Oldest non-marine crab ever – and most complete crab fossil known – identified
A young crustacean locked in amber 100 million years ago is filling a crucial gap in the puzzle of crab evolution, according to a University of Alberta PhD graduate whose work adds to growing evidence that the crab form is an evolutionary darling. “This crab is telling us a very interesting story about the tree…
Placenta in a petri dish is just one innovation that attracts top students and research dollars
Jasmine Nguyen signed up for a tour of Meghan Riddell’s cell biology lab as a first-year undergrad in the Faculty of Science and was immediately hooked. “Meghan pulled a placenta out of what was basically a lasagna dish and it was love at first sight,” said Nguyen, who’s now working on her fourth-year honours thesis…
Immunity problem affects nearly a third of calves worldwide
A University of Alberta dairy researcher is picking up where scientists left off 40 years ago, trying to solve an ongoing problem with calf health. Up to 30 per cent of dairy calves worldwide don’t get enough vital antibodies before birth to ward off the risk of diarrhea caused by E. coli and other bacteria.…
Anemia generates different immune responses in men and women
A University of Alberta-led study shows that when it comes to susceptibility to infections and other health conditions, sex matters. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, was led by U of A immunologist Shokrollah Elahi. Elahi and his team looked at how anemia – a condition in which a person lacks enough mature red…
Fungi have great names – turkey tail, pigskin poison, honey mushroom – and come in all shapes and sizes
My local nature club recently hosted a mushroom walk. No, that’s not where you take your pet mushroom for a walk. We visited some trails in central Ontario looking for different types of mushrooms, poisonous and edible. We weren’t foraging so we left the woods as we found them, although many others go to local…
Research brings cancer-killing cells to bear against a certain type of colorectal cancer tumour
A University of Alberta researcher has discovered how two signalling molecules recruit immune cells known as killer T cells to a specific type of colon cancer with more favourable patient outcomes. The finding may represent a therapeutic strategy to target other types of cancers. Kristi Baker, assistant professor in the Department of Oncology, examined tumours…
Developers working to get it to market
A University of Alberta engineering duo is getting a boost from the university’s newly formed commercialization engine, imYEG, to get a new device for people with breathing challenges to market. Medical devices that assist people who have a low level of oxygen in their blood have evolved from large stationary tanks of compressed oxygen to…
Changing colour of alpine lakes may be a sign of worsening water quality, according to reports
Another casualty of the disappearance of glaciers in the Canadian Rockies is the vanishing of the iconic turquoise of glacier-fed alpine lakes, according to a University of Alberta limnologist who documented the unfortunate change in the latest look at the health of Canada’s mountains. In an essay written for the fourth annual State of the Mountains…
New materials could harness energy from cellphones or body heat, and improve solar power, geothermal
Extra heat is generated from any form of energy conversion – even with something as green as solar panels. But with up to 72 per cent of it left unused, there’s also great potential to harvest electricity from that waste. A University of Alberta researcher has successfully developed a way to figure out the chemistry…
Fractalkine molecule showing promise for treating certain neurodegenerative disorders
An immunological molecule called fractalkine can boost the production of brain cells that produce myelin, a key factor in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, according to recent research from the University of Alberta. Myelin is an insulating layer around nerves that is gradually worn away by inflammation in multiple sclerosis and similar diseases. Without this…