Many of the details surrounding the recent fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn., are still unknown or disputed. Yet in many ways, all you need to know is how the encounter started: With Nichols expressing confusion as to why he had been stopped, and one officer replying that he would attack Nichols.

Wetlands are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. A new study, published in Nature, has found that the loss of wetland areas around the globe since 1700 has likely been overestimated. This is good news overall, however, the global picture hides significant variations, with several regions and distinct wetland types under significant levels of pressure. For instance, temperate river floodplains have been highly impacted while remote boreal-arctic peatlands remain comparatively unharmed.

Snakes and mice don’t look alike. But much of what we know about skin colouration and patterning in vertebrates generally, including in snakes, is based on lab mice. However, there are limits to what mice can tell us about other vertebrates because they don’t share all of the same types of colour-producing cells, known as chromatophores. For example, snakes have a type of chromatophore called iridophores that can generate iridescent colours by reflecting light.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Quebec and Canada, killing more individuals than prostate, colon and breast cancers combined. Thanks to tissue samples from almost 500 lung cancer patients, a group of researchers from McGill University and Université Laval were able to identify those who were likely to have a cancer recurrence and require further treatment post-surgery.

For professional athletes, the pressures of competition and stigma surrounding mental health issues can be debilitating to the point where some are leaving the arena for good. Young hockey players are no exception. Fear of negative career repercussions can mean athletes avoid disclosing their mental health concerns.

If you could redesign high school, what might you change? Like most educational institutions across Canada, Montreal’s English high schools retain structures from the time of the industrial revolution. As the realities of students’ lives have transformed, schools are slowly adapting to a knowledge-based economy and unpredictable ecological and social challenges.