THUNDER BAY — His development of a low-dose radiation breast imaging device has won recognition for Lakehead University researcher Oleksandr Bubon. Bubon will receive an award Tuesday in Ottawa from Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that’s supported research projects and delivered training programs since 1999. It’s funded by the federal government and provincial governments, and works with more […]

HALIFAX, N.S. — Boring is best when it comes to cigarette packaging, a Halifax researcher has concluded. Mohammed Al-Hamdani worked with 50 smokers using eye-tracking technology and tests that measured the motivation to smoke. He found that plain cigarette packaging not only increases attention to health warnings for all smokers, it also deters some smokers’ desire […]

“The walleye species is the number one sport fish in the northern U.S. and Canada,” says John Grace owner of the Old Post Lodge, noting that the livelihood of fishing lodges — which are big business in Northern Ontario — depends on maintaining a healthy walleye population. “If we weren’t stocking the walleye and continually […]

A field test would help producers, but research was required. Eloy Jose Torres Garcia, a senior Fanshawe College undergraduate and Mitacs intern, led a team of researchers at Fanshawe and Agriculture Agri-Food Canada with the mission to solve this age-old problem. “Buddy wastes time, fuel, and money,” says Eloy Jose, a Colombian microbiologist and biotech […]

The annual cost of buddy, which the Ontario Maple Syrup Producer’s Association (OMSPA) estimates can reach into the millions, is a lot of liquid gold for small producers who are forced to sell buddy product at highly reduced rates. This summer, Eloy Jose Torres Garcia, a senior Fanshawe College undergraduate and Mitacs intern, led a […]

Turns out London researchers have a solution and a London-based company is key to it. Researchers at Western University have discovered adding a thin layer of carbon to rechargeable batteries can boost their life by up to 50 per cent, and the physicist working at 3M Canada’s London facility developed that coating. “The performance right […]

A Fanshawe College undergraduate student is researching ways to stop a mysterious and “horrible” flavour maple syrup producers refer to as “buddy” – which tastes and smells like a burnt Tootsie Roll – from making its way into late-season maple syrup. While the phenomenon usually occurs toward the end of the maple sugar season, if […]

The award is being presented by Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada for business and academia. Working with professor Sherry Stewart in Dalhousie’s departments of psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, as well as the Lung Association of Nova Scotia, Dr. Mohammed Al-Hamdani’s work found that Health Canada’s format for plain cigarette […]

After working as a heavy equipment operator and first responder, Jess Black was inspired to create a baseline layer of women’s clothing that can be comfortably and safely worn under protective gear. “For a woman, men’s workwear is not appealing,” said Black. “I find it disappointing because it does not fit properly, there are limited […]

The hydrogen fuel cell has been around for years, thanks to B.C.’s pioneering Ballard Power Systems. Fuel-cell stacks are a mature technology and their products are being rolled out around the world, including 1,000 transit buses in Europe. Vancouver is a little behind, with just one hydrogen filling station, though six more are in the […]

Controversial neonicotinoid pesticides have been shown to threaten bees and other pollinators, prompting Europe and Canada to tighten regulations.  Now a new study shows they can also directly harm seed-eating birds that migrate during spring planting season. White-crowned sparrows that ate a tiny dose of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid — equivalent to a just a few coated seeds and far below […]

Environmental scientists are spilling oil at a freshwater research facility in northwestern Ontario to test the waters for non-invasive cleanup techniques. The Experimental Lakes Area, which is operated by the Winnipeg-based International Institute of Sustainable Development, consists of 58 small lakes and their watersheds. The natural laboratory is used by scientists who undertake real-world experiments […]