Deadly Dust
MATERIALS
In January 2012, an explosion at the Babine Forest Products sawmill in Burns Lake, B.C. killed two workers and injured 19. Three months later a second explosion, this one at...
Read More >>Engineering improved heart fibres from stem cells
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Chemical engineers from the University of Toronto have created a set of mini-bioreactors that act as a kind of training gym to turn human stem cells into functional heart tissue....
Read More >>Total synthesis of Quebecol accomplished
MATERIALS
Chemistry doesn’t get more Canadian than this. Researchers at Université Laval have reported the total synthesis of Quebecol, a molecule isolated from maple syrup which may have anti-cancer properties. A...
Read More >>Iron nanoparticles provide greener hydrogenation
GREEN CHEMISTRY
Researchers from McGill University and Japan have developed a system of polymer-embedded iron nanoparticles that provide a cheaper and more sustainable way to catalyse a wide variety of hydrogenation reactions....
Read More >>Functional microparticles created by ultrasonication
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Researchers from McGill University have discovered that ultrasonication — normally used to tear materials apart — can instead stick them together to form porous, functional microparticles with potential applications in...
Read More >>Cranberry compounds could prevent infection
HEALTH
Unlike many so-called health foods, the purported ability of cranberries to fight infections — especially urinary tract infections — is actually backed up by science. Now, a team of chemical...
Read More >>Polymer nano-devices provide advanced biosensing
POLYMERS
A group at the University of Alberta is using a unique thermo-sensitive polymer to create devices that could one day provide quick, visual detection of disease biomarkers. Michael Serpe, a...
Read More >>Cellulose nanocrystals made ‘switchable’
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY
A team from McMaster University has created polymer functionalized, pH-sensitive cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) that could have applications in fields as disparate as biocomposites and wastewater treatment. Cellulose from wood pulp has both...
Read More >>New catalyst improves carbon dioxide reduction
CATALYSIS
A metal-free catalyst developed at Université Laval can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) to methanol using borane (BH3) as a source of hydrogen. The system is one the most efficient yet developed for CO2 reduction and is an important...
Read More >>Ancient fracture fluids could support life
GEOCHEMISTRY
The discovery that billion-year-old water collected from a Timmins, Ont. mine has the right chemistry to support life could have important implications for the habitability of other planets. Barbara Sherwood...
Read More >>DNAzyme could silence bad genes
BIOCHEMISTRY
Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed an improved system for finding sequences of DNA that can selectively bind and destroy certain RNA sequences. The new molecules...
Read More >>The many faces of bioplastics
POLYMERS
Plastics get a bad rap. While they improve our lives in countless ways, from food safety to medical care, their inertness and disinclination to break down — the very properties...
Read More >>