Science

Linda Riches, shown in this handout image, tried at least 12 different antidepressants before one worked for her, but she says genetic testing that is publicly funded could help alleviate that type of trial-and-error process so people don’t have to keep struggling while trying so many medications that don’t work for them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Free genetic testing could save country near $1B, UBC study suggests

Matching Canadians with right anti-depressants through pharmacogenomic testing could also save lives

 

Agility Robotics’ robot Digit performs maneuvers at the company’s office in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Agility co-founder Jonathan Hurst makes a point of describing Agility’s warehouse robot Digit as human-centric, not humanoid, a distinction meant to emphasize what it does over what it’s trying to be. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Humanoid robots are here, but they’re a little awkward. Do we really need them?

Leaders behind the movement say such robots will be needed as human birth rates fall

 

A robotic hand with UBC-developed sensor skin on its fingertips is capable of grasping delicate items, such as a champagne flute, without breaking them. (UBC/Paul Joseph)

UBC-developed ‘skin’ giving prosthetics and robots a delicate touch

Sensor skin capable of grasping a champagne flute or egg without damaging them

 

FILE - Japan Prize 2022 laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko, left, and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman, right, pose with their trophies during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Tokyo. The Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for enabling development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, it was announced on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)

Karikó and Weissman win Nobel Prize in medicine for work on mRNA vaccines

Scientists’ discoveries were critical in slowing spread of COVID-19

FILE - Japan Prize 2022 laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko, left, and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman, right, pose with their trophies during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Tokyo. The Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for enabling development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, it was announced on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)
An exhibit of early human species, whose faces have been recreated, are seen inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Science is unlocking the Neanderthal inside you

Science revealing we have far more in common with our extinct cousins than we ever thought

An exhibit of early human species, whose faces have been recreated, are seen inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
William, Prince of Wales, right, visits a FDNY Firehouse on on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Pool Photo via AP)

Prince William, billionaires Gates and Bloomberg say innovation provides climate hope

With deadly extreme weather hitting all over the globe, rising temperatures peaking…

William, Prince of Wales, right, visits a FDNY Firehouse on on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Pool Photo via AP)
Dr. Stuart Turvey poses in this undated handout photo. Dr. Stuart Turvey says a new study suggests four major types of childhood allergies — eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergies — are linked to an imbalance of bacteria the gut. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of British Columbia

Infant antibiotics tied to eczema, asthma, food allergies

Canadian study finds medication can wipe out protective bacteria and introduce harmful ones

Dr. Stuart Turvey poses in this undated handout photo. Dr. Stuart Turvey says a new study suggests four major types of childhood allergies — eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergies — are linked to an imbalance of bacteria the gut. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of British Columbia
August celebrates two “supermoons.” The first – the Sturgeon Moon – appeared over the mountains south of Princeton August 1 and was captured by well-known local shutterbug John Moody. According to the Farmer’s Almanac the Sturgeon Moon is so named to honour the giant Sturgeon fish, which can be traced back 132 million years and is sometimes called ‘the fossil fish.’ On August 30 stargazers will be treated to the second supermoon, the Blue Moon.

Rare blue supermoon brightens the night sky this week in the closest full moon of the year

Stargazers are in for a double treat this week: a rare blue…

August celebrates two “supermoons.” The first – the Sturgeon Moon – appeared over the mountains south of Princeton August 1 and was captured by well-known local shutterbug John Moody. According to the Farmer’s Almanac the Sturgeon Moon is so named to honour the giant Sturgeon fish, which can be traced back 132 million years and is sometimes called ‘the fossil fish.’ On August 30 stargazers will be treated to the second supermoon, the Blue Moon.
A sign is photographed at McMurdo Station on Dec. 4, 2018. The Associated Press found a pattern of women working in Antarctica who said their claims of sexual harassment or assault had been minimized by their employers. The AP investigation came after the National Science Foundation published a report in 2022 in which 59% of women said they’d had a negative experience of harassment or assault while on the ice. (National Science Foundation via AP)

Women working in Antarctica say they were left to fend for themselves against sexual harassers

The howling winds and perpetual darkness of the Antarctic winter were easing…

A sign is photographed at McMurdo Station on Dec. 4, 2018. The Associated Press found a pattern of women working in Antarctica who said their claims of sexual harassment or assault had been minimized by their employers. The AP investigation came after the National Science Foundation published a report in 2022 in which 59% of women said they’d had a negative experience of harassment or assault while on the ice. (National Science Foundation via AP)
A bleached and dying Porites lobata colony on Kiritimati (Christmas Island). (Julia K. Baum/Contributed to Black Press Media)

Record-high ocean temperatures hurting coral reefs: UVic study

Coral reef ecosystems are worth US $375 billion annually, and are a key source of food and income

A bleached and dying Porites lobata colony on Kiritimati (Christmas Island). (Julia K. Baum/Contributed to Black Press Media)
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health prepare to transplant a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead man in New York on July 14, 2023. Researchers around the country are racing to learn how to use animal organs to save human lives. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Pig kidney works in donor body marking step toward animal-human transplants

Researchers are breaking new ground in the scicne of using animals to save human lives

Surgeons at NYU Langone Health prepare to transplant a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead man in New York on July 14, 2023. Researchers around the country are racing to learn how to use animal organs to save human lives. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)
This microscopic image showcases a soft marine organism impaled by multiple fibreglass particles, creating a visual reminiscent of a living pincushion. Photo courtesy of Dr. Corina Ciocan

Derelict boats, Part 2: ‘A persistent source of pollution’ in B.C. and beyond

Contaminants shed by abandoned vessels causing concern about ocean health

This microscopic image showcases a soft marine organism impaled by multiple fibreglass particles, creating a visual reminiscent of a living pincushion. Photo courtesy of Dr. Corina Ciocan
(Perucetus colossus is reconstructed in a costal habitat: Alberto Gennari/Nature via AP)

The heaviest animal ever may be this ancient whale found in the Peruvian desert

There could be a new contender for heaviest animal to ever live.…

(Perucetus colossus is reconstructed in a costal habitat: Alberto Gennari/Nature via AP)
An artist’s rendering of a group of Burgess Shale jellyfish is shown in a handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Royal Ontario Museum-Christian McCall

Researchers find oldest-known species of swimming jellyfish in Canadian Rockies

Burgess Shale fossils on a shelf at the Royal Ontario Museum reveal 505-million-year-old specimen

An artist’s rendering of a group of Burgess Shale jellyfish is shown in a handout. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Royal Ontario Museum-Christian McCall
FILE - This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in a laboratory. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)

Long COVID struggles persist, new treatment studies bring hope

U.S. investing in research to address brain fog and other long COVID symptoms affecting millions

FILE - This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in a laboratory. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)
FILE - Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in this photo, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. Anthropic, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other major developers of AI systems known as large language models say they’re hard at work to make them more truthful. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Untruthful tech: Chatbots prone to making things up

Not everyone thinks AI’s hallucination problem is fixable

FILE - Text from the ChatGPT page of the OpenAI website is shown in this photo, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. Anthropic, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and other major developers of AI systems known as large language models say they’re hard at work to make them more truthful. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - A commercial airliner flies Northwest across Lake Michigan in front of the “Full Buck” supermoon, the first of four supermoons in 2023, July 3, 2023, in Chicago. The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons. Catch the first show Tuesday night, Aug. 2, as the full moon rises in the southeast. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun

The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair…

FILE - A commercial airliner flies Northwest across Lake Michigan in front of the “Full Buck” supermoon, the first of four supermoons in 2023, July 3, 2023, in Chicago. The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons. Catch the first show Tuesday night, Aug. 2, as the full moon rises in the southeast. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
Aspartame was classified as a possible carcinogen to humans, according to the assessments released July 14. (PepsiCo via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

Aspartame findings shouldn’t change aspartame consumption: B.C. experts

Artificial sweetener classified as possible carcinogen, SFU says consumption levels must be extreme

Aspartame was classified as a possible carcinogen to humans, according to the assessments released July 14. (PepsiCo via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
An independent scientific adviser has resigned from a Health Canada committee on pesticide management, citing a lack of transparency and scientific oversight. A giant Canadian flag hangs on the side of a government office building in downtown Ottawa, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

‘False sense of security’: B.C. scientist quits as national pesticide watchdog

Pesticide regulation ‘obsolete,’ protects industry, scientific adviser says in resignation

An independent scientific adviser has resigned from a Health Canada committee on pesticide management, citing a lack of transparency and scientific oversight. A giant Canadian flag hangs on the side of a government office building in downtown Ottawa, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Dr. Keith Yeates, a neuropsychologist at the University of Calgary, poses in this undated handout photo. Yeates has a study published in the online medical journal Pediatrics that says kids who suffer concussions don’t suffer a drop in IQ. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of Calgary, Riley Brandt

Canadian study says concussions don’t affect kids’ intelligence

University of Calgary-led research finds there doesn’t appear to be an alteration in a kid’s IQ

Dr. Keith Yeates, a neuropsychologist at the University of Calgary, poses in this undated handout photo. Yeates has a study published in the online medical journal Pediatrics that says kids who suffer concussions don’t suffer a drop in IQ. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - University of Calgary, Riley Brandt