Canadian Scientists Develop Drug to Stop Alzheimer\'s

Posted:June 14, 2006

University of Toronto researchers led by Joanne McLaurin at the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases have found a small sugar molecule called scyllo-cyclohexanehexol (AZD-103) associated with Alzheimer's disease. In mice with Alzheimer's disease the drug prevents the formation of amyloid plaques thereby preventing further cognitive damage and memory loss. It does not reverse existing damage. Human trials have been approved and will begin later this year.

Canadian Helps to Learn Cause of Pioneer Anomaly

Posted:June 11, 2006

Pioneer space crafts 10 and 11 were launched about 30 years ago. Now as they reach the very edge of our solar system they appear to be moving somewhat slower than expected. What is causing this Pioneer Anomaly? Nobody knows, but a Canadian freelance scientist in Ottawa, Viktor Toth, has written software to analyse vast amounts of telemetry archived over the years, to make it available to the public. It is hoped that the availability of the data will help solve the mystery.

Sensational Scientists wins national book award

Posted:May 1, 2006

The book based on this website, SENSATIONAL SCIENTISTS by Barry Shell, published by Raincoast Books, won the 2005 Canadian Science in Society Youth Book award.

New Book: Sensational Scientists

Posted:February 2, 2006

Tired of reading this website on your computer? The 24 major profiles on science.ca are collected in a new book. SENSATIONAL SCIENTISTS by Barry Shell, published by Raincoast Books is available now in most bookstores across Canada. Soon to be released in the USA. Read the review at CM Magazine.

Common antidepressents may affect the immune system

Posted:January 27, 2006

A team of Canadian and US researchers co-lead by Dr. Peta O'Connell at the Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario have found that SSRI drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil that treat depression may also affect the user’s immune system.

It appears that serotonin is passed between key cells in the immune system, and that the chemical is specifically used to activate an immune response. Researchers do not know yet if the effect will be beneficial or a damaging to the human immune system.

Canadian Team Tops Space Elevator Contest

Posted:October 24, 2005

A team from the University of Saskatchewan managed to get their robot the highest up a tether "to space" as a first step in a NASA initiative to build a space elevator. The idea is to use a thin but unimaginably strong ribbon tethered to an orbiting satellite. People and cargo would travel up the ribbon to space. This is the first year of the contest, and though nobody won the $50,000 prize, the Canadian team's robot reached 12 meters, higher than any of the the other six competitors. More at New Scientist.

Canadians Win Lasker Prize for Stem Cell Discovery

Posted:September 18, 2005

Ernest McCulloch and James Till of the University of Toronto won this biggest prize in medical science for ingenious experiments in 1961 that first identified a stem cell - the blood-forming stem cell - which set the stage for all current research on adult and embryonic stem cells.

Einstein Festival at University of Waterloo

Posted:August 22, 2005

EinsteinFest at the Perimeter Institute explores our rapidly changing civilization at the turn of the century and sets Einstein’s prolific contributions in context with the science, philosophy, politics, art and music of the day.

Canadian Scientists Make Photovoltaic Breakthrough

Posted:January 10, 2005

Graduate student Steve McDonald working in Ted Sargent's University of Toronto Electrical Computer Engineering group has developed a low-cost plastic-based optoelectronic material that can harvest light energy at about 5 times the efficiency of current photovoltaic cells. What's more the material can be sprayed on clothes or cellphones. The group's discovery was published in Nature Materials this week.

California Sturgeon Found in Canadian Waters

Posted:December 7, 2004

A lost tribe of green sturgeon has been found as part of the global census of marine life led by Canadian marine biologist Ron O'Dor at Dalhousie U. in Halifax. “Researchers were tagging the sturgeon in the rivers of California. We regarded them as purely river fish, but were unsure quite how far they travelled. Then we got a surprise. The tagged fish started showing up in the open ocean off Vancouver Island in Canada. That kind of thing just makes you think how little we know, even about familiar fish.”

Canadian Government Mounts Science Website

Posted:October 19, 2004

Get the latest Canadian science news at science.gc.ca a government of Canada website devoted to Canadian science and technology news, careers, and achievements. Kind of like science.ca, but better funded.

Spinal Cord Damage May be Repairable with Canadian Technique

Posted:August 23, 2004

University of Toronto researchers headed by Molly Shoichet have published a method to facilitate nerve cell repair that could ultimately lead to treating severed spinal cords. Full story at University of Toronto News

Probiotics--Good Bacteria

Posted:July 26, 2004

Canadian scientist Gregor Reid at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario studies the billions of good bacteria that live in and on our bodies. He has patents for food supplements called probiotics, mostly lactobacillus strains, that can combat intestinal and vaginal infections. "We've shown that beneficial bugs stop the expression of seriously harmful toxins from bad bacteria such as E. coli 0157:H7, hamburger disease," says Reid. Find out more at the Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics.

One Million Scientists in Canada

Posted:May 6, 2004

According to the latest census data (2001) 1,003,810 out of a total national workforce of 15,872,070 Canadians chose science-related careers. That's 6.3%. Based on earlier studies this level of science participation is similar to countries such as France, USA and Germany, but lags behind England, Sweden and Japan. You can view the details at Statistics Canada's Website. NOTE: Male/Female ratio is 79% male, 21% female scientists in Canada.

Canadian Scientist Has New Earthquake Theory

Posted:March 31, 2004

Earth Sciences professor Andrew Calvert of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia has connected the occurrence of hundreds of earthquakes in the last 10 years to the grinding of overlapping rocks trapped between two of the tectonic (structural) plates that form the surface of the Earth. Read his article in Nature.

Canadian Discovers a Better Way to Fix Nitrogen

Posted:February 10, 2004

A Canadian chemist has invented a new way to turn nitrogen into ammonia, one of the most important reactions in the chemicals industry. The research, published in this week’s Nature, could lead to improvements in a 90-year-old chemical reaction that makes the fertilizer that helps feed about 40% of the world’s population. Read more at Michael Fryzuk's website at the University of British Columbia.

Canadian Nobel Prize Winner Dies

Posted:October 16, 2003

Bertram Neville Brockhouse died Monday, Oct 13 at the age of 85. Brockhouse was the only Canadian-born Nobel laureate to spend his entire life in Canada. He shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in physics for designing the Triple-Axis Neutron Spectroscope.

Alexander Graham Bell Not Canadian and Not Telephone Inventor

Posted:July 21, 2003

While many people think that Alexander Graham Bell was Canadian, he was not. He was a Scottish-born American with a summer home in Canada. Now it comes to light that he may not have been the first to invent the telephone. That distinction now goes to the Italian-American immigrant Antonio Meucci.

Canadian Geometer Coxeter Dies

Posted:April 7, 2003

H. S. M. (Donald) Coxeter died March 31, 2003 at the age of 96. Known as the "Greatest Living Classical Geometer", Coxeter was a huge contributor to the area of mathematics known as "plane geometry"--something he took to the highest levels. Learn more about Coxeter.

Canadian Gets Antibiotics From Mosquitoes

Posted:March 18, 2003

Simon Fraser University biologist Carl Lowenberger wants to know why mosquitoes don't get sick from the infectious diseases they carry. He has isolated several immune system molecules (peptides) from mosquitoes that protect them from harmful pathogens. Perhaps these molecules can become the basis for improved antibiotic drugs for humans. More at Lowenberger's homepage.