Long live loons and their research

Robert Alvo, guest contributor, Nature Conservancy of Canada In the 1970s, North Americans were already concerned about the effects of human activity on the common loon, a large charismatic diving bird that breeds on lakes. My bachelor’s thesis at Queen’s University examined this concern on 10 lakes in Ontario in 1980. On busy lakes, boats […]

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Raising awareness of mathematical modelling

Hannah Sutton, New Science Communicator These days, people think that most of our questions about the world can be answered with science. However, it’s not always possible to study something directly, which is where mathematical modelling comes in. For example, for quite a while scientists were baffled by the fact that the near side of […]

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S’établir sur Mars? Ce n’est pas parce qu’on peut qu’on doit le faire…

Tanya Samman et Alina C. Fisher, coéditrices, Environnement et sciences de la terre Mars… c’est un sujet chaud en ce moment. Mais la Terre aussi après tout; elle se réchauffe grâce aux changements climatiques causés par les humains. La vie sur Terre changera de façon dramatique dans un futur rapproché; la fonte des calottes glaciaires […]

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In storage: The story of seven instruments no longer instrumental

Hayley Rose Reekie, New Science Communicator In a world of ever-evolving technology, scientific equipment constantly becomes outdated. Universities regularly exile old research equipment to storage rooms and then forgot about it. I recently set out on a mission to find some of these relics and to discover their stories. Here are the stories of seven […]

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Treating mental health virtually

Del Ingvaldson, New Science Communicator Mental health issues are of increasing importance in today’s society. According to Statistics Canada, 11.3 per cent of Canadians suffer from depression. Researchers have found that university students are among those at the highest risk, with approximately 15.6 per cent of undergraduate students suffering from depression or anxiety disorder. Mental […]

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