Science, Health and Technology

Researchers testing children across B.C. for COVID-19 antibodies

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in British Columbia, a critical question remains on the role babies, children, teens and young adults play in transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Dec 1, 2020

Bringing COVID-19 safety measures into B.C.’s Sikh temples

With the hope of keeping his community safe and preventing the transmission of COVID-19, Sukhmeet Sachal set out to tailor public health messages for the Sikh community in a culturally-effective way, starting by connecting with those attending the Gurdwara, located around the corner from the house where he grew up.

Nov 30, 2020

Seismic guidelines underestimate impact of ‘The Big One’ on Metro Vancouver buildings

Scientists examining the effects of a megathrust earthquake in the Pacific Northwest say tall buildings across Metro Vancouver will experience greater shaking than currently accounted for by Canada’s national seismic hazard model.

Nov 30, 2020

The WestJet-YVR COVID-19 Testing Study is investigating a method of COVID-19 rapid testing to help inform the safest and most efficient way of testing departing passengers at Vancouver International Airport. The Care Pod, located just outside WestJet’s domestic check-in area at YVR, is serving as the testing station for the study. Credit: Vancouver Airport Authority

UBC-Providence scientists join forces with WestJet and YVR for COVID-19 Testing Study

Dr. Don Sin and Dr. Marc Romney are lending their research expertise and diagnostic know-how to support the WestJet-YVR COVID-19 Testing Study.

Nov 27, 2020

The Fraser River estuary is the largest on the Pacific coast of North America. Credit: Connor Stefanison

It’s not too late to save 102 species at risk of extinction

The Fraser River estuary in British Columbia is home to 102 species at risk of extinction. A new study says it’s not too late to save these species if action is taken now.

Nov 26, 2020

UBC experts on federal climate bill

Canada’s federal government has introduced new legislation intended to make the country accountable for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. UBC experts are available to comment.

Nov 19, 2020

COVID-19 isolation measures can elevate mental health risks

New analysis of data from a survey of the mental health impacts of the pandemic suggests we need to pay more attention to the unintended mental health consequences of quarantine and isolation measures.

Nov 18, 2020

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Credit: CDC/Unsplash

UBC experts on COVID-19

UBC experts are available to comment on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nov 17, 2020

Health of transgender youth improving but stigma, violence still a concern

Canada’s transgender youth are more supported in their identities nowadays, with more trans teens—50 per cent compared to 45 per cent five years ago—living in their felt gender full-time, finds a new survey led by UBC researchers.

Nov 16, 2020

Online supports for COVID-19 stress are there—but Canadians aren’t accessing them

Many Canadians are not making use of virtual resources that could help them cope with the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new analysis by researchers at UBC, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Nov 10, 2020

The unique mental health and brain impacts of COVID-19

As COVID-19 infections spike around the globe, with no end in sight for months, questions are beginning to arise around the long-term effects of the pandemic on our mental health and brain health.

Nov 6, 2020

Hospital ER visits by children down 70% during pandemic peak in B.C.

A new study from University of British Columbia researchers found a significant decline in the number of families with children accessing emergency departments across B.C. during the peak of the pandemic.

Nov 5, 2020

Teens who participate in extracurriculars, get less screen time, have better mental health

A new study from UBC researchers finds that teens, especially girls, have better mental health when they spend more time taking part in extracurricular activities, like sports and art, and less time in front of screens.

Nov 2, 2020

A schematic of estimated masses of black holes and neutron stars measured with electromagnetic radiation (yellow, purple) and gravitational waves (orange, blue). Image credit: Frank Elavsky, Aaron Geller, Northwestern University

Scientists detect 39 new gravitational wave events

The LIGO-Virgo Collaboration, including researchers at the University of British Columbia, has confirmed 39 new gravitational wave event detections, more than quadrupling the total known gravitational wave events from 11 to 50.

Oct 29, 2020

Social isolation puts women at higher risk of hypertension

It’s no secret that loneliness and social isolation have a negative impact on the mental and physical health of older adults.

Oct 28, 2020

How the human right to a healthy environment can help protect us all

From the COVID-19 pandemic to the raging wildfires in Australia and the U.S., scientific evidence shows an increase in planetary environmental emergencies that pose a risk to Canadian and global communities.

Oct 27, 2020

Trick or treat? How to safely celebrate Halloween during a pandemic

Dr. Srinivas Murthy, an infectious disease expert and clinical associate professor in UBC faculty of medicine’s department of pediatrics, weighs in on how to safely celebrate Halloween during a pandemic, offering tips for parents and advice for those handing out candy from home.

Oct 26, 2020

Global COVID-19 treatment trial shows current antivirals are of little benefit to hospitalized patients

Interim results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial indicate that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of COVID-19 among hospitalized patients.

Oct 16, 2020

UBC experts on disaster preparedness, Great BC Shakeout

British Columbia will hold the Great BC Shakeout today as part of efforts to prepare communities in the event of a big earthquake in the region.

Oct 15, 2020

On-scene care saves more lives than transporting cardiac arrest patients to hospital

If someone experiences cardiac arrest—a condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating—what’s the best way to keep that person alive?

Oct 14, 2020