Research news

The United Nations declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, a celebration of life on Earth and of the value of biodiversity for all. McGill University is proud to launch the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, bringing together eight academic institutions, in collaboration with the Montreal Botanical Garden and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

On September 23, 2009, Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced that 19 McGill researchers were among the 181 newly appointed or renewed Canada Research Chairs. McGill received nine Tier 1 and 10 Tier 2 Chairs worth a total of $17,600,000.

Another step on the road to a cure for diabetes may give hope to the world’s 171 million diabetes sufferers, thanks to collaboration between teams from McGill University and the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF).

Principal Heather Munroe-Blum signed a research memorandum of understanding with Dr. P.P. Bhojvaid, Vice-Chancellor of TERI University in India, placing Quebec at the heart of climate-change research. The signing was also attended by Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chancellor of TERI University, Premier of Quebec Jean Charest and Quebec Minister for International Relations Pierre Arcand.

Complex problems require complex solutions. That’s why the Green Crop Network brings together a variety of research expertise from McGill and 13 other Canadian universities.

McGill University study could lead to personalized medicine to treat morbid obesity with genetic cause.

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature.

Media opportunity to meet 24 teams presenting some of McGill's unique and exciting discoveries

People with Parkinson’s disease suffer social difficulties simply because of the way they talk, a McGill University researcher has discovered. Marc Pell, at McGill’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, has learned that many people develop negative impressions about individuals with Parkinson’s disease, based solely on how they communicate.

The accelerated world of medical research promises new diagnostic tools and treatments for Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer. These advances, however, raise a daunting array of ethical issues. Enter Bartha Maria Knoppers, the recently appointed director of McGill’s new Centre of Genomics and Policy.

Brenda Milner needs a bigger mantelpiece. On November 20, 2009, in a ceremony held in Berne, Switzerland, the legendary Montreal Neurological Institute researcher received the International Balzan Prize, yet another entry on her long list of prestigious accolades.

Scientists long tried to figure out why some spots on Earth had more radioactive air than others. It wasn’t until 1912, when Victor Hess took an electrometer skyward in a balloon, that it became clear the extra radiation was coming, not from inside the Earth, but from above it. Way above it. But where exactly did these “cosmic rays,” as physicist Robert Millikan dubbed them, come from?

At ceremonies held in Ottawa on November 28 and 29, 2009, the Royal Society of Canada recognized the achievements of four McGill researchers.

Bertrand Russell once described drunkenness as “temporary suicide,” a phrase that might turn out to be more literally true than the great philosopher knew. Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, according to a recent study published in the journal Cancer Detection and Prevention by researchers from McGill and elsewhere.

Dr. Phil Gold made Canadian medical history in 1965—and now it’s official. Forty-five years after he and his colleague Dr. Samuel Freedman discovered the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)—which, as the first clinically useful human tumour marker, revolutionized the diagnosis and management of cancer—Gold is being inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.