Defective cell ‘battery’ plays central role in neurodegenerative disease
Research and DiscoveryNew research out of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital has traced a devastating neurodegenerative disease that first appears in toddlers just as they are beginning to walk to defects in mitochondria, the ‘batteries’ or energy-producing power plants of cells.
Tweeting #Higgs boson search updates live from #CERN
Research and DiscoveryAndreas Warburton, an associate professor in McGill’s Department of Physics, checks in from CERN, were he live tweeted from the recent Higgs boson update press conference for McGill’s Media Relations Office.
Feist goes back to school
Research and DiscoveryA few dozen diligent students, hard at work in Stewart Biology building over the weekend of Dec. 3, were rewarded by a surprise rock star sighting. Those who poked their heads out of their labs at the right time bumped into Feist and her band, who were on campus to visit prof. Dan Levitin’s laboratory.
The mall as living lab
Research and DiscoveryThe female computer voice offers carefully modulated instructions. “Turn left after exiting the second set of doors and then trail the left side wall. That wall will turn to the right for 10 feet and then to the left for 15 feet.“ These directions, from a downloadable recording designed to help guide blind people through a shopping centre in Roseville, Minnesota, offer a glimpse into the world of the disabled. And something similar will soon exist in Montreal’s Place Alexis Nihon.
Teaching robots how to be surprised
Research and DiscoveryRight now, we still have it over robots. They may be better at mindless repetitive tasks and simple information gathering, but for the time being humans are still better at making decisions. But who knows for how long, now that researchers at McGill’s Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM) are trying to teach robots to become intelligent information gatherers.
Sperm counts with male contraception researcher Bernard Robaire
Research and DiscoveryIt’s not every day that a conversation moves from mouse sperm to global population issues. But for Bernard Robaire, a professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Obstetrics and Gynecology, who works on male fertility, the two are at least loosely connected.
Taking a swing at Lou Gehrig’s disease
Research and DiscoveryA $2-million donation by the Reed Family / The Tenaquip Foundation towards ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) research and patient care at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro, promises to significantly advance understanding of this devastating disease and facilitate the development of treatments and therapies.
Students work together to promote an Arabic Renaissance
Research and DiscoveryThe video starts with someone whistling and a map of the Arab-speaking world. Then the words ‘Arab world stats’ are typed into a search engine. What follows on screen are dismal figures for literacy, malnutrition, unemployment and poverty overlaid on the Arab world while English and Arabic radio clips fill in the picture. Eventually we see a group of young people proclaim, “We are the Arab Development Initiative and together we’re going to launch a Renaissance in the Arab world.”
McGill engineers get traffic flowing in the Plateau
Research and DiscoveryIt’s a bit like watching a 3D Etch A Sketch in action, with lines and icons of different colours moving across the computer screen. But, though it looks like a fun toy, it’s actually a very complex traffic simulation tool that will help Plateau Mont-Royal planners smooth traffic flow over the coming months. And by working with this useful instrument Marianne Hatzopoulou, a professor of civil engineering, has played an important role in the process.
Nursing’s healing touch – administered virtually
Research and Discovery“Fishermen on boats, they eat all kinds of stuff,” says Nursing Professor Antonia Arnaert. She is voluble in her excitement about her most recent telenursing research project, which had patients with uncontrolled diabetes using smartphones and the Internet to communicate with the nurses responsible for monitoring their health.