NEW ATLAS | Flipper-legged robot runs, swims, and is ready to hit the bigtime
Back in 2013, we heard about an all-terrain walking robot known as RHex. Designed in a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, it used six flipper-like legs to scamper around. Now, its successor is taking to the briny depths.
Called the Aqua2, the new robot is soon to be commercially manufactured by McGill spinoff company Independent Robotics.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | When a City’s Mood Brightens, People Take More Risks
Unexpected happy occurrences in everyday life—say, an underdog local sports team wins or the sun emerges after several days of rain—can lift the collective mood of a city’s residents. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it also increases the likelihood that people will engage in risky behaviors.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | The Right Chemistry: Here's the dirt on 'clean eating'
I thought I was a clean eater. I wash my fruits and vegetables. I scrupulously scrub my cutting board after use. If I thaw meat in the fridge, I make sure the juices do not contact any other food. I don’t buy into the “five-second rule,” so I don’t eat food that has dropped on the floor. I’m also careful to keep my meals from attacking my shirts and ties.
CBC | McGill med students launch campaign to get free menstrual products in Quebec schools
Three medical students from McGill University — Carolanne Gagnon, Alicia Lessard and Ariane Litalien — think so and they're lobbying the provincial government to make it happen.
Last week, Litalien submitted a petition to the National Assembly that demanded free menstrual products be offered in Quebec schools. It has gathered around 150 signatures so far.
OTTAWA CITIZEN | Warning – young people mistrust government. Here's what to do about it
Youth are worried about the future. A national online survey conducted by Abacus Data, with 1,000 youth between the ages of 15 to 30, reveals our political priorities, our lack of trust in governments and the top issues we are currently facing. Like our peers, we worry about gender issues and the rise of extremism, but what we are most concerned about is the rising cost of housing, mental health issues, and knowing how to contribute to solving these issues.
GLOBAL NEWS | Construction hurting Ste-Catherine Street businesses
A major multi-year refurbishment of Ste-Catherine Street is hurting businesses in downtown Montreal, according to local retailers.
Some argue that as brutal as the construction may be, it is needed.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | Transat in exclusive talks with Air Canada to be acquired for $13 per share
Air Canada’s interest in buying rival Transat AT Inc. for about $520 million got positive feedback from industry watchers and stock traders after the two companies announced Thursday that they’re in exclusive talks to finalize a deal.
McGill University professor Karl Moore said a combination of the two companies would help grow Air Canada Vacations, which competes with Transat, WestJet and others in the leisure travel market.
CTV | Solving the Superbug: McGill team dedicated to fighting human health threat
It’s call MI4 and it has a mission: solving humanity’s deadliest puzzles.
The McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity is dedicated to fighting the very real problem of growing resistance to antibiotics.
Dr. Don Sheppard, co-director and founder of MI4 spoke to CTV Montreal about the initiative and its goals to control and evolve around Superbugs.
ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION | World’s largest robotics conference to take place in Canada for first time
CRA, short for International Conference on Robotics and Automation, is organized by the IEEE, the world’s largest engineering association. Specifically, the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society. ICRA 2019 will take place from May 20-24 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, also known as the Montreal Convention Center, marking the first time that the conference – now in its 35th year – is being held in Canada.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | Opinion: We must learn to spot the signs of Type 1 diabetes earlier
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a largely preventable complication of Type 1 diabetes and should be one that I rarely see. Today my colleagues from the Research Institute of the MUHC and I, along with the INSPQ, have published new findings in CMAJ Open, showing that over 25 per cent of children in Quebec diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes already have DKA. This is happening because the signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes are not recognized early enough.
GLOBAL NEWS | C-sections: 5 things women need to know
Caesarean deliveries, or C-sections, can either be planned or the result of complications during labour. Either way, experts say women should know what this type of birth entails. In April 2018, the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that more than 103,000 C-sections were performed in Canada between 2016 and 2017, resulting in a rate of 28.2 per cent of all births in Canada. Experts say today, that rate is about 30 to 33 per cent.
CBC | Waiting for the economic impact as more Canadians consider going car-free
Volkswagen, the company that alternates with Toyota for the title of world's biggest carmaker, shook up the global industry last week when it announced it would begin accepting orders for its new electric car, the ID.3. But just as skeptics have repeatedly underestimated the ability of the car business to adapt to climate change, there is early evidence of a potentially bigger transformation underway: the move to abandon car ownership altogether.
BETAKIT | Cifar and Osmo partner to give women training opportunities in AI
Two Canadian non-profits, OSMO and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), are partnering to launch the AI For Good Summer Lab program, an initiative that provides undergraduate women in STEM fields with exposure to training and networking opportunities in artificial intelligence.
NATIONAL POST | The obesity epidemic is real, but our solutions to date have been anything but
Obesity is a global public health issue, yet it’s regarded by many as a personal failing. Negative attitudes abound. Chief among them: The mistaken belief that those with it are to blame for their weight; the dogged perception that if they only set their minds to it, they could shed it.
CBC | Winnipeg School Division surveys parents about later start time for high school students
The Winnipeg School Division is asking parents to weigh in on a proposal that could see high school students in the division given a little more pillow time in the morning. In 2016, a team of researchers from McGill University published a report in the Journal of Sleep Research, suggesting that study participants aged 10 to 18 get an additional three minutes of sleep for every 10-minute delay in their school start time, bringing the school day more in line with
