A study of Black Americans is among the first to show how the internalization of negative messages about dark skin tones could be linked to harms to health.
Researchers found that Black Americans who are, or perceive themselves to be, dark skinned show clear markers of cellular aging associated with immune-system damage and also score lower on a measurement of self-worth. Cellular aging and low self-worth are both associated with relatively poor health outcomes.
Scientists at McGill University and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute have developed a new way to deliver cancer immunotherapy that caused fewer side effects compared to standard treatment in a preclinical study.
Sports talent scouts’ decisions are influenced by various common cognitive biases that can affect their work and undermine team success, a paper published in the International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology has suggested.
Researchers investigating how to increase participation in physical activity by autistic children and teens say key strategies include creating predictable routines, involving family members and ensuring safe and sensory-friendly spaces.
Those were among 95 “facilitators” yielded by their review of previously published research on the subject. Autistic youth are less physically active than their peers, who are already not physically active enough, the researchers said, noting that physical activity could be beneficial to their physical, social and emotional health.
Researchers at McGill University have improved the efficiency of a method for converting human urine into clean energy.
The method employs microbial fuel cells (MFCs), which use bacteria to turn organic waste into electricity, providing a sustainable and low-cost means of treating wastewater while generating energy from an abundant source. The McGill research provides insights into which urine concentrations are optimal for this process.
McGill and Queen’s University researchers have built an improved version of a computer that uses light to solve extremely hard problems more quickly and at larger scale than existing systems, without the need for cryogenic cooling.
Scientists have identified a pattern of gene activity present in some female survivors of childhood abuse that is associated with an elevated risk of depression.
Researchers at McGill University and the United States Forest Service have found that plants living in areas where human activity has caused population crashes carry long-lasting genetic traces of that history, such as reduced genetic diversity. Because genetic diversity helps species adapt to climate change, disease and other stresses, the study suggests it is vital to consider a population’s history-influenced genetics alongside its size and habitat in conservation planning.
A new McGill study suggests that problematic social media use among teens is in part related to broader social inequalities.
Zékai Lu, a PhD student in McGill’s Department of Sociology and author of the study, had set out to determine whether problematic social media use is driven mainly by individual traits or whether the social environment of the country a teen lives in also plays a significant role.
A new study co-authored by McGill University researchers suggests people can be taught to reject unfair advantages.
“We often benefit personally from an unequal distribution of resources, a phenomenon known as advantageous inequity – for example, receiving a higher salary than a colleague with the identical role,” said senior author Ross Otto, a psychology professor. “Here we ask whether people can learn to punish advantageous inequity merely by observing the inequity-averse preferences of another person.”
A McGill-led study on the role played by shame in the continuing trauma suffered by survivors of childhood sexual abuse indicates that addressing shame should be a focal point of treatment. Clinicians should use strategies that normalize disclosure, validate survivors’ feelings and integrate shame-resolution techniques into their therapy plans, the researchers suggested.
For over 50 years, McGill University has been collaborating with Indonesia’s education sector. Now a planned donation of US$12.8 million from the UAE via the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to McGill will establish the UAE-Indonesia Future Leaders Program to support Indonesia’s national and global development objectives. The program will mobilize expertise and scholarship to lead societal change and respond to future needs and challenges in areas such as sustainability, engineering, health, and teacher education that are crucial to Indonesia’s future.
The Pan-Canadian Genome Library (PCGL), hosted at McGill University, today announced a major milestone in the implementation of Canada’s national genomics infrastructure with the planned integration of data from CGEn’s HostSeq Initiative and the Biobanque Québécoise de la COVID-19 (BQC19). This achievement marks a significant step in transforming Canada’s world-class genomic data assets into a coordinated, accessible, and impactful national resource.
New research suggests the liver plays a previously unrecognized role in bone health, but only in males.
A McGill University-led study published in Matrix Biology found that a protein made in the liver helps regulate bone growth in male mice, but not in females. The findings may help explain why men with liver disease are more likely to experience bone loss.
McGill researchers have developed a diagnostic system capable of identifying bacteria –and determining which antibiotics can stop them – in just 36 minutes, a major advance in the global effort to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Current clinical testing methods typically take 48 to 72 hours, leaving physicians without timely guidance.
The researchers say this innovation arrives at a critical moment due to the urgency of the AMR crisis, which arises from bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics.
