The sunshine vitamin sheds light on gut health

By Qiaochu Liang, guest contributor With winter just around the corner, some animals start building food caches, while others eat plenty of food to prepare for hibernation. This is also the perfect time for us humans to be proactive about getting enough essential nutrients, particularly vitamin D. What is vitamin D? Vitamins are a class […]

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If you can’t beat the cold, join it: How animals cope with Canadian winters

By Nada Salem and Zahra Nassar, Chemistry co-editors We’re almost there! We’ve survived another Canadian winter. It’s just about time to take off our scarves and hats and leave this winter season behind. This year was a tad colder than usual, with Vancouver (Canada’s characteristically warm haven) experiencing its lowest temperatures in 52 years. While […]

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How species survive the winter: Skin breathing and antifreeze

Wood frog- NCC

by Sarah Ludlow Previous blog posts have discussed how small songbirds and big brown bats survive the winter. Those blogs briefly covered some strategies used by birds and mammals. But what about amphibians? How do frogs survive the many months of sub-zero temperatures? Amphibians are ectotherms (or cold-blooded, meaning that their body temperature is regulated […]

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