Wild populations must continuously adapt to environmental changes or risk extinction. For more than fifty years, scientists have described instances of “rapid evolution” in specific populations as their traits (phenotypes) change in response to varying stressors. For example, Spanish clover has developed a tolerance for copper from the mine tailings in which it grows, and the horn size of Alberta bighorn sheep has decreased due to trophy hunting.
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Published on: 18 Jan 2022
XO-3b, a hot Jupiter on an eccentric orbit. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)
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Published on: 13 Jan 2022
McGill University scientists have developed a new system for sharing the enormous amount of data being generated by the CHIME radio telescope in its search for fast radio bursts (FRBs), the puzzling extragalactic phenomenon that is one of the hottest topics in modern-day astronomy.
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Published on: 4 Jan 2022
Researchers at McGill University have made an important step forward in understanding the cause of a rare neurodegenerative disease noted for its occurrence in the Charlevoix and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions of Quebec.
Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) is a genetic condition that affects coordination and balance from early childhood. Most ARSACS patients require a wheelchair by the time they reach their 30s or 40s. There is no cure and current treatments provide only limited symptomatic relief.
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Published on: 22 Dec 2021
Research shows a syllabus written in a warm, friendly style can enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.
By Diane Dechief and Véronique Brulé
Instructors: think back to when you were an undergraduate. Do you remember how you felt as you read the syllabi for your courses? Hopefully there were feelings of excitement and intrigue. But perhaps there was also confusion or worry that certain classes weren't really what you’d thought you were signing up for.
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Published on: 16 Dec 2021
The Canadian Association of Physicists recognizes achievements for McGill professors across many branches of research in physics
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Published on: 8 Dec 2021
The search of life beyond our world is an exciting venture that may yield an enormous discovery in the not-too-distant future. However, space agencies around the world, including NASA and the European Space Agency, have long been aware of the potential risks of biological contamination and have set in place planetary protection policies.
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Published on: 2 Dec 2021
Concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the deep waters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (LSLE) have dropped by over 50% over the past two years. The consequences for many marine species, who depend on oxygen to survive, are potentially very serious. A compilation of historical data reveals that dissolved oxygen concentrations in the deep waters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary decreased by about 50% during the fifty years between 1934 and 1985. And then remained fairly constant until 2019, when the situation changed dramatically.
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Published on: 26 Nov 2021
In humans, the dopamine system has been tied to rewards and pleasurable sensations. As well as to memory and learning. A recent study from McGill University, published in Current Biology, suggests that dopamine may also play a key role in shaping what songs female songbirds enjoy, which may ultimately affect mating as females choose (and then remember) their mates based on the songs they prefer.
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Published on: 23 Nov 2021
McGill University scientists have developed a new system for sharing the enormous amount of data being generated by the CHIME radio telescope in its search for fast radio bursts (FRBs), the puzzling extragalactic phenomenon that is one of the hottest topics in modern-day astronomy.
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Published on: 18 Nov 2021
The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment fast radio burst (CHIME/FRB) team, which discovered more than 500 new fast radio bursts in the first year of the detector’s operations, will receive the 2022 Lancelot M. Berkeley − New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy.
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Published on: 17 Nov 2021
Surprising as it sounds, all life forms in the ocean, from small krill to large tuna, seem to obey a simple mathematical law that links an organism’s abundance to its body size. For example, although small krill are individually only about one millionth of the weight of a large tuna, they also tend to be a million times more numerous throughout the oceans. The idea, known as the Sheldon size spectrum theory, was first advanced in the 1970s, but has never been tested for a wide range of marine species and on a global scale until now.
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Published on: 10 Nov 2021
Short growing seasons limited the possible size of hunter-gatherer societies by forcing people to rely on meat, according to a recent study by a team of international researchers, including McGill University professor Eric Galbraith.
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Published on: 8 Nov 2021
Improving representation is one of the key goals behind McGill’s current drive to recruit a greater number of Black faculty members. The Faculty of Science is proud to be a part of this effort, with applications now open for tenure-track positions in the School of Computer Science and the Department of Geography.
Published on: 4 Nov 2021
A team of computer scientists, including Claude Crépeau of McGill University and physicist colleagues from the University of Geneva, have developed an extremely secure identity verification method based on the fundamental principle that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. The breakthrough has the potential to greatly improve the security of financial transactions and other applications requiring proof of identity online.
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Published on: 3 Nov 2021
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