NATURE | The CRISPR-baby scandal: what’s next for human gene-editing
But others predict that the He affair might propel human gene editing forwards. Jonathan Kimmelman, a bioethicist specializing in human trials of gene therapies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, argues that definitive action in the wake of the scandal could expedite global cooperation on the science and its oversight. “That would stimulate, not hinder, meaningful advance in this area,” he says.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | McGill team part of international group of scientists that identify rare pediatric brain disorder
Pediatric neurologist Genevieve Bernard chats with research assistant Kether Guerrero at the MUHC in Montreal on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. Bernard joined forces with scientists from the Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine in San Diego to discover a new genetic mutation responsible for a rare paediatric neurodevelopmental condition known as VARS-related disorder.
CTV NEWS | McGill gets $1.8 million from Ottawa to reduce carbon footprint
McGill University is upgrading its heating system as part of the effort to fight global warming.The school was given $1.8 million from the federal government’s Low-Carbon Economy Fund for Climate Action.The school said part of that money will go towards upgrading its boiler system from natural gas to electric, saying that would reduce energy use. Read more
CBC NEWS | After honouring 99 men, McGill medical building recognizes pioneer Maude Abbott
Refused entry to McGill medical school because she was a woman, Abbott went on to work for the university.
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SCIENCE MAG | Ultraviolet light could provide a powerful new source of green fuel
Methanol—a colourless liquid that can be made from agricultural waste—has long been touted as a green alternative to fossil fuels. But it’s toxic and only has half the energy as the same volume of gasoline. Now, Chao-Jun Li and colleagues report they’ve created a potentially cheap way to use sunlight to convert methanol to ethanol, a more popular alternative fuel that’s less harmful and carries more energy.
HUFFPOST | This Is How Different Cultures Grieve With Food
Rich foods to comfort in a time of need are also the case in Mexico, as Kristin Norget, associate professor of anthropology at McGill University in Montreal and author of Days of Death, Days of Life: Ritual in the Popular Culture of Oaxaca, found while living and researching among traditional communities in the state of Oaxaca.
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INDEPENDENT | Climate change will fuel more wars and displacement in the Middle East, experts warn
“Food and fuel in security can very quickly quickly lead to unrest,” Jamal Saghir, a professor at McGill University.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | McGill's Mac campus gets federal funding for biomass research
McGill University’s Macdonald Campus in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue received a major federal investment of $7 million to the Biomass Cluster under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
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THE GLOBE AND MAIL | Business students eligible for piece of McGill’s record-breaking donation
John and Marcy McCall MacBain are acutely aware of the challenges that today’s university students face. Their record-breaking $200-million gift this week toward a scholarship program at McGill University in Montreal will certainly help alleviate many of those difficulties for their scholars.
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VOX | Oxytocin, the so-called “hug hormone,” is way more sophisticated than we thought
“People with a lot of interpersonal insecurities — whether they have prior experiences with negative relationship, or even in borderline personality disorder, where you have extreme concerns about being abandoned by others — in those individuals, oxytocin [may] amplify those interpersonal fears and concerns,” Jennifer Bartz, a McGill psychologist, told me in 2016.
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THE GLOBE AND MAIL | Teens who use cannabis at a higher risk of developing depression, suicidal behaviour: study
The findings, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, suggest a greater need for education about the mental-health risks associated with cannabis, says lead author Gabriella Gobbi, a researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
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THE GLOBE AND MAIL | McCall MacBain family announces $200-million scholarship fund for studies at McGill
A new $200-million scholarship fund set up by a Canadian couple who made a fortune reinventing classified ads will allow students from coast to coast to pursue higher learning at McGill University that otherwise may have been out of reach.
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HOW STUFF WORKS | Lava Tubes on Earth Could Prepare Us for Life on the Moon and Mars
As the outermost portion of the hot lava flow comes into contact with the cold air, it cools rapidly, forming a hardened crust, explains Dr. Richard Léveillé. Léveillé is an adjunct professor at McGill University's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and a member of the McGill Space Institute. But liquid lava continues to flow like water in a channel underneath this newly hardened surface.
BBC FUTURE | Can this technology put an end to bullying?
Abusive speech is notoriously difficult to detect because people use offensive language for all sorts of reasons, and some of the nastiest comments do not use offensive words. Researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, are training algorithms to detect hate speech by teaching them how specific communities on Reddit target women, black people and those who are overweight by using specific words.
MONTREAL GAZETTE | Montreal software company Lightspeed files for IPO
“It’s really one of the great high tech success stories in Montreal,” said Karl Moore, a professor at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
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