Tiny plants could be key to improving climate change predictions

By Rose Lefebvre, new science communicator Have you ever looked closely at moss? These tiny plants, described by F. E. Tripp in his 1868 book British Mosses, their homes, aspects, structure, and uses as “the soft green beds into which our feet sink”,  grow almost everywhere in the world. And yet mosses are often overlooked […]

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The changing landscape of permafrost data

By Nick Brown, new science communicator As permafrost research heats up, national and territorial geological surveys are digging up old data to help answer new questions about Canada’s cold regions. The need for permafrost data in Canada Permafrost – ground that is colder than 0°C for at least two years – is changing as Earth’s […]

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Why frozen mud is a technical challenge for climate scientists

By Charles Gauthier, new science communicator “So, it’s frozen mud?” my roommate asks when I try to explain my research topic to him. Since starting his own research in quantum physics, he has mastered the art of simple idioms. Perks of the trade, I suppose. This frozen mud, however, covers half of Canada’s land mass. […]

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Planting the seed for the future of vaccine development

By Amanda Scanga, guest contributor One consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is the accelerated development of new vaccines. Researchers quickly created, tested, manufactured and administered new vaccines, most of them based on messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA is a knowledge base that has been in development for decades. Many people remain hesitant to get vaccinated for […]

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Multidisciplinary collaboration yields a promising new biopsy tool for diagnosing interstitial lung disease

Kody Beler, new science communicator About 98 out of 100,000 human patients every year suffer from interstitial lung disease, a broad collection of several lung diseases that manifest as inflammation and scarring of lung tissue and a loss of lung function. Because of the invasiveness of the necessary lung biopsy, however, the diseases are often […]

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