More from McGill in the Headlines
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Brain, music and sound research centre
Science Magazine looks at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research (BRAMS), a joint project of McGill and Université de Montréal. The members of BRAMS, including McGill's Robert Zatorre, Université de Montréal's Isabelle Peretz and nine other Montreal-based lead investigators, aim to explore music's mysteries. They seek to understand how humans cooperate to perform together, how children and adults learn to play music, and the relationship between music and language. "BRAMS will allow us to use music as a portal into the most complex aspects of human brain function," says Dr. Zatorre.
Bitter pills
The decades-long war between brand-name and generic drug manufacturers shows no signs of abating. But with a rapidly aging population and the spectre of new diseases on the horizon, there's new pressure to find a solution soon that can both motivate innovative research and sustain affordable drug prices. McGill's Richard Gold, director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and a professor in IP and common-law property, is interviewed for this story in the Canadian Bar Association's National Magazine.
Reaching for stars: Juggling ambition, angst
Victoria Kaspi laughs at the prediction beside her name in the high school yearbook. "My ambition was to be a famous scientist and mother of six." At 39, she's at least halfway there. An astrophysicist at McGill, Kaspi's groundbreaking research tracking pulsar stars has won her many accolades, most recently the CAP Herzberg medal and Steacie Prize, national awards for research excellence.
U.S. lags on family-oriented job rules
The United States lags far behind virtually all wealthy countries with regard to family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, according to a new study released by Harvard and McGill University researchers. The study, by lead author Jody Heymann, founder of the Harvard-based Project on Global Working Families and director of McGill's Institute for Health and Social Policy, says, "More countries are providing the workplace protections that millions of Americans can only dream of."
Harper government too cosy with U.S.
The Harper government is snuggling up too closely to the United States at the expense of Canada's influence in the rest of the world, former prime minister Joe Clark, professor at the Centre for Developing Areas Studies, told a McGill audience on Wednesday. "Mr. Harper and his colleagues are moving away from the central elements of the foreign policy that has been a strength of Canada under both Progressive Conservative and Liberal governments."
Breast cancer: McGill finds new path
A team directed by Michel L. Tremblay at the Cancer Centre at McGill has uncovered the role played by a gene associated with the propagation of breast cancer in two of five affected women. Their study, published in the magazine Nature Genetics, shows that halting the activity of this gene in mice predisposed to cancer slowed the growth of — and in some cases, prevented — tumors.
Quebec's low tuition has failed as a policy
A strongly worded editorial in the Globe and Mail states that "Quebec's policy is a noble failure. The tuition freeze would melt away if ever the warm light of reason were shone on it." McGill principal Heather Munroe-Blum was interviewed for the editorial.
Size matters, when you're a bird
McGill biology professor Louis Lefebvre and former McGill post-doctoral fellow Daniel Sol conclude that having a large brain relative to body size improves a bird's chances of survival, in a study published in the most recent issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B. "It's the first time that there is an advantage for having a big brain that's been demonstrated," Lefebvre said.
Antidepressants may raise bone risk
Daily use of certain antidepressants doubles the risk of bone fractures in adults 50 and older, a McGill study suggests. The new research, led by Dr. David Goltzman, a professor of medicine and physiology and director of the McGill Centre for Bone and Periodontal Research, seems to support earlier studies. The antidepressants studied are a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which includes such drugs as Prozac and Paxil.
McGill calls for end to 12-year tuition freeze
Quebec politicians must rise above partisan interests and agree to end the 12-year freeze on university tuition fees immediately, says McGill University principal Heather Munroe-Blum. The principal presented before the Commission de l'éducation de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec on January 16.
One of the great success stories of 20th-century medicine
Severe cases of congenital heart disease are on the rise among North American adults, but researchers say that probably means growing numbers of infants born with the condition are surviving into adulthood. "This is a real success story," said Dr. Ariane Marelli, lead author of a new study on the trend and director of the McGill Adult Unit for Congenital Heart Disease Excellence.
A prisoner of her own body
An inspirational story on Helene Pelletier, a patient at McGill's Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), who is struggling with Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). After 18 months with the disease she is resolved to use the time she has left to make a difference. Pelletier has raised money to create a clinical fellowship at the Neuro and is planning a second benefit this year.
Music of the hemispheres
A rock producer turned McGill professor, Daniel Levitin is delving deep into the workings of the mind to see how a pop song uses emotions to embed itself in your memory. Clive Thompson of the New York Times reports.
Stop the foot dragging
Peter Hadekel writes in the Gazette that the Charest government needs the resolve to move ahead with the necessary funding for the MUHC and CHUM projects. According to Hadekel, not only does the foot dragging add to the bills, it's encouraging opponents to step forward with claims that the heavily indebted province simply can't afford to finance two superhospitals at the same time. Hadekel points out the economic impact the projects would have on the city's knowledge economy, with two state-of-the-art teaching hospitals. They would allow Montreal to remain in the game of attracting some of the brightest medical minds in the world.
Two hospitals better than one
André Pratte writes in an editorial in La Presse on the need for construction of the new McGill hospital, contrary to what some groups are advocating. Pratte says that McGill is recognized around the world, attracts tens of millions more in research funds than other Quebec universities, and gives our health system unequalled access to the best international resources of knowledge.
