Since fast radio bursts (FRBs) were first discovered over a decade ago, scientists have puzzled over what could be generating these intense flashes of radio waves from outside of our galaxy. In a gradual process of elimination, the field of possible explanations has narrowed as new pieces of information are gathered about FRBs – how long they last, the frequencies of the radio waves detected, and so on.
In April 2019, scientists released the first image of a black hole in the galaxy M87 using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). However, that remarkable achievement was just the beginning of the science story to be told. McGill University astronomers were part of this global effort.
Data from 19 observatories are now being released that promise to give unparalleled insight into this black hole and the system it powers, and to improve tests of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
Victoria Glynn, the public program representative from GARM (Graduate Association of the Redpath Museum), has won the prestigious Vanier Scholarship.
As part of McGill’s Bicentennial and 24h de science, join BrainReach on a virtual tour of the brain and its fascinating neurons followed by a brief history of neuroscience. Young minds will discover how scientists at McGill set on a journey to understand the human brain.
Topic: What is neuroscience? History of neuroscience at McGill
Time: May 8, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, which includes researchers from McGill University, who produced the first ever image of a black hole, has revealed this week a new view of the massive object at the centre of the M87 galaxy: how it looks in polarized light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarization, a signature of magnetic fields, this close to the edge of a black hole. The observations are key to explaining how the M87 galaxy, located 55 million light-years away, is able to launch energetic jets from its core.
BIOL 201 students baked protein-shaped cookies so good even Chef Bruno Feldeisen from The Great Canadian Baking Show couldn't resist.
The snow may be melting, but it is leaving pollution behind in the form of micro- and nano-plastics according to a McGill study that was recently published in Environmental Pollution. The pollution is largely due to the relatively soluble plastics found in antifreeze products (polyethylene glycols) that can become airborne and picked up by the snow.
Millions of people die prematurely every year from diseases and cancer caused by air pollution. The first line of defence against this carnage is ambient air quality standards. Yet, according to researchers from McGill University, over half of the world’s population lives without the protection of adequate air quality standards.
Office of Science Education Communications Assistant Brent Jamsa sat down with four students to discuss their upcoming presentations at the second annual Undergraduate Poster Showcase. This year, the highly-anticipated event will be hosted on March 16, 6-8 PM EST via Zoom. Register here to attend: https://mcgill.ca/x/odx.
Many species might be left vulnerable in the face of climate change, unable to adapt their physiologies to respond to rapid global warming. According to a team of international researchers, species evolve heat tolerance more slowly than cold tolerance, and the level of heat they can adapt to has limits.
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Lucia Wang, master’s student in Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill, shares her perspective on the role of equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM education.
Mini-Neptunes and super-Earths up to four times the size of our own are the most common exoplanets orbiting stars beyond our solar system. Until now, super-Earths were thought to be the rocky cores of mini-Neptunes whose gassy atmospheres were blown away. In a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, astronomers from McGill University show that some of these exoplanets never had gaseous atmospheres to begin with, shedding new light on their mysterious origins.
Economic growth is often prescribed as a sure way of increasing the well-being of people in low-income countries, but a study led by McGill and the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technologies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) suggests that there may be good reason to question this assumption. The researchers set out to find out how people rate their subjective well-being in societies where money plays a minimal role, and which are not usually included in global happiness surveys.
By Véronique Brulé (Office of Science Education)
For decades, scientists have wrestled with rival theories to explain how interactions between species, like competition, influence biodiversity. Tracking microbial life across the planet, researchers from McGill University show that biodiversity does in fact foster further diversity in microbiomes that are initially less diverse. However, diversity rates plateau with increased competition for survival and space in more diverse microbiomes.