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
Payette returns to sounds and smell of space
On July 11th, Canadian astronaut Julie Payette is set to orbit Earth with six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on a visit to the International Space Station. It will be Payette's second trip to the station and her first in a decade. She recently spoke to the CBC's Alison Smith at the Johnson Space Center in Houston about her experience in space.
Positive outlook improves your vision
Seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses improves your eyesight, according to new research conducted by Professor Adam Anderson, psychologist at the University of Toronto. Brain scans of volunteers shown a series of images found a good mood helped them see more while those who were down in the dumps suffered from tunnel vision. It is the first direct evidence showing how our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our experience.
'Digital nation' key to recovery
At a time when governments are spending billions on ailing industries, roads and bridges, a group led by the University of Waterloo has grabbed the attention of politicians and corporate leaders with a pitch to make digital media a key part of the country's economic-recovery plans. Organizers of a two-day conference that starts Monday in Stratford, Ont., are hoping to gain momentum for their push to make Canada a leader in the biggest technological revolution since the railway.
Helping new researchers gain 21st century workforce skills
The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), recently announced projects to help science graduates expand their professional and personal skills so they can make a successful transition from the classroom to the workplace. 20 projects at universities across Canada will share $32 million over six years. The projects focus on a variety of research areas, including nanotechnology, aquaculture, biomedical engineering and biodiversity.
Saving the seaside
With major infrastructure projects cropping up across the country to help boost the economy, one Nova Scotia researcher is ensuring that the flood of new construction along her coast doesn't bring with it a deluge of problems. Danika van Proosdij, an associate professor of geography and director of the Inter-tidal Coastal Sediment Transport research unit (In_CoaST) at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, is shedding light on how bridges and roadwork can be engineered to protect the Bay of Fundy.
Canada honours 14 of the country's best and brightest young researchers
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada recently honoured 14 of this country's best and brightest young researchers with several prestigious prizes. The winners hail from across Canada and are at the top of their respective fields, which range from electrical engineering to computer science to zoology. The prizes highlight their academic and research excellence, but also recognize their interpersonal and communication skills and their leadership abilities.
Gasping for breath
On almost any hot summer day, you see it-a brownish shroud of photochemical smog enveloping cities across Canada. In the past decade, air quality has emerged as a major public environmental and health issue across the country. In a recent article, Fanshawe College researchers document their research that seeks links between rapid changes in air quality and health.
Quebec's high-tech plants
Picture a greenhouse half the size of a football field. Astonishing? Even more so, when you find out it is located deep inside the Parc technologique du Québec métropolitain. The leading edge greenhouse features thousands of tobacco plants that have become living factories producing vaccines to protect against H5N1 ("bird flu") pandemic influenza. Read more about the financial and strategic support provided by National Research Council Canada to Medicago Inc. in the development of this greenhouse.
Canada and India announce four new joint science and technology initiatives
The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today announced funding for four new Canada-India science and technology (S&T) projects worth $6.7 million. All four of the joint projects announced today are in the medical field. Two are seeking advances in the field of cancer, one in the field of sexually transmitted diseases and one in the treatment of malaria.
McGill/JGH breakthrough opens door to early Alzheimer's diagnosis
A new diagnostic technique that may greatly simplify the detection of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). Their results were published June 8 in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. Read more about the new technique that detects possible Alzheimer's biomarker in blood.
