Viagra makers stiffen as ruling threatens patent
The little blue pill that has enhanced sex lives the world over could face some market competition if the Supreme Court of Canada decides this week that Pfizer Canada Inc.'s patent on the erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra is invalid. The top court will issue a judgment Thursday on a challenge to Pfizer's Canadian patent by generic drug company Teva Canada Limited. If Teva is successful, the company could put a generic version of Viagra on the Canadian market immediately.
How to reduce workplace gender segregation
Researchers have previously demonstrated that approximately half of the pay gap between men and women (women earn about 20% less) is due to women having a tendency to work in different occupations and industries than men, a phenomenon called “gender segregation.” But what causes this gender segregation?
Weather girl dreams
HuffPost College asked winners of the Undergraduate Awards - an international academic awards program that identifies top students across the globe through their innovative undergraduate research - to write an essay about the personal reasons and ambitions behind their research.
Higher rates of C. Difficile detection for better tests
A sensitive diagnostic test implemented last year at the Royal Victoria Hospital is showing consistently higher rates of detection for a potentially fatal superbug than a test currently used at most Montreal hospitals, officials said Wednesday.
New director at the Neuro
Dr. Guy Rouleau, a clinician and neuroscientist who has studied the genetic causes of epilepsy, schizophrenia and other illnesses of the brain, has been appointed director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital. Rouleau, a professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal, takes his position at the Neuro on Jan.
Melting in the Andes: Good bye glaciers
From the shade of an adobe house overlooking Peru's Santa River, Jimmy Melgarejo squints at the dual peaks of Mount Huascarán looming against a cloudless sky. “The snow keeps getting farther away,” says Melgarejo, a farmer worried about his livelihood. “It's moving up, little by little. When the snow disappears, there will be no water.” Throughout the Andes, millions of people voice the same concern as they watch climate change eat away at the mountain chain's icy mantle.
Murrahs catch Canadian scholar's fancy
Haryana's 'black gold' has caught the fancy of a Canadian scholar. A PhD student of McGill University in Montreal, Sophie Llewelyn, is studying the Murrah-human relation in Haryana and the way it intensifies animal husbandry and dairy. Murrah buffaloes play a pivotal role for the cattle breeders in the state. And no wonder, Sophie, a student of anthropology, has titled her research 'Black gold: Changing animal husbandry practices in central Haryana'.
Corruption probe shakes Montreal, topples Mayor
Montrealers have long assumed a fair amount of dirty money sloshes through their city’s politics, but only lately are they learning just how bad things are. This week the mayor had to resign, a mayor of a neighboring town may soon follow him, and taxpayers don’t know whether to laugh or weep over the revelation of a safe so bulging with cash that a campaign fundraiser needed help shutting the door.
Cancer trials can lack clear information on biopsies
People participating in cancer drug trials aren't always given the most straightforward explanation of possible risks and benefits from invasive procedures that may be involved, according to a new study. Biopsies of tumor tissue can help researchers figure out how well a test drug is working - but the invasive, sometimes painful procedures are typically of little benefit to study participants themselves.
Hospitals go beyond "Do not resuscitate"
New Brunswick's largest health authority announced this week it will move from a do or do not resuscitate policy to one that gives patients more choices about end-of-life care, as hospital authorities nationwide increasingly push for Canadians to be clear about their wishes well before they're clinging to life.
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, falls on Nov. 13
For about a billion revelers around the world, that means it's time to start thinking about sweets -- specifically the South Asian confections called mithai. […] "Sweets are a sign of positive things, that life is good," said Arvind Sharma, a professor of religion at McGill University. "When you offer something to god and then give it to someone to eat, it becomes sacred."
Joe Schwarcz: No need to be wary about wash-and-wear
Some of you may find this surprising, but I don't mind ironing. Unlike giving a lecture, writing a column or appearing on TV or radio, you get immediate gratification. You see the results of your efforts. Wrinkles that were there before are gone. I suspect, however, that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for this task. The textile industry realizes this as well, and has responded by producing a variety of "durable press" fabrics that can withstand wrinkles.
PONDER Project: Building brain muscle
Our brains, as much as our bodies, need exercise. And if you build brain muscle, you protect yourself from neurodegenerative diseases - like Alzheimer's. Jens Pruessner, the director of the McGill Centre for Studies in Aging, puts it like this: dementia is like climbing down a mountain -- it takes longer to reach the bottom if you start at 1,000 feet, than if you start at 100 feet.
New volunteers help keep book fair going strong
The 41st edition of the McGill Book Fair takes place Tuesday through Thursday at Redpath Hall, 3461 McTavish St., just south of Doctor Penfield Ave. The event, which is open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. on Tuesday; on Wednesday and Thursday, doors open at 9 a.m. Closing time throughout is 9 p.m. All proceeds are used to support McGill scholarships and bursaries. The fair has raised more than $1.5 million since its inception in 1971 and the 2011 edition raised $74,430.
