Adam Hunter, Nature Conservancy of Canada, guest contributor I had my first encounter with a “glow-in-the-dark” species when I was a child. My parents and I were visiting relatives in St. Catharines, Ontario, and we were in their backyard enjoying the warm, summer evening. In the distance, I noticed tiny, flashing yellow lights floating in […]
Chemistry
Maud Leonora Menten: Canadian leader in chemistry
Chantal Mustoe, Chemistry co-editor Few people will recognise the Canadian in the photo here. She was a talented painter whose work was exhibited in galleries, a gifted linguist, speaking English, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Halkomelem (a British Columbia First Nations language), an inspiring teacher, a diligent pathologist, and, above all, a passionate scientist. Maud […]
To fingerprint or not to fingerprint? That is the question
Chantal Mustoe, Chemistry co-editor In October 2013, in the case of Regina v. Bornyk, a man was arrested, tried and acquitted of breaking and entering in Surrey, British Columbia. The judge assessed the fingerprint evidence himself and dismissed it due to “unexplained discrepancies” and possible effects of “institutional bias” in fingerprinting and the “subjective certainty” […]
Gut feelings: How the bacteria in your body affect your brain
Tamara Rosner, Health, Medicine & Veterinary Science co-editor Your body plays host to millions of bacteria. In fact, the number of bacterial cells in your gastrointestinal (GI) tract is about equal to the number of cells that make up your body. While we typically think of bacteria as “bad” or “unhealthy”, the bacteria that make […]
Drug treatment and policy: Lessons from abroad
Braydon Black, Science and Society co-editor The opioid crisis is having a devastating impact on individuals and communities across North America. The problem can be traced back to the late 1990s, when pharmaceutical companies began to market the drugs as a non-addictive treatment for chronic pain. Opioids became over-prescribed, leading to widespread use and overuse. […]