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Textiles from trees: what's old is new again
Two McGill chemistry professors, Theo van de Ven and Jean-Philip Lumb, have developed a new way to make textiles from cellulose, the basic building block of plants, in a breakthrough that has the potential to revitalize Canada’s forestry industry.
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Melting ice sheets may cause ‘climate chaos’ according to new modelling
The weather these days is wild and will be wilder still within a century. In part, because the water from melting ice sheets off Greenland and in the Antarctic will cause extreme weather and unpredictable temperatures around the globe. A study published today in Nature is the first to simulate the effects, under current climate policies, that the two melting ice sheets will have on ocean temperatures and circulation patterns as well as on air temperatures by the year 2100.
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Amélie Desmarais attends the Emerging Leaders 2019 Conference
Amélie Desmarais, our MSc student, attended the Emerging Leaders 2019 Conference that was held in Norway in January of this year.
...Mila inaugurates its new premises in Mile-Ex
Mila – Quebec Institute of Artificial Intelligence officially inaugurated its new premises at the O Mile-Ex complex this week, in the presence of the Minister of Economy and Innovation for the government of Quebec, Pierre Fitzgibbon, and more than 200 partners and players in the Quebec artificial intelligence ecosystem.
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Creating attraction between molecules deep in the periodic table
Imagine a waterproof computer. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, but it may no longer be a pipedream since a McGill-led international research team has shown for the first time that it is possible to form strong, stable attractions between some of the heavier elements in the periodic table....
Men and women remember pain differently
Scientists increasingly believe that one of the driving forces in chronic pain—the number one health problem in both prevalence and burden—appears to be the memory of earlier pain. Research published today in Current Biology suggests that there may be variations, based on sex, in the way that pain is remembered in both mice and humans.
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Canada’s CHIME telescope detects second repeating fast radio burst
A Canadian-led team of scientists has found the second repeating fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded. FRBs are short bursts of radio waves coming from far outside our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists believe FRBs emanate from powerful astrophysical phenomena billions of light years away.
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Researchs make a new kind of plastic from crustacean and insect shells
Thomas Di Nardo (MSc) and Audrey Moores discovered a new method, based on mechanochemistry and aging, allowing to turn chitin into a new, long molecular weight chitosan. This new material has interesting mechanical properties and is envisaged for applications to biomedical, food packaging and high value fibers. This discovery was covered in a number of news outlets:
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Better CRISPR Through Chemistry and Collaboration
CRISPR has jumped to the forefront of gene editing, with game-changing applications like gene therapy, GMO-free designer crops, and synthetic organisms. It makes precise engineering and control of nearly any genome possible. But CRISPR is not perfect and its continued development relies on understanding and modifying the naturally occurring enzymes.
...Tomislav Friščić awarded Steacie Prize for Natural Sciences
Professor Tomislav Friščić is the recipient of the prestigious Steacie Prize for Natural Sciences for his exceptional contributions to Green Chemistry research in Canada. He is the third McGill professor to win the Steacie Prize, and the first ever McGill professor to win it for chemistry....
Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering to close for two years for major renovation work beginning summer 2019
The Macdonald-Stewart Library Building, which houses the Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering, needs significant structural repairs and major internal upgrades. This work includes stabilization of the stone structure, foundation waterproofing, window replacement, washroom expansion and the installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC).
...Six McGill researchers named Canada CIFAR AI (CCAI) Chairs
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) today announced the inaugural cohort of 29 Canada CIFAR AI (CCAI) Chairs, including six from McGill. These top academic researchers—including Doina Precup and Joëlle Pineau—are named as part of the $125 million Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, and will help maintain Canada’s leadership in artificial intelligence research. The CCAI Chair Program represents an investment of $30 million at nine universities across the country.
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When a city feels good, people take more risks
What makes people take risks? Not stunt women or formula 1 drivers. Just ordinary people like you and me. Research published this week in PLOS ONE suggests that unexpected improvements in everyday life (sunshine after many days of rain or a win by a local sports team) are correlated with a change in a city’s mood and an increased likelihood that it’s citizens will do risky things like gamble.
Social media and city mood
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Alfonso Mucci awarded Prix Acfas Michel-Jurdant
By Fergus Grieve, Communications Strategist, Faculty of Science
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McGill Chemistry researchers find cleaner, easier way to make biaryls
Researchers from McGill University’s Department of Chemistry have found a cleaner, easier way to make biaryls, an important ingredient in synthetic chemistry with applications across a wide range of fields including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, pigments, natural products and polymers. Conventional processes for making biaryls rely on stoichiometric metal reagents, resulting in large amounts of metal waste....