McGill’s Gault Nature Reserve: Serving biodiversity and the community

Located in the heart of the Montérégie region, in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, McGill University’s Gault Nature Reserve comprises more than 1,000 hectares of lush old-growth deciduous forest, just 40 km from Montreal. A refuge for migratory birds, Gault is at the heart of Canada’s first UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve. 

Thousands flock to McGill to take in solar eclipse

On Monday April 8th, thousands of people flocked to McGill's downtown and MacDonald campuses, as well as Gault Nature Reserve, to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event: the total solar eclipse. The three spectacular events not only included a viewing party with free glasses, but also educational activities to inform the public on this astronomical phenomenon.

Safer, more efficient drug discovery

McGill researchers have discovered a safer and more efficient technique for testing new drugs while they are in development.

A promising discovery in a rare neurodegenerative disease

Imagine being middle aged and starting to feel that you are off balance a lot and that you are having a hard time coordinating your movements. Those are among the symptoms of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, known as SCA6, a rare neurodegenerative disease which typically appears in adulthood and worsens over time. Over time, other problems such as slurred speech and difficulty seeing or seeing double, may also appear.

Night Lights and Scientific Delights: Nuit blanche at McGill

True to its name, Montréal’s Nuit blanche is an annual celebration of the vibrant culture of the city, with thematic itineraries and extended business hours that ensure festival-goers a night of endless excitement.

Real Data and Real Solutions in MATH 527

On a cloudy afternoon this past December, a group of McGill students gathered in a downtown Montréal boardroom to give a data science presentation to Citera, a sustainability analytics company. This presentation wasn’t for an internship or any other extracurricular activity – it was part of one of McGill’s newest and most innovative courses: MATH 527, Statistical Data Science Practicum.

Soup & Science: McGill’s stew-pendous serving of research

Recently, McGill undergraduate students had the opportunity to savor an enriching blend of knowledge and soup at the 37th edition of Soup & Science. This week-long event, occurring once a semester, highlights research taking place on campus. This semester’s showcase included topics across disciplines, ranging from quantum meta-photonics to optogenetic stimulation in roundworms, and students were able to learn and engage with these topics in an intimate setting.

Species diversity promotes ecosystem stability

What maintains stability within an ecosystem and prevents a single best competitor from displacing other species from a community? Does ecosystem stability depend upon the presence of a wide variety of species, as early ecologists believed, or does diversity do the exact opposite, and lead to instability, as modern theory predicts?

A push for more women in computer science

When Jade Raymond, BSc’98, studied at McGill’s School of Computer Science, she was one of few women in the program and “I think the only woman I knew in my year who went and got a job as a programmer in computer science after graduating.”

Raymond became a trailblazer in the video game industry, helping create the huge hit Assassin’s Creed, and building studios from the ground up for Ubisoft and Electronic Arts. 

$107.5 million for eight innovative research projects led by McGill

On March 13th at the Université de Montréal, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced the results of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Innovation Fund (IF) 2023 competition.

Seventeen McGill researchers announced as Canada Research Chairs

Seventeen outstanding McGill researchers were appointed on March 13th as new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRC), one of Canada’s most prestigious academic honours. The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant, made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health,  at the Université de Montréal.

Support science for everyone on March 13!

One element that makes McGill24 so special is the energy that our students bring to the event. They use this day to raise funds for student-run projects and initiatives, and this year the Faculty of Science has the largest ever number of crowdfunding projects.

Energy poverty in Canada

As many as one in five Canadian households can be considered to be in energy poverty, according to researchers from McGill University. Energy poverty occurs when households cannot afford or access the levels of energy necessary to meet their daily needs, live decent lives, and maintain healthy indoor temperatures all year round. More Canadians potentially suffer from energy poverty than from food insecurity.

Uncertainty in measuring biodiversity change could hinder progress towards global targets for nature

More than ever before, there is a growing interest in dedicating resources to stop the loss of biodiversity, as recently exemplified by the

New understanding of avian eggshell attachment

Athletes often suffer injuries to ligaments in their knees, particularly to the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. While surgery to replace these torn ligaments is becoming increasingly common around the world it often needs to be repeated.