Banning junk food advertising may have little effect on reducing obesity
A new study from the University of Alberta challenges the notion that advertising junk food is at the root of the obesity epidemic. Growing up in a low social-economic environment is more of a precursor to obesity later in life than junk food advertising, according to the report, with adults who grew up in a…
Could become the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke
Tenecteplase (TNK), a common clot-busting drug used in people suffering from a heart attack, is a safe and effective treatment for those in the midst of acute ischemic stroke, reports a University of Alberta research team involved in the largest stroke clinical trial in Canadian history. Brian Buck, a neurology professor in the University of…
Funding will allow for 2,000 more students in the next three years
With a focus on high-demand programs to meet Alberta’s emerging labour market needs, the provincial government has announced an investment of $48.3 million in the University of Alberta. The funding is part of the $171-million Targeted Enrolment Expansion program for post-secondary institutions, announced in February during the unveiling of the 2022-23 provincial budget. U of…
New research challenges understanding of organisms that have been textbook cases since late 1800s
Our understanding of the marriage of fungus and algae in the formation of lichen is being upended by a University of Alberta research team whose work is rewriting the biology that introduced symbiosis to the world. “New discoveries happen with symbiosis all the time, but the exciting thing here is this is the symbiosis that…
A post-pandemic world clamouring for raw energy mean Russian oil is here to stay
When U.S. President Joe Biden took to the podium in the first hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he spoke of a blitz of sanctions designed to isolate and cripple the Russian economy, and ultimately stall the Russian war machine. Noticeably absent from the long list of deterrents – which even included personalized financial…
Research could help ranchers adapt to climate change and preserve vital ecosystems
Ranchers who frequently rotate cattle between fields – resembling how bison once moved across Canada’s prairie – build drought resistance into Western Canada’s grasslands, according to a series of University of Alberta studies designed to find ways to improve the net carbon balance of grazed grasslands and nurture more resilient landscapes. “The way we manage…
Aurora Hydrogen’s technology uses microwaves to generate the increasingly valuable fuel, emissions free
Researchers at the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto have found a way to produce the greenest and cheapest hydrogen, a finding that would help retool Alberta’s energy sector and push the province closer to a net-zero future. Erin Bobicki, a mineral processing researcher in the U of A’s Faculty of Engineering who…
Pioneering U of A researcher part of international team brought together through $24M grant
When Karim Fouad started his career with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine looking for a way to heal spinal cord injuries, he remembers the enthusiasm that rippled through his discipline as prospects for better treatments began to show real promise. “Spinal cord researchers thought they had found the reason the nerve cells don’t regrow in the…
Going digital is “kind of a life-or-death situation for small businesses”
A group of students led out of the University of Alberta School of Business is helping small businesses get ahead of the pandemic-induced warp-speed retail overhaul that is pushing customers online in droves. The students are at the heart of the new Digital Economy Program (DEP), a free initiative that sees a team of U of…
Elaine Hyshka one of three U of A researchers to join the ranks of renewed Canada Research Chairs
Hospitals aren’t better equipped to help those struggling with a substance use disorder because of ongoing stigma in health care, according to a University of Alberta public health researcher who suggests the pandemic has underscored the need for change. “Even though we have a wide range of very effective interventions for reducing the risk of…