Defining ‘novel’: Health Canada modernizes its regulations for plant breeding

Katie Compton, Policy & Politics editor When it comes to the plants and plant-derived foods that we eat, what does novel mean? When is something so different from the existing items on grocery shelves that regulators need to assess its safety before it goes to market? In the world of plant breeding, the line between […]

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Planting cleaner air: Can roadside plants reduce air pollution?

Image by Pexels from Pixabay, CC0

Katie Compton and Silvie Harder, Policy & Politics editors If you’ve gone shopping for a houseplant recently, you might have noticed that some species, like spider plants and peace lilies, are identified as having air-purifying qualities. This labelling isn’t just empty marketing. A study done by NASA 30 years ago tested the air-purifying capacity of […]

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Bioplastics may be the answer to Canada’s plastic waste problem

Photos by Silvie Harder

Katie Compton and Silvie Harder, Policy and Politics editors When COVID-19 reached Canada in the spring of 2020, the Government of Canada was on track to ban single-use plastics. But in the scramble to reduce the spread of the virus, grocery stores and coffee shops discouraged people from bringing their cloth bags and travel mugs. […]

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Your genes may (NOT) be used against you

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay, CC0

Katie Compton, Science Policy and Politics Editor When I’m not writing and editing for Science Borealis, I’m working as a cancer genetic counsellor. I spend a lot of time talking to people about the risks and benefits of having genetic testing. Sometimes my patients know that there is an inherited form of cancer in their […]

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Data-sharing in the time of COVID-19

Coronavirus eye - data by Matrix cc0 via pixabay

Katie Compton, Policy and Politics editor As the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives, we’ve all become health-data seekers. Each day, we scan our newsfeeds for information about whether we’re flattening the curve, wonder what the #NewNormal will look like, and search hopefully for any news about treatments or vaccines. Answering the questions foremost on […]

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