science wire

McGill explores possible move for football team to Ontario league in 2013
McGill University has applied to play in the Ontario University Athletics football conference, which, if accepted, would move the Redmen from the Quebec league to Ontario by 2013, the team's 133rd season on the gridiron.

Herschel Space Observatory study reveals galaxy-packed filament
Finding provides unique opportunity to explore how galaxies and cosmic structure evolve A McGill-led research team using the Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament connects two clusters of galaxies that, along with a third cluster, will smash together and give rise to one of the largest galaxy superclusters in the universe.

Cole Foundation injects $1 million to bolster pediatric leukemia research in Montreal
New grants and fellowships in pediatric leukemia research to be created at Université de Montréal, McGill University and INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Thanks to the Cole Foundation, pediatric leukemia research has again this year received support to recruit some of the best and brightest researchers in the field.

Rethinking Research Ethics: Researchers Challenge Post-marketing Trial Practices
Current research ethics focuses on protecting study participants, but according to bioethicists from McGill University and Carnegie Mellon University, these efforts fail to prevent harms that undermine the social value of research. Published in Science, McGill's Jonathan Kimmelman and Benjamin Carlisle and CMU's Alex John London argue that current research ethics frameworks do not flag drug trials that, while not putting patients at risk, produce biased evidence.

Primary-care advocate takes helm of Family Medicine
Howard Bergman to build on recent successes promoting family medicine at McGill Family doctors are at the heart of efficient, sustainable health care systems and are a priority for McGill University's Faculty of Medicine.

$7.6 MILLION FOR THE MCGILL UNIVERSITY AND GÉNOME QUÉBEC INNOVATION CENTRE
Record Funding for Québec The McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre is pleased to announce that they have been awarded funding totalling $7.6 million over a two-year period from Genome Canada's 2010 Competition: Science and Technology Innovation Centre Operations Support.

South Pole Telescope data shedding light on dark energy
Results provide fresh support for Einstein's cosmological constant Analysis of data from the 10-meter South Pole Telescope is providing new support for the most widely accepted explanation of dark energy, the source of the mysterious force that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The new frontier: online support for those who self-injure
New website offers help and information for recovery from self-injury To address the pressing need to provide online recovery-focused support for those who self-injure, McGill University professor Nancy Heath and Stephen Lewis, of Guelph University have developed a new website, Self-injury Outreach and Support (SiOS).

McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies receives $1.25 M gift from State of Qatar
Generous gift commemorates Institute's 60th anniversary McGill University and its Institute of Islamic Studies have received a generous $1.25 million gift from the State of Qatar.

Fielding questions about climate change
Iron is key to reversing global warming, Concordia and McGill research shows Canada defines itself as a nation that stretches from coast to coast to coast. But can we keep those coasts healthy in the face of climate change? Yves Gélinas, associate professor in Concordia's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has found the solution in a surprising element: iron.

Nine McGill researchers appointed Canada Research Chairs
Over $8 million to be shared by one newly appointed and eight renewed CRCs Nine McGill researchers were among the 132 newly awarded or renewed Canada Research Chairs just announced by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology.

The shape of things to come
Mathematical methods help predict movement of oil and ash following environmental disasters When oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico in late April 2010, friends asked George Haller whether he was tracking its movement. That's because the McGill engineering professor has been working for years on ways to better understand patterns in the seemingly chaotic motion of oceans and air.

Pond hockey heats up
Outdoor skating threatened by rising temperatures Would Wayne Gretzky have blossomed into the Great One had he not honed his skills on a backyard rink as a kid? It's a good thing that he grew up before global warming began wreaking havoc with our weather because the days of a game of shinny on that frozen pond are numbered.

Hold the salt: coastal drinking water more vulnerable to water use than climate change
Human activity is likely a greater threat to coastal groundwater used for drinking water supplies than rising sea levels from climate change, according to a study conducted by geoscientists from the University of Saskatchewan and McGill University in Montreal.

McGill University’s Life Sciences Complex earns LEED Gold certification
Life Sciences video: http://www.youtube.com/watch'v=gV2MFmckUXw McGill University's Life Sciences Complex has been awarded LEED gold certification for new construction from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), a significant upgrade from the silver rating that was first sought.

Exploring how a parent’s education can affect the mental health of their offspring
New research sheds light on cycle of low socioeconomic status and depression Could depression in adulthood be tied to a parent's level of education? A new study led by Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, a medical sociologist from McGill University, suggests this is the case.

Supporting innovation: from green chemistry to pain research
The CFI awards more than $1 million to seven McGill researchers The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has announced it has awarded $1,072,471 to McGill University under its Leaders of Opportunity Fund (LOF).

Tribal Nova and McGill develop interactive and participative reading method in conjunction with HarperCollins Publishers
Tribal Nova and McGill develop interactive and participative reading method in conjunction with HarperCollins Publishers Tribal Nova and the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at McGill University have combined their expertise in a research and development project that focuses on interactive and participative reading on the iPad, in conjunction with HarperCollins Publishers.

Schulich School of Music scholars among winners of Digging into Data Challenge
Will use computers to study changes in Western musical style from 1300 to 1900 An international team of scholars led by Julie Cumming, Associate Dean of McGill's Schulich School of Music, is amo

How do we split our attention?
McGill's Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab team finds that we are natural-born multi-taskers Imagine you're a hockey goalie, and two opposing players are breaking in alone on you, passing the puck back and forth. You're aware of the linesman skating in on your left, but pay him no mind. Your focus is on the puck and the two approaching players.

Glacial tap is open but the water will run dry
Retreating glaciers threaten water supplies Glaciers are retreating at an unexpectedly fast rate according to research done in Peru's Cordillera Blanca by McGill doctoral student Michel Baraer.

In hot water: Ice Age findings forecast problems
Data from end of the last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans The first comprehensive study of changes in the oxygenation of oceans at the end of the last Ice Age (between about 10 to 20,000 years ago) has implications for the future of our oceans under global warming.

Video game players advancing genetic research
Users of game designed by McGill researchers contributing to analysis of DNA sequences Thousands of video game players have helped significantly advance our understanding of the genetic basis of diseases such as Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer over the past year. They are the users of a web-based video game developed by Jérôme Waldispuhl of the McGill School of Computer Science and collaborator Mathieu Blanchette.

Budding scientists explore their career options at Discovery Day
More than 200 students from 26 high schools and CEGEPS across Montreal got a taste of what it's really like to be a scientist at TD Discovery Day in Health Sciences on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. Organized by The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and hosted by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro), the McGill Faculty of Medicine, and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), this one-day event featured a keynote lecture, interactive workshops held in research labs and hospital settings, and a career panel discussion.