A new international study led by Western University shows that Mars’ first ‘real chance’ at developing life started very early, 4.48 billion years ago, when giant, life-inhibiting meteorites stopped striking the red planet. These findings, published online today in...
Research & Innovation
Western’s Northern Tornadoes Project goes coast to coast to coast with new national scope
Western University is set to become Canada’s leading authority on tornado tracking, research and analysis thanks to a major expansion of its renowned Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP). The expansion has been made possible by a partnership with ImpactWX, a Toronto-based...
What you should know about marijuana and fertility
Trying to conceive? Fertility specialists at Western University say you should understand the facts about marijuana and its potential effect on sperm count and ovulation. In a practice article and podcast for CMAJ, Drs. Sara Ilnitsky and Stan Van Uum, take a look at...
Researchers examine gender-based differences in physician burnout
An alarming number of doctors are experiencing burnout and are dying by suicide. In an effort to address this issue, the authors of a discussion paper for the National Academy of Medicine, examined the literature around physician burnout and looked specifically at the...
New BrainsCAN research examines how diet and obesity can form memories
A new study from Western University shows how the brain controls what information becomes memories and the role diet and obesity play in these formations. Published in the journal Trends in Neuroscience, the study describes the critical importance of perineuronal nets...
Nearly one year later, Western students recover prized project from space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzlr3CszzGM One year ago today, a team of Western University graduate students launched a high-altitude balloon (HAB) 20 km into space with the lofty goal of studying the Earth’s stratosphere to get a better sense of what microbial life...
Drone technology supports TB diagnosis and treatment in remote Madagascar
An international team of healthcare investigators is piloting a new medical delivery system that uses a ‘surgical strike’ approach to solve pandemic problems. Researchers from Western University, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Stony Brook University (New York), and...
New Western study investigates potential risk of Taurid meteor swarm
A new study from Western University posits proof to the possibility that an oncoming swarm of meteors – likened to the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot by some extraterrestrial experts – may indeed pose an existential risk for Earth and its inhabitants. (That's us.) When...
International study looks to protect and conserve critically endangered shark species
Mackerel sharks are large, fast-swimming apex predators that include Hollywood heavy hitters like great whites (Jaws), mako (Deep Blue Sea) and the now-extinct Megalodon (Meg). One of the smallest mackerel sharks is the porbeagle – on average less than two metres long...
Researchers find a way to stop stress-induced seizures after traumatic brain injury
For the over one million Canadians who are living with traumatic brain injury, the likelihood of developing epilepsy increases significantly because of their injury. When faced with stress or anxiety, that likelihood increases even more dramatically. While clinically...
New Western-led study explains why adoptive parents need more “Time to Attach”
The child welfare system in Canada is in “a state of crisis,” according to a new report from Western University. There are too many children and youth flowing into the system, especially from marginalized social groups including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis...
Giant beavers didn’t eat wood and that’s likely why they didn’t survive the last Ice Age
North American beavers, which weigh between 25 to 75 pounds as adults, are the largest rodents living in Canada. That’s today. Go back 10,000 years to the last Ice Age and giant beavers – roughly three times larger than the modern North American beaver – walked the...