Cutting-edge recording technology captures never-before-heard sounds of the elusive boreal predators hunting, fighting and sleeping
Using a Fitbit and a spy mic, University of Alberta scientists have revealed new insights into the behaviour of the elusive Canada lynx. The research provides a first look at how miniaturized technology can open the door to remote wildlife monitoring. “Working on one of the boreal forest’s top predators, the Canada lynx, we found…
The work of the $4-million endowed position will help inform forest companies as they sustainably manage land for timber and biodiversity
Robert Froese can tell you the exact moment he knew forestry would be his lifelong career. He was an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia, standing in the forest with his classmates. “My professor went crashing into the woods … and he came back with a big Douglas-fir branch,” said Froese. “It was rainy…
Abundance of protein galectin-9 in cancer patients is associated with poor response to immunotherapy
University of Alberta researchers have uncovered a link between the expression of the protein galectin-9 (gal-9) and whether a cancer patient will benefit from immunotherapy. The discovery could help inform physicians about which patients will likely respond to immunotherapy and lead to better treatment options. Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by…
Many birds explore the nooks and crannies of these seed-bearing pods as they try to pry the seeds loose or find minute insects
As we welcome spring, we see the remnants of pine and spruce cones previously covered by snow. Few of us think about how important these cones are to the floral and faunal communities – as food and to ensure the next generation of trees is born. Many species of coniferous trees produce cones – pines,…
International study sheds new light on how the huge carnivorous dinosaurs moved, based on fossil evidence of their footprints
New research by an international team including paleontologists at the University of Alberta and the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum has revealed evidence that juvenile tyrannosaurs were more trim and slender-bodied than their multi-tonne elders, a difference that may have helped them pursue fast-moving prey. “The results suggest that as some tyrannosaurs grew older and…
Study re-examining what early snakes might have looked like
New research led by a University of Alberta graduate student could lead to reimagining what early snakes might have looked like, suggesting that some of the world’s supposedly simplest snakes have a more complex evolutionary history than traditionally thought. Snakes are broadly divided into two groups based on their feeding mechanisms: macrostomatan snakes, able to…
U of A researchers are harnessing AI to analyze patients’ own cells to create islet cells for transplant
University of Alberta researchers are harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to find a safer, more personalized source of islet cells to treat Type 1 diabetes. The research project, a collaboration between the departments of surgery and computing science, aims to use AI to analyze images to speed up the process and reduce the need for human decision-making…
U of A pharmacy researcher looks for ways to correct a common but often hidden type of diabetes-related heart failure
A University of Alberta laboratory has uncovered a new approach to preventing heart failure in people with Type 2 diabetes, according to research findings published recently in the journal Cell Reports. “We know people with diabetes take drugs for years to control their blood sugars, but the drugs don’t cure their diabetes,” said lead author John Ussher, associate…
Researchers are now looking to develop a drug that will boost existing statin drugs to prevent heart disease
A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has uncovered a long-sought link in the battle to control cholesterol and heart disease. The protein that interferes with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors that clear ‘bad’ cholesterol from the blood was identified in findings recently published in Nature Communications by Dawei Zhang, associate professor of pediatrics in the Faculty…
Researchers examine what logging, climate change and other factors mean for caribou populations
New research by University of Alberta biologists paints a clearer picture of how food webs are shifting in response to changing habitats in Canada’s boreal forests, and what it means for dwindling caribou populations. “We know that habitat, prey and predators such as wolves are all pieces of the caribou conservation puzzle, and here we…
Using a Fitbit and a spy mic, University of Alberta scientists have revealed new insights into the behaviour of the elusive Canada lynx. The research provides a first look at how miniaturized technology can open the door to remote wildlife monitoring. “Working on one of the boreal forest’s top predators, the Canada lynx, we found…
