Defining ‘novel’: Health Canada modernizes its regulations for plant breeding

Katie Compton, Policy & Politics editor When it comes to the plants and plant-derived foods that we eat, what does novel mean? When is something so different from the existing items on grocery shelves that regulators need to assess its safety before it goes to market? In the world of plant breeding, the line between […]

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Kids and COVID-19: How other coronaviruses may be giving them a leg up

Image by EpicTop10.com, CC BY 2.0

Jenna Finley, Biology and Life Sciences co-editor Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve all been aware that exhibiting symptoms is not an equal opportunity game. Some people don’t even know they have the COVID-19 virus, while others are fighting for their lives in intensive care units. One group that is more likely to be […]

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Cytomegalovirus: The virus I wish I had known about

Image from Max Image, CC0

Rana Semaan, Science in Society editor   I was 18 weeks pregnant when I received the following call from my gynecologist: Doctor: Hi, Rana. How are you feeling today? Do you still have a fever? I had elevated liver enzyme levels and a two-week-old low-grade fever. My doctors were trying to find out why. Me: […]

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Lidar and archeology: Modern technology for a historical purpose

Image by Jesse Varner, Zion National Park DEM, United States National Park Service, CC BY 2.0.

Mary Anne Schoenhardt, Science in Society editor You may know that the iPhone 12 Pro contains a lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor. A remote sensing technique originally developed for space exploration and military defence, lidar is more than just a fancy gadget for your new phone. One of the lesser-known uses of lidar is […]

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Let sleeping owls lie: What’s behind the morning lark, night owl sleep patterns

photo by cottonbro CC0 via pixels

Jaspreet Sanghera, Biology & Life Sciences editor You prefer to get up at dawn and are raring to go by the time most people are just rolling out of bed. This means that you are in bed by 10 P.M. But your new neighbours are up half the night moving around their apartment, disrupting your […]

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