From Our Own Borealis Blog

The Beaver Diaries: how AI unveils Nature’s master builders

By Qiaochu Liang, Biology & Life Sciences co-editor The beaver is a familiar sight to Canadians. Castor canadensis is an […]

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Encouraging ethical publishing

Scientists establish their credentials and reputations by publishing in peer-reviewed articles. Participating in the act of asking answerable questions, collecting unbiased empirical evidence to evaluate those questions, and passing through the gauntlet of peer-review to publish findings are the hallmark of science. Essentially, publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journal means that you are a scientist. However,...

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Should Pets Have the Same Medical Care As People? What Pet Guardians Think

Now that many more options are available for our pets, do people think advanced veterinary care is always a good thing or that it sometimes goes too far?Photo: SeventyFour/ShutterstockBy Zazie Todd PhDThis page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you.These days, veterinary medicine is...

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Latest Canadian students’ math and reading scores drop, the 2022 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment]) scorecard

It took a while (until December 2023) for the OECD’s (Organization for Economic Cooperation Development) to release its latest (2022) PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores. Where Canada is concerned the scores seem to be a case of ‘the same old same old as per my October 9, 2013 posting about Canada’s then latest...

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Innovative nanovector (nanogel) could pave way for new spinal cord injury treatments

Caption: Nanogel – Scheme of selective drug treatment in the central nervous system. Credit Politecnico di Milano – Istituto Mario Negri A February 14, 2024 news item on Nanowerk provides some context for the image in the above, Note: A link has been removed, In a study published in Advanced Materials (“Synergistic Pharmacological Therapy to...

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This is Why … The Colour Blue is as Rare as a Blue Moon

Now emerging from a long, grey winter in southern Ontario, our daily walks around the neighbourhood are becoming a technicolour experience, with flowers popping up and trees leafing out everywhere. (C)Ian Lee Daffodils dripping in their canary-colored finery, tulips blazing in fiery displays, pink canopies dancing overhead and every shade of green gleaming underfoot; spring...

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Travel Stories: Attending the British Ecological Society meeting in Edinburgh

By Alexandra Langwieder and Don-Jean Leandri-Breton, PhD student and former PhD student at McGill University In December 2022, we traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to present our PhD research at the British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, thanks to funding provided by the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science Excellence Awards. This is one of the World’s largest...

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