Although new to the field of science communication, Nathan Holwell has been involved in a variety of research during his undergraduate career and now in his graduate career. He has done research in drug delivery, gene delivery, biomaterials and diagnostic devices. His graduate research at Queen’s University, where he is pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering with a focus in Biomedical Engineering, is focusing on a better way to repair torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs)…

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Engaging with the media is not for the faint of heart, but speaking on behalf of the entire world, we need you to step up scientists! Your research is important and valuable, and you may (I chose that word deliberately) be the best person to communicate it. So, while the prospect of doing a media interview might seem futile, frightening or frustrating (they got it “wrong” in the past, didn’t they?), you can’t give up…

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Dr. William Stanford, The Ottawa Hospital, is working with colleagues to help patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS). They have shown that cells from individuals with HGPS – also called progeria – can be genetically reprogrammed, turning them into stem cells that don’t show any signs of aging. According to the news release issued by the hospital, the team “directed the HGPS stem cells to produce new blood vessels cells, and were able to observe…

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Iris by Sabiha Hacibekiroglu, 2016 People’s Choice and Grand Prize winner, Cells I See “Anyone who views something under a microscope or through a telescope will tell you that science is art, and that art is the perfect way to convey science.” (Amanda Kwieraga) If you wander through the office where I work, you will come to the same conclusion. The submissions we have received from several years of Cells I See competitions have resulted…

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Last August, Signals hosted its first blog carnival and it was so much fun, we’re doing it again. Missed it? No idea what a blog carnival involves? The way I explained it last year is like this: A blog carnival is essentially an online blogging “party” with many guests who all blog on the same topic and link back to the party host – and, by that, I mean the main blog. Or you can…

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After 10 months of preparing lunches, doing homework, attending dance, hockey, piano lessons (or feel free to insert whatever else fits), the unstructured, lazy, hazy days of summer are a welcome relief. Until they aren’t anymore. If your little person or tween is in serious need of some distraction, here are some educational recommendations of the scientific variety. Let’s start with podcasts. I found Brains On (“features science for kids and curious adults”) myself, but…

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Dr. Amir Manbachi, Johns Hopkins University (with permission) Passing by university campuses in the month of June, what you will notice is joyful, well dressed students, accompanied by family members, attending their graduation ceremonies. It is indeed a great feeling to have accomplished a university degree after a lot of dedication and hard work. I personally prefer the name commencement instead of graduation ceremony. After all, even though students graduate and end a significant stage…

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I’ve been thinking about unapproved stem cell treatments a lot recently. First, I read this article that hailed the arrival of stem cell treatments in a small community in western Canada. There were many statements in the article that concerned me, but I only addressed a few major ones in my letter to the editor. An article in the National Post, by Tom Blackwell, takes a much more balanced view of stem cell clinics, which…

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I don’t have many distinct memories from childhood. Certainly not of global events. But given the sweltering weather, the recent Canada 150 celebration, and a cool new paper published in Cell Chemical Biology, my mind wandered back to the ’96 summer Olympics (Atlanta), when Donovan Bailey raced through the finish line with his arms in the air to win Canada gold. Now while he was an extremely agile athlete, the event I’m thinking of was…

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You’re back! Whether you stumbled onto this post or you sought it out following my introductory blog about Knowledge Translation (KT), I’m just glad you’re here. Now that you understand what KT is (hint: click on the link above if you need a definition) and why it’s essential that academics share their findings in a way that is easily understood by the public and policy makers, here are some points to consider to improve the…

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