UBC In The News
Soil offers key to curbing climate change
Financial Times mentioned a study by Sean Smukler, a professor at UBC’s faculty of land and food systems, that looked at managing Canadian croplands to maximize carbon sequestration and minimize other ecosystem service trade-offs.
Financial Times
There should be billions of Earths out there. Why can’t we find them?
Popular Science highlighted UBC astronomer Michelle Kunimoto’s recent analysis that show there could be an Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars.
Popular Science
How do trees collaborate?
TED Radio Hour featured UBC forestry professor Suzanne Simard for her research in tree communications. She discovered that trees use complex, symbiotic underground networks to communicate and share resources, uprooting the idea that nature constantly competes for survival.
TED Radio Hour (3:15 mark)
The sooner the better for this powerful vaccine
An international study by Byron Brook, a UBC PhD candidate in experimental medicine, Nelly Amenyogbe, a graduate of UBC’s experimental medicine program, and Tobias Kollmann, a UBC pediatrics professor, identified the mechanism behind the BCG vaccine that provides protection to newborns beyond its intended purpose of fighting off TB.
Research 2 Reality
Harmful effects of wildfire smoke are immediate and could make COVID-19 symptoms worse, UBC study warns
A new UBC study led by Jiayun Angela Yao, who conducted the research while completing her PhD at UBC’s school of population and public health, shows exposure to wildfire smoke affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems almost immediately.
CBC, Tri-City News, North Shore News
Study shows high levels of burnout, PTSD, injury among B.C. nurses pre-pandemic
A new study led by UBC nursing professor Farinaz Havaei shows nurses in B.C. were experiencing high levels of burnout, PTSD and workplace injury even before the COVID-19 pandemic. These issues were common in acute care, long-term care and community care settings.
News 1130, Castanet, CKNW Jill Bennett Show
Natural playspace at new Williams Lake daycare aims to stimulate children’s imagination and activity
Media mentioned a UBC study that found adding natural elements like sand, bricks and bamboo can transform a dull outdoor play space into an imaginative playground for children and even reduce depression sign.
BC Local News, Williams Lake Tribune
UBC and BC SPCA announce new research to improve the lives of companion animals
Alexandra Protopopova, a professor at UBC’s faculty of land and food systems, will be leading new research into how to improve the lives of companion animals in partnership with the BC SPCA.
Kamloops Now
Did Canada legalize weed before doing its research?
The GrowthOp highlighted a UBC study that looked at the structures and chemical outputs of cannabis glandular trichomes and interviewed Sam Livingston, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate in UBC’s botany program.
GrowthOp
How ‘locker room talk’ at a cookie company helped fuel a movement against toxic masculinity in the Philippines
Vice spoke to Leonora Angeles, a professor of women’s and gender studies at UBC’s Institute of Social Justice and the school of community and regional planning, about the casual misogyny men engage in and the toxic masculinity in the Philippines.
Vice
Mexico’s President López Obrador
Sputnik interviewed Nino Pagliccia, a retired researcher on Canada-Cuba collaborative projects at UBC, about a leaked document that reveals a right-wing, oligarchic plot to overthrow left-wing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Sputnik Critical Hour (44:40 mark)
Preparing B.C. for forest fire season
UBC forestry professor Lori Daniels was interviewed about the federal government’s $5-million funding announcement to create a national wildfire research network to combat and understand wildfires better.
CKNW Mornings with Simi
The purple bacteria of Two Horsemen Lake
Yukon News asked J. Thomas Beatty, a professor in UBC’s department of microbiology and immunology, about the purple sulphur bacterium Thiocapsa present at Two Horsemen Lake in the Yukon.
Yukon News
Canada's top health official to seek details of Ontario COVID-19 farm worker guidelines
Reuters quoted Srinivas Murthy, an infectious disease specialist and clinical pediatrics professor at UBC, about the migrant farm workers returning to work. “The virus is likely to spread if workers return,” he said.
Reuters (US) via New York Times (subscription), US News & World Report, Reuters (India), Yahoo (Singapore), Reuters (Canada), MSN, Financial Post, Regina Leader-Post
Pandemic’s mental health toll is hammering marginalized people
A joint study conducted by UBC and the Canadian Mental Health Association shows COVID-19 has significantly increased the suicide risk for Canadians with pre-existing mental health challenges and experiences of marginalization. The study’s co-lead researcher Emily Jenkins, a UBC nursing professor, was quoted.
CTV, The Tyee, CKNW Jill Bennett Show
COVID-19: UBC receives $14 million in federal funding for COVID-19 research
UBC has received $14.3 million in funding from the federal government to study health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nineteen research teams in drug research, global health, obstetrics, medical imaging, public health, and Indigenous health are receiving support.
Vancouver Sun, The Province, MSN
Reopening B.C.: Province's COVID-19 economic policies get mixed reviews from business sector
Kevin Milligan, a UBC professor at the Vancouver School of Economics, says economists are struggling to gauge the recovery because traditional statistics often lag, but labour force figures, along with job postings and even traffic reports show positive signs. Its clear B.C. is up off the bottom and things are rebounding.
Vancouver Sun, The Province, MSN
Testing for covid-19 using sewage
UBC environmental microbiologist Natalie Prystajecky was interviewed about the effectiveness of testing sewage for COVID-19.
CKNW Mornings with Simi
Richmond resident jumpstarts national feeding frontline workers initiative
Richmond News interviewed UBC student Patrisse Chan who created Feeding our Frontlines, which is a donation hub where members of the public can buy meals for front line workers.
Richmond News
Money spent on public transit could be better spent elsewhere
CFJC Today quoted UBC architecture and landscape architecture professor Patrick Condon about how inequalities are responsible for the spread of COVID-19, not density. He suggests an alternative to public transit is to move people closer to work rather than have them commute long distances.
CFJC Today
Student-run non-profit Incline Education pledges mentorship for high schoolers during COVID-19
BC Business featured Incline Education, a student-run nonprofit startup founded by UBC pharmacology student Christopher Ng, that aims to help high-school students prepare for their post-secondary transition.
BC Business
