News Items
Vancouver Aquarium – porpoise with a purpose
Global News reports on how the aquarium’s harbour porpoise is trying to help save the vaquitas from dying out. For more information click here.
Top Science Stories 2016
Scientific American editor Andrea Gawrylewski is on Quirks and Quarks; she provides her suggestion for the top five science stories of the year.
Gravity Waves Discovered
The LIGO experiment has confirmed Albert Einstein’s prediction of ripples in spacetime and promises to open a new era of astrophysics.
First Nations’ Ancient Medicinal Clay – shows promise (UBC)
Naturally occurring clay from Kisameet Bay, B.C. — long used by the Heiltsuk First Nation for its healing potential — exhibits potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.
You decide: What is the most beautiful equation?
BBC Earth asked mathematicians and physicists which equations they think are the most beautiful. Explore the 12 equations provided and vote for your favourite.
Ninth Planet Beyond Pluto May Exist?
The solar system may have a ninth planet that is 5,000 times bigger than the ‘outcast Pluto’ and billions of miles farther away, say scientists who presented “good evidence” for a long-hypothesized Planet X.
Four new elements completes 7th row of periodic table
Confirmation that four new elements (atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118) have been synthesized has come from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (Iupac).
Footprints found on B.C.’s Calvert Island (central coast of BC) could be oldest in North America
The impressions left by the feet of two adults and a child in the soft clay of Calvert Island appear to be 13,200 years old. The find could provide key evidence about how the continent’s first inhabitants migrated south.
Liquid metal discovery paves way for shape-shifting robots
It may look like nothing more than a small ball of metal, but the shape-shifting and self-propulsion abilities of a liquid metal alloy discovered by scientists at China’s Tsinghua University has captured the imaginations of scientists and science-fiction fans across the world.
Living Planet Report released
One key point that jumps out is that the Living Planet Index (LPI), which measures more than 10,000 representative populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, has declined by 52 per cent since 1970.
3-D Bioprinting by a local company
The Canadian company (Aspect Biosystems) is partnering with a major pharmaceutical firm to produce bio-printed cells which will be used for the testing phase of new drug development. The cells, which are printed and suspended in hydrogel, can be tested rather than using actual human tissue. note: since the object transforms over time some people are calling it ‘4-d printing’