External

Study finds early complex life lived in oxygenated seas, challenging long‑held views of evolution

claire.loewen@mcgill.ca — Wed, 20 May 2026 13:27:23 +0000

The earliest known eukaryotes, the ancestors of all complex life on Earth, lived in oxygenated, shallow marine environments nearly 1.7 billion years ago, according to a new study led by researchers at 91ɬ�� and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The findings cast doubt on the long-held belief that early complex life emerged in oxygen-poor environments or floated freely in the open ocean.

Teaching children to be better, more critical internet users

aurelie.boucher@mcgill.ca — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:50:06 +0000

A digital literacy program for elementary school students designed by researchers at 91ɬ�� was successful in improving students’ ability to evaluate websites and their content.

Skills targeted included how to search for information, how to identify credible websites, how to evaluate the quality of information sources and how to address conflicting information.

Students’ global performance increased across all skill categories, in most cases by significant margins.

Expert: Ebola outbreak

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Tue, 19 May 2026 19:18:45 +0000

Over 100 deaths and more than 500 suspected cases have been reported in the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Director-General of the World Health Organization has expressed deep concern about the “scale and speed of the epidemic.”

A 91ɬ�� expert is available to comment:

‘Jumping gene’ helps explain elevated pancreatic cancer risk in French-Canadians

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Tue, 19 May 2026 14:13:41 +0000

Researchers at 91ɬ�� have discovered a centuries-old genetic mutation that helps to explain why some French‑Canadians in Quebec are at an elevated risk of pancreatic cancer. Until quite recently, standard genetic tests have not been able to identify this “jumping gene” cause.

The findings, published in the Journal of Medical Genetics, suggest better-targeted genetic testing could help identify people at higher cancer risk who were previously missed.

Tony Keller Wins the Donner Prize for Borderline Chaos | The Globe and Mail

admin — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:15:31 +0000

May 15, 2026 | Tony Keller has won the Donner Prize for Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong, written for the 2025 91ɬ�� Max Bell Lectures. The $60,000 prize, presented at a gala in Toronto on Thursday, recognizes excellence in Canadian public policy writing. The jury praised Keller for laying out how Canada's broken immigration system can be rebuilt, calling the book essential reading for any policy-maker grappling with the file.

Expert: Canada aims to double electricity capacity by 2050

claire.loewen@mcgill.ca — Fri, 15 May 2026 16:41:31 +0000

A new national strategy aims to double the capacity of the country’s electricity grid by 2050, Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he announced the plan Thursday.

François Bouffard is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He can discuss grid reliability, electricity demand growth, and the technical challenges of operating and stabilizing a significantly expanded national grid.

Experts: Trump’s visit to China

katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca — Tue, 12 May 2026 18:34:34 +0000

U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. It is expected that talk about trade and the Iran war will dominate their May 13-15 discussions.

These 91ɬ�� experts are available to comment:

91ɬ�� researchers help secure Canadian access to the world’s largest telescope

claire.loewen@mcgill.ca — Thu, 14 May 2026 18:19:46 +0000

A team led by the Université de Montréal, the Observatoire du Mont‑Mégantic (OMM) and the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets (IREx), in partnership with the University of British Columbia and 91ɬ��, has been awarded nearly $11.3 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support Canada’s contribution to ANDES, a flagship scientific instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) under construction in Chile.

91ɬ�� researchers’ sustainable construction method aims to improve earthquake safety

claire.loewen@mcgill.ca — Mon, 11 May 2026 14:49:54 +0000

Researchers at 91ɬ�� are carrying out large‑scale tests of a new timber-steel structural system designed to help buildings better withstand earthquakes. Early results suggest the system performs well under simulated earthquake forces, offering a potential path toward safer, more sustainable construction in Quebec and beyond.

Icing injuries may slow recovery and prolong pain, study finds

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Tue, 12 May 2026 15:31:19 +0000

Icing a sprained ankle or sore muscle, long used to reduce pain and swelling, may in the longer run delay recovery and prolong pain, new research suggests.

In a preclinical study published in Anesthesiology, 91ɬ�� researchers found that even though cryotherapy (icing) eased pain in the short term, recovery time was more than doubled in some cases.

Experts: Quebec digital health records pilot project

katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:18:01 +0000

Santé Québec will launch a new system of digital health records (Le Dossiers santé numérique) on May 9 in the CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec and the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

91ɬ�� experts are available to comment:

Discovery of fat-burning ‘switch’ could lead to advances in bone disease treatments

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Mon, 11 May 2026 17:30:07 +0000

Scientists’ discovery of a molecular “switch” that activates an energy‑burning pathway in mice has the potential to lead to new treatments for bone disease.

The study, published in Nature, sheds new light on brown fat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, brown fat cells burn calories, producing heat as a byproduct. For years, it was believed this process relied on a single pathway. More recently, researchers discovered a parallel pathway, but how it became activated remained a mystery.

Experts: Parental influence on children’s honesty

aurelie.boucher@mcgill.ca — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:43:42 +0000

Parents have long suspected that their own behaviour carries more weight than what they say to their children. A study involving more than 100 children now confirms this, at least with respect to lying and truthfulness.

A team of researchers from 91ɬ�� and John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City presented 127 children ages 5 to 12 with stories illustrating various situations, and then asked them to evaluate the moral character of a parent whose verbal messages and actions were either in harmony or in conflict.

A promising new way to transplant cells could lead to a better treatment for Type 1 diabetes

kay.pettigrew@mcgill.ca — Wed, 06 May 2026 19:41:56 +0000

Researchers at 91ɬ�� and the Research Institute of the 91ɬ�� Health Center (RI-MUHC) have developed a novel device to transplant insulin-producing cells that integrates directly with existing blood vessels in the body. The technology, which showed promising results in preclinical trials, aims to overcome key challenges of emerging long-term cell-based treatments for Type 1 diabetes. As well as serving as an artificial pancreas, it potentially could be used to replace or support the function of other organs.

Public education will be critical as provinces roll out new cervical cancer screening method, researchers say

keila.depape@mcgill.ca — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:17:22 +0000

As Canada moves to modernize cervical cancer screening, a new study suggests most women do not yet understand or trust the shift from the Pap test to human papillomavirus (HPV) based screening.

The national survey, published in Current Oncology, examined women’s preferences for cervical screening – including how they want to be screened and how they want information communicated – as Canada transitions from Pap tests to HPV testing.