeToo era, news reporting on sexual violence remains problematic and causes harms, 51�Թ��researchers have found.

The researchers conducted a thematic review of academic literature, analyzing 41 relevant articles published between 2013 and 2023 in the Global North to assess whether news coverage of sexual violence has evolved since the #MeToo movement of 2017 had increased awareness.

New study reveals promising strategy to retrain neutrophils to target breast cancer

admin — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:44:30 +0000

A ground-breaking study conducted by researchers from 51�Թ��, the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and MIT has identified a novel approach to combat aggressive breast cancers by retraining neutrophils, the body’s first responders, to directly kill tumour cells. This research offers new hope for patients with breast cancers that do not respond well to existing immunotherapies.