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Vol. 57 | No. 1

The Next Big Thing in 2011, and beyond: January UBC Reports preview

UBC experts describe nine advances that may transform your world, from shapeshifting architecture to the ability to predict the diseases you may experience. Plus, two professors revisit their 2006 forecasts.

Updates from 2006

Prof. Jaymie Matthews provides an update on his 2006 prediction that, within 10 years, astronomers would find a planet capable of life. Prof. Stanley Coren reviews his 2006 look at the possibility of prescription pets.

Telling stories together, one tweet at a time

We can expect a raft of new tools to make sense of social media for a new age of collective journalism.

Magic Biomarkers

News ways of using biomarkers open new horizons in defining risk, illness, and therapies for vital organ failure.

Powerful “rare-earth” dental magnets

New magnets developed for the Japanese auto industry hold promise for struggling denture wearers.

Imaging Genetics – the ability to foresee brain disease?

“It’s not that you can’t find your keys, it’s that you don’t know what do to with them once you have them.”

Restorative Buildings

The old paradigm aimed to reduce environmental impact. The future is about buildings that actually improve our environment.

Low-cost personal genome analysis

There is an explosion in the use of techniques to find the gene variations that influence our lives. We are on the verge of a genetic revolution will be exciting, and scary.

The medical “tricorder”

With recent advances in DNA sequencing, finding the DNA of a virus or bacteria is literally a day’s work. Doctors may soon have a device that can quickly analyze and identify the common bugs that ail us.

Municipal service robots

In the next 15 years, Canada will spend $12 billion to upgrade water main systems. A UBC professor is building a pipe inspection robot that will save money by entering subterranean waterways to find the weak spots.

Intelligent Space

Shapeshifting spaces offer amazing new possibilities for individuals in public and private environments The School of Architecture, in collaboration with departments in Applied Science and Engineering Physics, is leading the […]