Science, Health and Technology

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Teen girls did not engage in riskier sexual activity after HPV vaccine introduced in schools

Sexual behaviour among teen girls generally stayed the same or became less risky after human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations were introduced in B.C. public schools, according to new research from UBC.

Oct 15, 2018

UBC experts available for comment on cannabis legalization

UBC experts available for comment on cannabis legalization

Canada will legalize non-medical cannabis on October 17, 2018, the second nation in the world to do so, and the first G7 nation. UBC experts are available for comment on several topics related to the legalization of marijuana in Canada.

Oct 15, 2018

Previous motherhood could affect hormone therapy’s ability to prevent memory loss

Previous motherhood could affect hormone therapy’s ability to prevent memory loss

Researchers have established that the foggy feeling and forgetfulness that many new mothers report during and after pregnancy—known as “mom brain”— is real.

Oct 11, 2018

Lowering levels of mutant protein that causes Huntington disease can restore cognitive function in mice

Lowering levels of mutant protein that causes Huntington disease can restore cognitive function in mice

New research from the University of British Columbia suggests that reducing mutated Huntington disease protein in the brain can restore cognitive and psychiatric impairments in mice.

Oct 3, 2018

Younger adults will increasingly be acting as caregivers and it can take a toll on their health.

Exercise reduces stress, improves cellular health in family caregivers

Exercising at least three times a week for six months reduced stress in a group of family caregivers and even appeared to lengthen a small section of their chromosomes that is believed to slow cellular aging, new UBC research has found.

Oct 3, 2018

UBC post-doctoral research fellow Daphne McRae and University of Saskatchewan professor Nazeem Muhajarine (left) study the benefits of midwifery care. Credit: University of Saskatchewan

Midwifery linked to lower odds of birth complications for low-income women

New research from the University of British Columbia and the University of Saskatchewan is adding new evidence in support of midwives as a safe option for prenatal care, especially for women who have low socioeconomic status.

Oct 3, 2018

Child abuse could leave ‘molecular scars’ on its victims

Child abuse could leave ‘molecular scars’ on its victims

Children who are abused might carry the imprint of that trauma in their cells – a biochemical marking that is detectable years later, according to new research from the University of British Columbia and Harvard University.

Oct 2, 2018

The Sabancaya volcano erupts against a blue sky in the Peruvian Andes, about 90 kilometres as the condor flies from the city of Arequipa. Courtesy: Colin Rowell and Johan Gilchrist

Vital volcano insights come at a cost during UBC scientists’ summer expedition

It started out like the camping trip from hell, but it turned into the research expedition of a lifetime for three University of British Columbia volcanologists.

Oct 1, 2018

Dental study clubs will be primary users of the new facility in the J.B. Macdonald Building.

Dentists and students to learn together at UBC clinic made possible by $1.8M donation

A $1.8-million donation to the University of British Columbia’s faculty of dentistry has created a state-of-the-art clinic on the Vancouver campus that will allow dentists and students to study and practice advanced techniques together.

Sep 27, 2018

Elasmosaurs likely inhabited the Western Interior Seaway, a continental sea covering central North America at the time.

UBC’s Pacific Museum of Earth welcomes ancient sea monster to building atrium

Come and see the Elasmosaurus—an ancient marine reptile with a neck so long and heavy it would barely have been able to raise its head above water.

Sep 19, 2018

Credit: Inessa Akhmedova/Flickr

Hardwired for laziness? Tests show the human brain must work hard to avoid sloth

If getting to the gym seems like a struggle, a University of British Columbia researcher wants you to know this: the struggle is real, and it’s happening inside your brain.

Sep 18, 2018

Five southern burrowing owls. Credit: Flickr

New tool developed by UBC researchers helps conservationists make smarter decisions

A new tool developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Commonwealth Science Industrial Research Organization could help ensure limited conservation dollars are well spent by determining which actions would save the most species per dollar.

Sep 17, 2018

Seized dried shark fins are displayed during a Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department presentation at Kwai Chung Customhouse in Hong Kong, China, September 5, 2018. Credit: Jerome Favre/Handout photo

Appetite for shark fin soup drives massive shark population decline

Consumers need to stop demanding shark fin soup and other products in the absence of robust laws and sustainable practices regulating shark overfishing, research co-authored by the Sea Around Us initiative at UBC has found.

Sep 13, 2018

Risk of Deception Tool

New tool developed at UBC screens online health ads for deception

The internet is rife with ads for health products, from weight-loss systems to arthritis cures—but whether they actually work can be difficult to discern.

Sep 12, 2018

A polyCMUT (polymer capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducer)

Could a DIY ultrasound be in your future? UBC breakthrough opens door to $100 ultrasound machine

Engineers at the University of British Columbia have developed a new ultrasound transducer, or probe, that could dramatically lower the cost of ultrasound scanners to as little as $100. Their patent-pending innovation—no bigger than a Band-Aid—is portable, wearable and can be powered by a smartphone.

Sep 11, 2018

J16 making rainbows while surfacing, near Saturna Island's East Point. Credit: Miles Ritter/Flickr

Climate change fuels accumulation of pollutants in Chinook salmon, killer whales

University of British Columbia researchers studying the marine food web of the Northeast Pacific Ocean have found that the exposure and accumulation of chemical pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic mercury, will be exacerbated under climate change.

Sep 11, 2018

Mountain burnet butterflies in the French Pyrenees have lost of 79% of their range, according to University of British Columbia research. Credit: Mikael Mildén, Wikipedia

Global warming pushing alpine species higher and higher

For every one-degree-Celsius increase in temperature, mountaintop species shift upslope 100 metres, shrinking their inhabited area and resulting in dramatic population declines, new research by University of British Columbia zoologists has found.

Sep 10, 2018

Researchers say the findings provide a convincing reason to keep concussed athletes on the bench even if they no longer exhibit any symptoms.

Concussions loosen insulation around brain cells

Detailed scans of concussed University of British Columbia hockey players found that the protective fatty tissue surrounding brain cell fibres was loosened two weeks after the injury—even though the athletes felt fine and were deemed ready to return to the ice.

Sep 4, 2018

The study highlights how important it is for middle-aged athletes to have their doctor check their cardiovascular risk factors, especially if they have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or a family history of cardiovascular disease. Credit: Flickr/Phil Roeder

Even the fittest middle-aged athletes can’t outrun cardiovascular risk factors

Middle-aged adults are exercising more and living longer, but new research from the University of British Columbia suggests that even the fittest among them are not immune to cardiovascular disease—and they often don’t have any symptoms.

Aug 31, 2018

The study is the first in Canada to look at dating violence trends among adolescents over time, and the first in North America to compare trends for boys and girls.

Teen dating violence is down, but boys still report more violence than girls

When it comes to teen dating violence, boys are more likely to report being the victim of violence—being hit, slapped, or pushed—than girls. That’s the surprising finding of new research from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.

Aug 29, 2018