By Ishara Yahampath, guest contributor Globally, 400 metric tonnes of plastic are produced annually: 40% is single-use, resulting in significant waste. Every year, 29,000 tonnes of plastic are released into Canada’s environment, causing serious environmental problems—the accumulation of plastic waste in land and water ecosystems, leakage of harmful microbes into the environment, and threats to […]
Author: Science Borealis
Untangling Cosmic Strings
By Eloise Chakour, guest contributor Theoretical physics is often criticized for its lack of observable predictions. However, Canada is at the forefront of research on fascinating objects that exist in the borderlands between theoretical and observational physics: cosmic strings. These theorized objects may provide answers to some of the biggest questions in physics today. The […]
How does wildfire smoke affect our health?
By Michael Limmena, Health, Medicine & Veterinary Science editor The year 2021 was one of British Columbia’s biggest wildfire seasons in our lifetimes. Between April and September of that year, the province saw about 1,600 wildfires that burned approximately 8,700 square kilometres. Although the wildfires occurred in BC, the smoke from the wildfires spread throughout […]
Did anyone see STEVE last night?
By Nada Salem, Physics & Astronomy editor On dark Alberta nights, far away from the man-made glare of street lights and fluorescent-lit office buildings, you may come across a photographer camped out in an open field, waiting patiently with a camera on a tripod. And if you’re lucky — if the skies are clear and […]
Gyotaku: Doing Art to Scale
By Raymond K. Nakamura, Multimedia editor Give someone a fish and feed them for a day. Teach them how to fish print and intrigue them for a lifetime. Gyotaku is a Japanese word from gyo meaning “fish” and taku meaning “rubbing.” Make sure to pronounce gyotaku with a hard “g” to avoid any misunderstandings because […]