Dragonfly study challenges traditional ideas about biodiversity conservation

A study has found that the impact of climate change on an animal’s traits can begin much earlier than scientists previously thought – a discovery that could reshape how researchers and policymakers approach biodiversity conservation.

Forests thrive where values run deep 

Forests on Indigenous lands in Panama have remained remarkably stable over the past two decades – more so than in protected areas – thanks in no small part to deeply rooted cultural values, a McGill-led study suggests.  

Antibiotics from human use are contaminating rivers worldwide, study shows

Millions of kilometres of rivers around the world are carrying antibiotic pollution at levels high enough to promote drug resistance and harm aquatic life, a McGill University-led study warns.

Study suggests we don’t just hear music, but ‘become it’ 

An international study co-authored by McGill psychologist Caroline Palmer suggests our brains and bodies don’t just understand music, they physically resonate with it. These discoveries, based on findings in neuroscience, music, and psychology, support Neural Resonance Theory (NRT). 

Researchers identify two new crocodile species

McGill University researchers, in collaboration with Mexican scientists, have discovered two previously unknown species of crocodiles, one living on the island of Cozumel and the other on the atoll of Banco Chinchorro, both off the Yucatán Peninsula. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and highlight the urgent need for conservation efforts, the researchers say.

Humpback whales’ use of memory to time their migration could prove less effective amid climate change

A new study led by McGill University researchers indicates that humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific combine real-time environmental cues with their memories of conditions in their Antarctic feeding grounds to determine when to embark on their annual 10,000-kilometre journey. With climate change accelerating, the researchers warn this strategy may become less effective amid shifting ocean conditions. 

Expert: Access to personal data

Elon Musk’s team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sought access to data from various U.S. government departments and agencies. This has caused concerns that DOGE will gain access to potentially sensitive data on millions of Americans.

Proactively exposing ecosystems to mild environmental stressors appears to offer protection, study finds

Mild, proactive exposure to environmental stress can help biological communities resist severe disturbances and maintain genetic diversity, a recent study from McGill University has found.

When using music to alleviate pain, tempo matters

Music has the best chance of providing pain relief when it is played at our natural rhythm, a McGill University research team has discovered.

This suggests it may be possible to reduce a patient’s level of pain by using technology to take a piece of music someone likes and adjust the tempo to match their internal rhythm, the researchers said.

‘Last Ice Area’ in the Arctic could disappear much sooner than previously thought 

The Arctic’s “Last Ice Area” (LIA) — a vital habitat for ice-dependent species — might disappear within a decade after the central Arctic Ocean becomes ice-free in summer, which is expected to occur sometime around mid-century, a new study by McGill University researchers using a high-resolution model has found.  

Dead galaxies, live signals: Astronomers uncover a fast radio burst’s surprising location

Astronomers studying the origins of enigmatic fast radio bursts (FRBs) have made a groundbreaking discovery that could transform our understanding of the universe’s most powerful and mysterious signals. The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) collaboration has pinpointed the location on the sky of a repeating FRB, known as FRB 20240209A, outside a dead galaxy, a finding unprecedented in FRB science.

Clouds have a surprising effect on surface warming, McGill climate researchers find

McGill University researchers have disco

Apex predators in prehistoric Colombian oceans would have snacked on killer whales today: McGill study  

Predators at the top of a marine food chain 130 million years ago ruled with more power than any modern species, McGill research into a marine ecosystem from the Cretaceous period revealed. 

Researchers link mysterious cosmic signals to collapsed stars 

An international team of scientists led by McGill University researchers has provided the clearest evidence yet that some fast radio bursts (FRBs) — enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio waves from space — originate from neutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of massive stars that have exploded in a supernova. This finding, based on an analysis of the radio signal of a single FRB, advances our understanding of one of the universe’s most perplexing phenomena.