Science, Health and Technology

Students pitch solutions to global issues in UBC World’s Challenge Challenge

Six three-person teams of UBC students will be facing off, Dragon’s Den-style, on Thursday, Feb. 7, in the UBC World’s Challenge Challenge—a competition in which students pitch their solutions to global problems.

Feb 7, 2019

The main study site at Kennedy Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (left) and a threespine stickleback fish (right). Credit: Seth Rudman

Fish chemical cocktail reveals how a single gene may alter an aquatic ecosystem

Variations in a single gene in tiny stickleback fish alter how they interact with their environment and potentially trigger changes across an ecosystem, a new study from the University of British Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania finds.

Feb 6, 2019

Integrating cultural practices improves health care for Indigenous women living with partner violence

The health of Indigenous women recovering from the trauma of partner violence improves when the healing process integrates Elder-led circles and other cultural elements, finds new research from the University of British Columbia and Western University.

Jan 31, 2019

Many neurotechnology products are not regulated as medical devices.

More oversight needed for consumer brain stimulation devices

As smart watches and fitness trackers explode in popularity, so is a new type of health and wellness tech marketed as being able to monitor and manipulate brain functions. Direct-to-consumer “neurotechnology” is a rapidly growing industry, predicted to top $3 billion by 2020.

Jan 24, 2019

UBC students take on hyperloop concepts in rail challenge

Second-year mechanical engineering students will race their autonomous engines around a track designed to simulate the challenges facing hyperloop design – a system of tubes through which a “pod” can travel free of air resistance or friction, transporting people or objects at high speed.

Jan 22, 2019

Some pregnant women don’t believe cannabis is harmful to their fetus

Up to one-third of pregnant women do not believe cannabis is harmful to their fetus, according to a new review by UBC researchers.

Jan 22, 2019

Knitted trees along a sidewalk in Phoenix

Study highlights lack of fair access to urban green spaces

People with higher incomes and more education tend to have greater access to urban green spaces than their less privileged neighbours, a new University of British Columbia study of parks and greenery in 10 major North American cities has found.

Jan 17, 2019

An illustration of vascular organoids, lab-made human blood vessels, based on original data. Credit: IMBA

Scientists grow perfect human blood vessels in a petri dish

The breakthrough engineering technology, outlined in a new study published today in Nature, dramatically advances research of vascular diseases like diabetes, identifying a key pathway to potentially prevent changes to blood vessels—a major cause of death and morbidity among those with diabetes.

Jan 16, 2019

CHIME telescope detects second-ever repeating fast radio burst

A team of scientists in Canada has found the second repeating fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded, providing new clues about the brief, puzzling pulses of radio energy from far outside our galaxy.

Jan 9, 2019

This scientist’s pain will be future cancer patients’ gain

Mary De Vera has researched asthma, arthritis and pregnancy. She doesn’t specialize in a particular medical condition, she specializes in methods.

Jan 7, 2019

Inclusive primary care improves people’s health, finds UBC-Western study

Respectful, inclusive practices in primary care clinics can significantly improve the health of low-income, marginalized people who may have previously experienced trauma or discrimination, a new study from the University of British Columbia and Western University has found.

Dec 18, 2018

Screenshot of The Adventures of Patoo, a classroom-based program to improve digital health literacy among students.

UBC program teaches kids how to navigate health information online

Smartphones, tablets and laptops are likely on many kids’ wish lists to Santa this year. But for the lucky ones whose wishes come true, parents and guardians may be wondering how to ensure youngsters know how to safely navigate the online world.

Dec 13, 2018

As solid waste increases rapidly, accurate sorting is becoming imperative in North American cities where the average person throws out 700-800 kilograms of solid waste each year.

Online game trains players how to sort waste correctly

A simple online game can teach people to more accurately sort waste—with lasting results, a new UBC study has found.

Dec 6, 2018

Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds all around the world

Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds like penguins and terns by competing for the same prey sources, new research from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier and the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia has found.

Dec 6, 2018

Researchers measure calves’ sociability trait by the proximity they choose between themselves and other calves in a group pen.

Dairy calves’ personalities predict their ability to cope with stress

A UBC study published earlier this year found that dairy calves have distinct personality traits from a very young age. Now researchers have followed up that study by examining those same calves at four months of age, to find out how their personality traits govern their reactions to real-world situations.

Dec 4, 2018

New review highlights importance of good sleep routines for children

Sleep hygiene—which includes practices like providing a cool and quiet sleeping environment or reading before bedtime to help kids unwind—is increasingly popular among parents looking to ensure their children get a good night’s rest.

Dec 3, 2018

Aftermath of Friday's earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska. Credit: Ryan Hobbs/Twitter

UBC experts on Alaska earthquake, tsunami warning

UBC experts are available to comment on the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Alaska today.

Nov 30, 2018

Barely two out of 10 adults in Canada, and one in 10 children, is meeting current guidelines for physical activity. Credit: Derek Hatfield/Flickr

Majority of Canadians view physical inactivity as a serious public health issue

Physical inactivity is nearly on par with unhealthy diets and tobacco use as a public health concern among Canadians, a new UBC study has found.

Nov 29, 2018

Adult stage of the parasitoid Zatypota species wasp (left); Larva of Zatypota wasp attached to the abdomen of an Anelosimus eximius spider.

Newly discovered wasp turns social spiders into zombies

It sounds like the plot of the world’s tiniest horror movie: deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a newly discovered species of wasp transforms a “social” spider into a zombie-like drone that abandons its colony to do the wasp’s bidding.

Nov 27, 2018

M-J Milloy, Canopy Growth Professor of Cannabis Science

Professor of Cannabis Science announced to research the role of cannabis in opioid overdose treatment

Examining the potential of cannabis in addressing the opioid overdose crisis and other substance use disorders is a top priority for M-J Milloy, a recognized leader in the field of epidemiology and the first Canopy Growth Professor of Cannabis Science at the University of British Columbia.

Nov 23, 2018