Dear Connect2Canada Friends,
When signing up to Connect2Canada, you indicated an interest in science and technology. We thought you would be interested in the following science and technology news from Canada.
Regards,
The Connect2Canada Team
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| Dr. Benoit Simard, of the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, holds a model of single-walled carbon nanotube - one of the strongest materials ever made. |
Nanotubes to Battle Home-Made Explosives
The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) is leading a three-year R&D program to incorporate Single-Walled Carbon NanoTube composites into personal protective equipment. These NanoTubes are about 100 times stronger than steel but just one-sixth the weight, and their anti-ballistic potential may be used one day to protect Canadian soldiers, police officers and security personnel against improvised explosive devices – a favourite weapon amongst terrorists and guerrillas. The $4.5 million program, which begins in September 2008, links scientists in government, academia and industry, including three NRC institutes, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, McGill University, the University of British Columbia and Ottawa-based Med-Eng Systems.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2008/0807tubes_e.html
Advancing the Fight against Multiple Sclerosis
With over 75,000 sufferers in Canada, multiple sclerosis (MS)—a chronic, unpredictable and potentially debilitating disease of the central nervous system—is considered by many to be “Canada’s disease.” In fact, Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world. Why Canada possesses such a high incidence of multiple sclerosis largely remains a mystery. Yet, according to an article from Innovation Canada, some good has come of this cruel trend: Canadian researchers have responded by forging one of the most intense and extensive MS research networks in the world that includes institutions like the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and the MS Program at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute.
http://www.innovationcanada.ca/en/articles/advancing-the-fight-against-ms
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| The Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario is an intellectual haven where some of the world’s brightest minds meet to grapple with puzzles of the universe. |
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics Honoured for Promotion
On behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), announced this summer that the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) is this year’s recipient of NSERC’s Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion. PI’s educational initiatives include monthly public lectures on hot topics in science by world-renowned researchers, an in-class lecture series called Physica Phantastica, an International Summer School for Young Physicists each summer, and workshops across the country that introduce teachers to the latest advances in modern physics and tutors them on methods of relaying these concepts and ideas to students.
http://www.nserc.gc.ca/news/2008/p080604.htm
Men and Women Programmed Differently When It Comes to Temptation
Temptation may be everywhere, but it's how the different sexes react to flirtation that determines the effect it will have on their relationships, says a new study by McGill University psychologists. The study determined that men tend to look at their current partners in a more negative light after meeting a single, attractive woman, but on the other hand, women are likelier to work to strengthen their current relationships after meeting an available, attractive man.
http://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/news/item/?item_id=100881
Canada Well Positioned to Be a Global Leader in Gas Hydrate Development
As the search for new global energy sources continues and conventional natural gas supplies decline in North America, a 13-member panel of experts appointed by the Council of Canadian Academies has concluded that Canada is well positioned to be a global leader in exploration, research and development, and eventual production of natural gas from gas hydrate. According to the Council of Canadian Academies, there is still a pressing need for further research to better quantify the large Canadian gas hydrate resource and the economic, environmental and technical uncertainties involved, meaning that commercial production is not likely to take place within Canada for at least two decades.
http://www.scienceadvice.ca/documents/(2008_07_07)_News_Release.pdf
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| The BC Cancer Agency Research Centre in Vancouver was the first LEED gold-certified health building in Canada. |
LEED-ing the Way for Green Building
According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, buildings represent 40% of global energy demand and raw material usage. To effectively conserve energy and materials, Canadians need to change how they design, construct, and use their buildings, says an article from Innovation Canada. Thankfully, such change is already happening across Canada: the $88-million BC Cancer Agency Research Centre in Vancouver—one of Canada’s largest cancer research facilities—officially opened in March 2005. The centre demonstrates what’s possible with green construction and was the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certified health building in Canada.
http://www.innovationcanada.ca/en/articles/
Researcher Suggests Slowing the Aging Process
Learning how to turn back time – or at least how to slow the aging process – may be more important for improving our overall health than the discovery of a cure for cancer, says Queen's University’s Political Studies professor Colin Farrelly. In an article published on-line by the British Medical Journal, Dr. Farrelly argues that there are real, tangible benefits, for society as well as individuals, to slowing down the aging process. “By extending the life span, people would remain in the workforce longer, personal income and savings would increase, age entitlement programs would face less pressure from shifting demographics, and national economies would flourish,” he says.
http://qnc.queensu.ca/story_loader.php?id=4874f8c5851db
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| The NRC is developing a coating for catheters and other implants that could dramatically reduce the risk of infection. |
Healthier Implants
Canada's aging population and longer life expectancy are driving a huge demand for medical devices such as catheters, pacemakers and artificial hearts. But the patients who receive these devices are at risk for infections caused by a build-up of proteins on the device. About one in 10 hospital patients acquire an infection that prolongs their stay and increases health-care costs. To combat this, the National Research Council of Canada is developing coatings for medical devices that could reduce the risk of infection, leading to shorter hospital stays and fewer repeat surgeries.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2008/0807ops_e.html
$1.7 Million Grant Awarded to University of Calgary Researcher to Fight Bioterrorism
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Donald Woods, of the University of Calgary’s faculty of medicine, $1.7 million for research into vaccines against agents of bioterrorism. Woods is studying and testing vaccine preparations for the prevention of glanders and melioidosis, two virulent bacterial diseases.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/news/july2008/bioterrorism
New Concrete's Little Secrets
Dr. Laila Raki and her team at the National Research Council Institute for Research in Construction have discovered ways to make ordinary concrete made from Portland cement more flexible and workable. Through nanotechnology, they've found a key to preventing cracks in concrete as cement ages, a much-needed advance in Canada where extreme heat, cold and salt take their toll. Since 2005, Dr. Raki has led a multidisciplinary team that aims to provide nanotechnology-based materials for the construction industry. The team has focused primarily on developing new cements, admixtures and concretes.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/highlights/2008/0807concrete_e.html
