‘The science of gambling has come a long way. We’re reaching a tipping point where governments are waking up to their responsibilities.’ — Luke Clark is a professor in the Department of Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia. …

Marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, but public policy shifts are helping more people get needed healthcare. — Universal access to healthcare is a point of pride for Canadians. However, it is no secret that there are many barriers to accessing the medical system, especially for stigmatized and marginalized communities. Dr. Kate Shannon, associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and Director of the…

‘I was fuelled by horror at the current state of the world, and infused with a conviction that things can be much better.’ — Professor Deborah Cowen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. …

Tiny microorganisms that consume human-produced pollutants are helping reclaim contaminated sites and safeguard clean water. — In Canada, it may seem that clean water will never run out. The Great Lakes basin is one of the largest fresh water reserves in the world. But water has no boundaries, it can move from the air to the earth to the ocean, and many of the services…

The study of epigenetics is showing how childhood poverty has deleterious health impacts that can last for a lifetime — Michael Kobor, associate professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia, studies epigenetics. To help explain his field of study, he invites you to think of each of your 25,000 genes as a light bulb. The intensity of the light represents the level of…

Seasonal allergies a combination of nature, nurture, and more nature — Spring can be a beautiful time: the flowers are out, the trees are blooming. But for the 25% of Canadians that suffer from seasonal allergies, it can also be a sniffly, sneezy, mucous-filled nightmare. Like any allergic reaction, seasonal allergies occur when your immune system, normally there to protect you…

Forget the special sauce; it’s actually a wave of environmental factors that’s driving your persistent fast food cravings — What we eat is a huge part of living a healthy lifestyle. Often it’s hard to choose the right things. When you’re tired after a hard day at work and all you want is that bag of chips that’s sitting on your counter. When you don’t have the time to…

Strokes can hit anyone, anytime, anywhere — but a new study shows how to reduce the risk by over 90%. — A stroke can happen unexpectedly — anytime, anywhere, sometimes without you even realizing it. Because of this, we tend to imagine that it’s something outside our control, like a lightning strike. Yet a new study led by Drs. …

High speed train prototypes from two teams of Canadian students are among the final entrants in Elon Musk’s SpaceX Hyperloop Challenge. — At the heart of the Waterloop high-speed train design is a set of air castors that provide a cushion of air under the train that allows it to move without the ground friction of wheels and rails. …