Tapping into the hidden chemistry of maple syrup
BIOCHEMISTRY
Don Weaver, a chemist and director of the Krembil Research Institute within Toronto’s University Health Network, recently found occasion...
Read More >>Periodic table welcomes four new elements to the party
FUNDAMENTALS
Copies of the periodic table are found on the walls of laboratories and classrooms around the world, so when an element is added to this iconic fixture, it becomes a global story.
Read More >>Bringing an artist’s sensibility to molecular landscapes
COMMUNICATIONS
JAK-STAT is the biochemical handle for an intricate signalling pathway that cells use to receive chemical information using phosphorylated proteins. Describing this process in words is a challenging...
Read More >>Probing genomes to unearth new uses for old drugs
BIOCHEMISTRY
As much as we might want to pride ourselves on inventing drugs, nature invariably beat us to the punch. Before we got pain relief from aspirin, for example, its key ingredient salicin could be extracted...
Read More >>Overcoming teaching challenges in organic chemistry
EDUCATION
You would not think of touring a foreign country without a decent phrase book in your hip pocket or, better yet, a good grasp of the local language. Yet many chemistry students stumble into the distinctly foreign territory of organic chemistry with no such preparation.
Read More >>Greenhouse gases made to measure with new technology
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
After decades of deliberation and debate, humanity’s efforts to confront climate change remain tangled with a familiar business maxim: you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Although rising levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) within the Earth’s atmosphere have been repeatedly linked to changing weather...
Read More >>Shedding new light on cholesterol in the bloodstream
BIOCHEMISTRY
As tempting as it might be to imagine blood vessels as a network of garden hoses carrying vital agents around the body, the reality is much more subtle and complex. Although blood travels readily...
Read More >>McMaster U’s facilities earn Health Canada approval
STANDARD TESTING
The old adage, “The job’s not finished ‘til the paperwork’s done,” is turned on its head when it comes to a Health Canada Drug Establishment License (DEL), where no job...
Read More >>Beryllium-aluminum alloy shoots for the stars
MATERIALS SCIENCE
IBC Advanced Alloys (IBC), a small firm based in Vancouver, has spent nearly a decade capturing the attention and business of customers building some of the world’s most sophisticated aerospace technology. The list includes industry giants like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency, Northrup Grumman, Raytheon and Boeing. Since last June the company has received...
Read More >>Borrowing biochemical bullets from a scourge’s arsenal
BIOCHEMISTRY
Malaria remains among the world’s leading health problems and has retained that status for a very long time.
Read More >>When the growing gets tough, the tough get… growing
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY
Plants that thrive in chemically challenging landscapes appear to be even hardier than researchers had previously thought. A Université de Montréal team supported by Genome Canada examined the molecular response of willow trees living in...
Read More >>Complex computer code tampers with telltale tailpipes
REGULATIONS
It may come as little consolation to beleaguered executives at Volkswagen but the automotive giant could turn out to have been a victim of its own sophisticated software. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has accused the company of deliberately rigging its...
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