An analysis of sulfide ore deposits from one of the world’s richest base-metal mines confirms that oxygen levels were extremely low on Earth 2.7 billion years ago, but also shows that microbes were actively feeding on sulfate in the ocean and influencing seawater chemistry during that geological time period.

Classified as: Boswell Wing, Nature Geoscience, sulfide ore, seawater chemistry, evolution
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Published on: 10 Dec 2012
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Published on: 10 Dec 2012

Bulk solvents, widely used in the chemical industry, pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. As a result, there is growing interest in avoiding their use by relying on “mechanochemistry” – an energy-efficient alternative that uses high-frequency milling to drive reactions. Because milling involves the intense impact of steel balls in rapidly moving jars, however, the underlying chemistry is difficult to observe.

Classified as: Green Chemistry, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Friščić, mechanochemical, Nature Chemistry
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Published on: 3 Dec 2012

Wherever he goes, Baptiste Rodrigues carries with him the memory of his grandparents. In his violin case, he keeps the Legion of Honour awarded to his grandfather, a hero of the Second World War, and a photo of his grandmother, whom he lived with as a teenager.

Classified as: golden violin, schulich school of music
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Published on: 30 Nov 2012

A fascinating account of what is described as the most destructive civil war in the modern world has captured the richest prize for historical literature.

Classified as: 2012, Cundill Prize, stephen platt
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Published on: 30 Nov 2012

A team of researchers at McGill University have discovered a molecular basis for the potential cancer preventive effects of vitamin D. The team, led by McGill professors John White and David Goltzman, of the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, discovered that the active form of vitamin D acts by several mechanisms to inhibit both the production and function of the protein cMYC. cMYC drives cell division and is active at elevated levels in more than half of all cancers. Their results are published in the latest edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Classified as: Cancer, vitamin D
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Published on: 22 Nov 2012

Researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal have identified a crucial link between protein synthesis and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which can bolster new therapeutic avenues. Regulation of protein synthesis, also termed mRNA translation, is the process by which cells manufacture proteins. This mechanism is involved in all aspects of cell and organism function. A new study in mice has found that abnormally high synthesis of a group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins results in symptoms similar to those diagnosed in ASD. The study also reveals that autism-like behaviors can be rectified in adult mice with compounds inhibiting protein synthesis, or with gene-therapy targeting neuroligins. Their results are published in the journal Nature.

Classified as: Research, autism, Christos Gkogkas, Nahum Sonenberg, ASD
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Published on: 21 Nov 2012

Hydrogen, the lightest element, can easily dissolve and migrate within metals to make these otherwise ductile materials brittle and substantially more prone to failures. 

Classified as: hydrogen embrittlement, Jun Song, Materials Engineering, Nature Materials
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Published on: 19 Nov 2012

 

Under these agreements, the CSSS de Gatineau joins in the implementation and execution of teaching and research development programs in the region.
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Published on: 13 Nov 2012

International researchers, including a team at McGill University, have discovered a new cause for thyroid hormone deficiency, or hypothyroidism. This common endocrine disorder is typically caused by problems of the thyroid gland, and more rarely, by defects in the brain or the pituitary gland (hypophysis). However, a new cause of the disease has been discovered from an unsuspected source and is reported in the journal Nature Genetics. The scientists, led by McGill Professor Daniel Bernard, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine, identified a new hereditary form of hypothyroidism that is more prevalent in males than in females. This sex bias shone a light on where to look for the underlying cause.

Classified as: genetics, Research, deficiency, hormone, thyroid
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Published on: 12 Nov 2012

“The Neuro is a tremendous asset to Quebec that contributes directly to the advancement of science and health on a regional and international scale,” said Prof. Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill. “It plays a pivotal role in expanding our basic knowledge of the neurosciences, and applying this knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disease and the improvement of countless lives in this province and beyond. With the appointment of Dr. Rouleau, we look forward with great confidence to building on the Neuro’s global reputation.”

Classified as: Guy Rouleau, MNI, scientist
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Published on: 9 Nov 2012

To build the computer chips of the future, designers will need to understand how an electrical charge behaves when it is confined to metal wires only a few atom-widths in diameter.

Classified as: physics, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, Hong Guo, Jesse Maassen, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Peter Grutter, nanoelectronics
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Published on: 6 Nov 2012

McGill University is pleased to announce that it has received a transformative $15-million donation from the family foundation of high-tech entrepreneur and alumnus Lorne Trottier, BEng’70, MEng’73, DSc’06, to strengthen vital research and support outreach and public policy in the areas of science and engineering, as well as to launch a public symposium in collaboration with Université de Montréal’s École Polytechnique.

Classified as: heather munroe-blum, Andrew Kirk, Engineering and Design, Lorne Trottier, Martin Grant, Science and Public Policy, Polytechnique, Ram Panda
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Published on: 6 Nov 2012

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