Science and Policy Exchange brings student voices to Canadian science policy issues

Subhobrata Das – used with permission

Farah Qaiser, Policy & Politics co-editor When it comes to science policy issues in Canada, there are plenty of perspectives to consider. A key demographic is graduate students and post-doctoral fellows; unfortunately, their voices often go unheard. With this in mind, the Montreal-based student group Science & Policy Exchange (SPE; or Dialogue Sciences & Politiques) […]

Continue reading


Charismatic organisms, “lost causes”, and conservation priorities

Alina C. Fisher and Tanya Samman, Environmental & Earth Sciences co-editors It’s no coincidence that the logo and mascot for the World Wide Fund for Nature (known as the World Wildlife Fund in Canada and the USA) is a panda, and that baby seals are now associated with Greenpeace. Pandas and seals are cute and […]

Continue reading


Faune en dépérissement: Est-ce que les ambitions de conservation de l’objectif 1 du Canada protègent efficacement notre biodiversité unique?

Alina C. Fisher et Tanya Samman, Co-éditrices, Environnement et sciences de la terre Que vous vient-il à l’esprit lorsque vous pensez aux parcs canadiens ? De vastes espaces de nature sauvage ? Un endroit où faire de la randonnée ou du camping ? Le mandat de Parcs Canada est de s’assurer que des aires naturelles […]

Continue reading


CRISPR-Cas9 technology and personalized medicine: What about Canada?

by Rick Gierczak, guest contributor CRISPR-Cas9 technology was accidentally discovered in the 1980s when scientists were researching how bacteria defend themselves against viral infection. While studying bacterial DNA called clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), they identified additional CRISPR-associated (Cas) protein molecules. Together, CRISPR and one of those protein molecules, termed Cas9, can locate […]

Continue reading


Withering wildlife: Will Canada Target 1 conservation goals effectively protect our unique biodiversity?

Alina C. Fisher and Tanya Samman, Environmental & Earth Sciences co-editors What comes to mind when you think of Canada’s parks? Vast tracts of wilderness? A place to hike or camp? The mandate of Parks Canada is to ensure natural areas for both ecological integrity and human enjoyment. But human enjoyment may not be as […]

Continue reading