Risk of transmission to people and pets is very low unless you're regularly in contact with birds
If the recent increase in avian influenza cases has you concerned, you likely have nothing to worry about and don’t need to take any added measures, according to a University of Alberta expert on influenza in birds. As with human flu, there are a variety of strains of avian flu, explains Katharine Magor, a professor…
Pilots, athletes, dementia patients and more could benefit from this brain boost
Imagine putting on a helmet embedded with tiny electrodes that sit on your scalp, delivering a gentle electrical current to certain areas of your brain. After about 10 to 20 minutes, you might find yourself with a better ability to focus, sharper memory and a host of other cognitive benefits. That’s the idea behind a…
Latest rankings put university at 77th worldwide, highlighting outstanding faculty and research
The University of Alberta had its best-ever showing in the Global 2000 list, moving further up in the top 100 to 77th in the world, according to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) World University Rankings 2022-23. The latest rankings also saw the U of A move up in a category rating the quality of…
Recent review highlights need to gain a broader scientific view of cancer to better prevent and treat it
While cancer is a genetic disease, the genetic component is just one piece of the puzzle – and researchers need to consider environmental and metabolic factors as well, according to a research review by a leading expert at the University of Alberta. Nearly all the theories about the causes of cancer that have emerged over the…
Giving children the tools and skills to enter school with their “best foot forward
Despite what many first-time parents may wish for, kids don’t come with instruction manuals. Even seemingly straightforward developmental milestones, like when to introduce solid food, can vary across countries. And when it comes to language development, things get even more complicated. It can be challenging to gauge what is just a child’s creativity and what…
Machine learning model has potential to be developed into an accessible and cost-effective tool
University of Alberta researchers have trained a machine learning model to identify people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with 80 per cent accuracy by analyzing the text those people wrote. The model could one day serve as an accessible and inexpensive screening tool to support health professionals in detecting and diagnosing PTSD or other mental health…
Learning doesn’t always need to happen sitting at a desk
We know that school kids spend too much time sitting at their desks. Now we have some evidence-based recommendations to counter that sedentary behaviour. They offer guidelines to educators, parents and caregivers to help school-aged children grow and thrive. “It kind of challenges traditional views of learning,” said Valerie Carson. “Learning doesn’t always need to happen sitting at…
Latest QS global subject rankings highlight a diversity of institutional strengths
The University of Alberta is the top institution in Canada for nursing and petroleum engineering, according to the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. This year’s rankings also featured 15 subjects in the top 100 worldwide, highlighting a diversity of strengths for the U of A. Nursing has continually climbed the QS rankings over the…
The province is the only place in the world where its soon-to-be-official gem is mined commercially
Alberta may soon be getting an official gemstone, as the provincial government recently announced its intention to add ammolite to the Emblems of Alberta Act, along with current emblems such as the wild rose and petrified wood, Alberta’s official flower and stone. Though ammolite wasn’t officially recognized as a gemstone until 1981, it’s been around far longer than…
Kidney disease costs the health-care system more than $40 billion each year
Not many people think about the cost of kidney disease, says a University of Alberta researcher. But the toll on Canadians is high. Kidney disease will affect one in 10 Canadians and costs the health-care system more than $40 billion each year. The number of people living with end-stage kidney disease, which has no current…