Microplastic pollution more complex than we think

CHEMISTRY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Scientists began reporting microplastic pollution in the ocean as far back as the 1970s but our understanding of these tiny particles’ impact on fish is only just catching up.  Their harm is due to factors not generally considered in toxicology testing – the plastics’ size, shape and chemical makeup.

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CWIC My STEM Stories are going online

CHEMISTRY FOR SOCIETY
BY:

The Canadians Working for Inclusivity in the Chemical Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (CWIC) Network, an MRG for the CIC, are premiering their My STEM Stories YouTube Channel on May 5...

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CWIC celebrated the IUPAC global women’s breakfast

CHEMISTRY FOR SOCIETY

On 9 February 2021, diverse people from around the world came together to celebrate the third International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB). The purpose of these GWB events is to promote diversity in science by bringing people from various organizations together. As mentioned by IUPAC, the last two GWB have established that there is a need to build a network of both women and men who can work together to address the barriers and inequalities faced by women in science. Keeping this in mind, the theme of GWB 2021 was kept as “Empowering Diversity in Science”.

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The push to disinfect and reuse disposable PPE

CHEMISTRY FOR HEALTH

The toll of pandemic-related plastic waste from discarded PPE is mounting at an alarming rate. Health Canada estimates that between June 2020 and June 2021, 63,000 tons of COVID-19 related PPE will end up as landfill waste. Researchers are investigating possibilities for disinfecting and reusing single-use PPE, including medical gloves and hospital gowns.

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CSPC 2020: The social contract

COMMUNITY

In 2020 David Schlachter, a chemical engineering graduate student at Polytechnique Montréal, attended the  Canadian Science Policy Conference on behalf of the CIC. At the conference David attended a panel discussion on the social contract between science and the public, and he has shared the highlights of this panel discussion.

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Raising a stink

CHEMISTRY FOR ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

When something fails to pass the ‘sniff test’ – whether it’s a plan of action or the milk in the back of the fridge – it’s often best to leave it be. But when it comes to unpleasant odours in the air, we don’t have much choice. We have to breathe.

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Second thoughts on critical thinking

BY:

Join CIC Talks on Wednesday, October 7th for a presentation by Paulette Vincent-Ruz, a postdoctoral associate in chemistry education at the University of Michigan. She will be exploring the subtleties...

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