A new study from ICES, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University suggests that injection drug users prescribed controlled-release hydromorphone are three times more likely to develop endocarditis, a serious bacterial heart infection, when compared to...
Research & Innovation
Research points to early detection for Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers at Western University are looking at both brain metabolism and brain structure to pinpoint early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. By looking specifically at an area of the brain responsible for remembering past personal experiences, which is one of the first...
Research shows real risks associated with cannabis exposure during pregnancy
A new study from researchers at Western University and Queen’s University definitively shows that regular exposure to THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, during pregnancy has significant impact on placental and fetal development. With more than a year...
New study shows exercise boosts working memory like caffeine
An innovative lab at Western University known for promoting exercise as a way to reduce tobacco cravings has translated their research and found that brisk walks – as short as 20 minutes – can compete with caffeine in terms of enhancing working memory. Working memory...
After stroke, both women and men are significantly more likely to suffer dangerous heart complications
**La versión en español sigue** New research from Western University has shown that both women and men are significantly more likely to have a heart attack or another major cardiovascular event within thirty days of having a stroke. The study led by Dr. Luciano...
Neuroscience controversy resolved: The hippocampus is not just a GPS
It’s a controversy that goes back to a Nobel Prize winning idea that there is a specific part of our brain that acts as our Global Positioning System (GPS), responsible for knowing at any given time where we are in the world and how to navigate it. Recently,...
Behavioural research gets boost with first open-access database
Neuroscience researchers at Western University have developed the first open-access repository for raw data from mouse cognitive testing. Called MouseBytes, the database gives researchers a platform to share rodent cognition data using touchscreen cognitive testing...
Lung images of twins with asthma add to understanding of the disease
Two lung imaging studies from Western University, including one performed in non-identical twin patients with life-long asthma, have shown that airway defects in the lungs of asthmatic patients are like thumbprints – they have a unique pattern and maintain that...
UPDATED: New tech allows Western neuroscientists to study virtual reality through sound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzqTak6yiPs When exploring virtual reality, most consider the simulation as a visual experience. New technology at Western University will allow neuroscientists and audiologists to investigate simulated spaces through sound. Ingrid...
Western-led research team extends life of rechargeable batteries
London, ON – Researchers from Western University, using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, found that adding a carbon-based layer to lithium-ion rechargeable batteries extends their life up to 50 per cent. The finding, recently...
First evidence in more than a decade of endangered and ‘weird’ shark traveling to Canada
Named one of the world’s ‘weirdest’ animals by National Geographic, basking sharks are also the second largest shark after the whale shark. They are also Canada’s most endangered marine fish as the Pacific Ocean population is almost extinct. That’s why any...
Common muscle relaxant linked to severe confusion in patients with kidney disease
One in 25 patients with very low kidney function were admitted to hospital with severe confusion and other cognitive-related symptoms a few days after being prescribed a common muscle relaxant. A new study from ICES Western, Western University and Lawson Health...