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Neutron-star merger yields new puzzle for astrophysicists

The afterglow from the distant neutron-star merger detected last August has continued to brighten – much to the surprise of astrophysicists studying the aftermath of the massive collision that took place about 138 million light years away and sent gravitational waves rippling through the universe.

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Published: 18 Jan 2018

Better data for governments

Today, the Center for Government Excellence (GovEx), part of Johns Hopkins University, and GeoThink, a part of McGill University, launched a new open data standards directory that will identify standards for open data regularly shared by governments.

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Published: 15 Nov 2017

McGill researcher to head Facebook’s new Montreal AI lab

Facebook is opening a new Artificial Intelligence Research Lab in Montreal — FAIR Montreal. This is the company’s first research and development investment in Canada, and only its fourth AI research lab in all. Prof. Joelle Pineau, from the School of Computer Science and co-director of McGill’s Reasoning & Learning Lab, will head the new Montreal AI lab while maintaining her academic position at the university.

Published: 15 Sep 2017

NASA's Hubble Captures Blistering Pitch-Black Planet

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has observed a planet outside our solar system that looks as black as fresh asphalt because it eats light rather than reflecting it back into space. This light-eating prowess is due to the planet's unique capability to trap at least 94 percent of the visible starlight falling into its atmosphere.

Published: 14 Sep 2017

Brains are more plastic than we thought

Practice might not always make perfect, but it’s essential for learning a sport or a musical instrument. It's also the basis of brain training, an approach that holds potential as a non-invasive therapy to overcome disabilities caused by neurological disease or trauma.

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Published: 19 Jul 2017

A more sustainable way to refine metals

A team of chemists in Canada has developed a way to process metals without using toxic solvents and reagents.
Published: 7 Jun 2017

New theory on how Earth’s crust was created

More than 90% of Earth’s continental crust is made up of silica-rich minerals, such as feldspar and quartz. But where did this silica-enriched material come from? And could it provide a clue in the search for life on other planets?

Published: 5 May 2017

Access to cutting-edge research equipment, laboratories and tools

At the University of New Brunswick this morning, The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, announced $51,968,051 for 223 projects at 39 universities across the country, including over $4.5 million across 14 projects at McGill, through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

Published: 28 Feb 2017

Mouse Model Could Shed New Light on Immune System Response to Zika Virus

A new mouse model with a working immune system could be used in laboratory research to improve understanding of Zika virus infection and aid development of new treatments, according to a study published in PLOS Pathogens.

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Published: 23 Feb 2017

Protective wear inspired by fish scales

They started with striped bass. Over a two-year period the researchers went through about 50 bass, puncturing or fracturing hundreds of fish scales under the microscope, to try to understand their properties and mechanics better. “The people at the fish market must have wondered what we were up to,” says François Barthelat smiling ruefully.” He teaches in the Dept.

Published: 23 Jan 2017

Homing in on source of mysterious cosmic radio bursts

Astronomers have pinpointed for the first time the home galaxy of a Fast Radio Burst, moving scientists a step closer to detecting what causes these powerful but fleeting pulses of radio waves. FRBs, which last just a few thousandths of a second, have puzzled astrophysicists since their discovery a decade ago.

Published: 4 Jan 2017

Fast track control accelerates switching of quantum bits

From laptops to cellphones, today’s technology advances through the ever-increasing speed at which electric charges are directed through circuits. Similarly, speeding up control over quantum states in atomic and nanoscale systems could lead to leaps for the emerging field of quantum technology.

Published: 15 Dec 2016

Towards better hip replacements

By Katherine Gombay Some potentially good news for aging Baby Boomers: researchers believe that they have developed a hip replacement that will last longer and create fewer problems for the people who receive them than those currently in use. The secret? An implant that “tricks” the host bone into remaining alive by mimicking the varying porosity of real bones.

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Published: 2 Nov 2016

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