The Beaver Diaries: how AI unveils Nature’s master builders

By Qiaochu Liang, Biology & Life Sciences co-editor The beaver is a familiar sight to Canadians. Castor canadensis is an official symbol of Canada and appears on many government-related artifacts including the Canadian nickel and the Parks Canada logo. But what do we really know about these amazing creatures? Today, advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) […]

Continue reading


DIY time machines: how Canadian researchers use data from unexpected sources to recreate the past

By Catherine Dale, Managing Editor Tracking how human influences are changing the natural world is a common goal of science. However, to determine how something is changing, you need to know what it looked like in the past – and often, no records exist. To fill this gap, scientists sometimes turn to unconventional sources of […]

Continue reading


Daylight savings: how shifting time affects our internal clock

By Amanda Scanga, Science in Society editor The beginning of daylight savings time (DST) can be encouraging for some as it promises that spring and warmer weather are near. While most of us shift to DST with little effort, there are quite a few who struggle to make the change. The changing number of daylight […]

Continue reading


The pandemic we’re not talking about: What’s going on with honeybees? – ScienceBorealis.ca Blog

reader of the pack CC BY-ND 2.0

This week, we are highlighting a 2020 post by Biology & Life Sciences editor Jenna Finlay. Written at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenna’s post highlights another, much less well-known epidemic affecting the world’s honeybees. Check out this post to learn about the fungal genus Nosema, and what we know about its effects on […]

Continue reading


Your genes may (NOT) be used against you – ScienceBorealis.ca Blog

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay, CC0

This week’s feature article is a great read from 2020 by former Policy & Politics editor Katie Compton. In it, she discusses Canada’s Genetic Non-Discrimination Act and its implications as genetic testing becomes increasingly common. By Katie Compton, Policy & Politics editor When I’m not writing and editing for Science Borealis, I’m working as a […]

Continue reading