- Ash trees in North America are facing an epidemic at the hands of 8.5 mm long bugs: the Emerald Ash Borer. It was recently detected on the West coast of the U.S. for the first time. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/epidemic-facing-ash-trees 7 comments environment
- Microbial communities from Canada’s High Arctic, living in conditions analogous to those on Mars, can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds of a kind that have been detected on Mars (such as methane, sulfide, sulfate, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide). https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/blueprint-life-forms-mars-339976 4 comments science
- Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain could increase the chances of developing chronic pain, according to researchers. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/discovery-reveals-blocking-inflammation-may-lead-chronic-pain-339532 41 comments science
- The Dunning-Kruger Effect Is Probably Not Real | Office for Science and Society - McGill University https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking/dunning-kruger-effect-probably-not-real/source=fc 113 comments science
- Synthetic tissue can repair hearts, muscles, and vocal cords, representing a major advance in regenerative medicine. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/synthetic-tissue-can-repair-hearts-muscles-and-vocal-cords-335206 103 comments science
- Scientists have found a clear genetic signal that separated cognitive processes, like attention, from more affective processes, like fear. This separation can be traced to gene expression in specific cell types, offering key insights for future research into psychiatric disorders https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/channels/news/study-links-genes-function-across-human-brain-330004 5 comments science
- U.S. and Canada underestimating climate risk from abandoned oil and gas wells. Canada has underestimated methane emissions from its abandoned wells by as much as 150%, while official U.S. estimates are about 20% below actual levels. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/methane-emissions-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-underestimated-327816 11 comments science
- Climate change: threshold for dangerous warming will likely be crossed between 2027-2042. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/climate-change-threshold-dangerous-warming-will-likely-be-crossed-between-2027-2042-327290 28 comments science
- Strong social support decreases mental health problems in young adults. People who experienced greater levels of social support experienced 47% less severe depression and 22% less anxiety than those with less social support, and 40% decreased risk of experiencing suicidal ideation and attempts https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/strong-social-support-decreases-mental-health-problems-young-adults-326716 55 comments science
- When given in a formulation that facilitates passage to the brain, lithium in doses up to 400 times lower than what is currently being prescribed for mood disorders is capable of both halting signs of advanced Alzheimer's pathology and of recovering lost cognitive abilities. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/can-lithium-halt-progression-alzheimers-disease-313496 208 comments science
- Scientists increasingly believe that one of the driving forces in chronic pain--the number one health problem in both prevalence and burden--appears to be the memory of earlier pain. Strength of finding confirmed by replication of results in mice and men https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/men-and-women-remember-pain-differently-293050 7 comments science
- Pollution from Athabasca oil sands affects weather processes. Contaminants can alter cloud formation processes as well as precipitation frequency and intensity, which control extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts at the two extremes. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/pollution-athabasca-oil-sands-affects-weather-processes-302608 4 comments science
- There are behavioral similarities between obesity and addiction, but obesity is also a complex condition that the addiction model cannot fully explain, research finds. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/how-much-do-obesity-and-addictions-overlap-302107 3 comments science
- Widespread permafrost degradation seen in high Arctic terrain. Rapid changes in terrain are taking place in Canada's high Arctic polar deserts due to increases in summer air temperatures. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/widespread-permafrost-degradation-seen-high-arctic-terrain-297371 3 comments science
- Parents shouldn’t worry if their infant doesn’t sleep through the night by 6-12 months of age, suggests a new study of close to 400 infants which found no association between interrupted sleep and later developmental problems. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/parents-shouldnt-worry-if-their-infant-doesnt-sleep-through-night-6-12-months-age-291524?t=au 8 comments science
- People who have better spatial memory are also better at identifying odors. A new study builds on the recent theory that the main reason that a sense of smell evolved was to aid in navigation, since most animals rely primarily on smell to find food and avoid predators. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/good-spatial-memory-youre-likely-be-good-identifying-smells-too-290807 16 comments science
- Creation of solider ants (Mcgill university) https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/making-soldier-ants 4 comments science
- People are less likely to trust the advice or directions of a person with a foreign accent. According to social experiments conducted by researchers, people tend to trust people from their own "in-group" -- people from a similar linguistic or cultural background. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/article/do-we-trust-people-who-speak-accent 26 comments science
- A study has found adults are able to accurately read a range of emotions in the voices of teens. Meanwhile teens are far less able to understand what is going on with their peers, particularly when it comes to tones of voice which express anger, meanness, disgust, or happiness. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/article/teenagers-have-hard-time-reading-one-anothers-tones-voice 9 comments science
- Deforestation possibly contributed to the collapse of Mayan civilization more than 1,000 years ago. A new study shows that the forest-clearing also decimated carbon reservoirs in the tropical soils of the Yucatan peninsula region long after ancient cities were abandoned and the forests grew back. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/carbon-reserves-central-american-soils-still-affected-ancient-mayan-deforestation-288800 7 comments science
- Cities with large Latino populations and high economic inequality are also least likely to have policies in place directing police officers about how to treat people they suspect of being undocumented immigrants, according to a new study. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/american-cities-large-hispanic-populations-are-less-likely-police-police-283398 3 comments science
- For the first time, researchers have been able to see changes in the neural structures in specific areas of the brains of people who suffered severe abuse as children. The researchers believe that these changes may contribute to the emergence of depressive disorders and suicidal behaviour. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/child-abuse-affects-brain-wiring-270024 13 comments science
- New MS drug shown to reduce new attacks/symptom progression in some patients. In separate clinical trials, a drug called ocrelizumab has been shown to reduce new attacks in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), and new symptom progression in primary progressive MS. http://www.mcgill.ca/neuro/channels/news/breakthrough-ms-treatment-264891 3 comments science
- New study reinforces the idea that our brain’s processing of odour is not simply its reaction to the chemical compounds that make up the scent. It is influenced both by our previous experience with the scent and our knowledge of what the scent is. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/olfactory-perception-influenced-background-and-semantic-information-264301 12 comments science
- The brain’s biological clock stimulates thirst in the hours before sleep, according to a study published in the journal Nature http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/brains-biological-clock-stimulates-thirst-sleep-263012 7 comments science
- Brain cells that aid appetite control identified. In experiments using mice elimination of the cells with drugs caused some mice to double in weight in just 30 days. This new discovery opens door to development of new drugs to control weight gain and obesity. https://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/brain-cells-aid-appetite-control-identified-260810 280 comments science
- An outbreak of an intestinal parasite common in the tropics, known as Cryptosporidium, has been identified for the first time in the Arctic, at Nunavik, Quebec, the findings could have long-term implications for the health of children there. https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/tropical-parasitic-disease-emerges-arctic-260669 11 comments science
- Cyanuric acid is commonly used to stabilize chlorine in pools. Researchers have found that this molecule can also be used to coax DNA into forming a brand new structure: a triple helix. They envisage a variety of applications, from medicinal chemistry to tissue engineering and materials science http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/backyard-pool-chemical-nanomaterial-259330 20 comments science
- New technique offers potential to reconnect neurons in people with central nervous system damage http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/want-rewire-neuron-youve-got-take-it-slow-258183 6 comments science
- Attempts to find dormant microbial life in Antarctica's Dry Valleys fail, which does not bode well for the quest for life on Mars. (Article in French, translation within) http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/fr/news/aux-confins-de-la-vie-sur-terre-257865 5 comments science
- Human sounds convey emotions better than words do. Researchers have discovered that we pay more attention when an emotion (such as happiness, sadness or anger) is expressed through vocalizations than we do when the same emotion is expressed in speech. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/human-sounds-convey-emotions-better-words-do-257683 11 comments science
- Even brief, early exposure to a language influences how the brain processes sounds from a second language later in life. Even when the first language learned is no longer spoken. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/first-language-wires-brain-later-language-learning-257068 366 comments science
- It takes a surprisingly small cluster of brain cells deep within the cerebellum to learn how to serve a tennis ball, or line up a hockey shot. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/our-elegant-brain-motor-learning-fast-lane-254348 3 comments science
- Withdrawal from drug use results in reprogramming of the genes in the brain that lead to addictive personality, say researchers http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/cocaine-addiction-craving-and-relapse-252998 62 comments science
- Researchers report that they have discovered a catalytic system which for the first time allows direct metal-mediated reactions between aryl halides and carbonyl compounds in water. http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/breakthrough-organic-reactions-water-237276 3 comments science
- Melatonin makes old bones stronger: Research on elderly rats suggests possible avenue for prevention of osteoporosis https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/melatonin-makes-old-bones-stronger-236832 126 comments science
- Is global warming just a giant natural fluctuation?: Statistical analysis rules out natural-warming hypothesis with more than 99% certainty http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/news/global-warming-just-giant-natural-fluctuation-235236 12 comments science
- Statistical analysis rules out natural-warming hypothesis with more than 99% certainty: An analysis of temperature data since 1500 all but rules out the possibility that global warming in the industrial era is just a natural fluctuation in the earth’s climate, according to a new study https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/global-warming-just-giant-natural-fluctuation-235236 3 comments science
- You are what your father eats: McGill study suggests that a father’s diet before conception plays a crucial role in the health of his offspring http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/you-are-what-your-father-eats-231995 23 comments science
- Vitamin D slows the progression of cells from premalignant to malignant states, keeping their proliferation in check http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/newly-discovered-effects-vitamin-d-cancer-219089 375 comments science