Search

Research & Innovation

Novel natural nanomaterial spins off from spider-mite genome sequencing

Novel natural nanomaterial spins off from spider-mite genome sequencing

Western biology professor Miodrag Grbic and his team have now collaborated with physicist Jeff Hutter to test – for the first-time ever – the durability of spider-mite silk and found the bionanomaterial, which is one thousand times thinner than human hair, to be a potentially superior alternative to spider silk, itself long considered a highly attractive light-weight biomaterial due to its high tensile strength and elasticity.

Blind brain receives visual cues for identifying object shape

Researchers at Western University’s Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the brain of renowned blind echolocator Daniel Kish as he listened to recordings of his own mouth clicks and the echoes reflected back from different objects.

Canada’s aquatic ecosystems research gets boost from NSERC

Thanks to a funding boost of $4.4 million, the NSERC Canadian Network for Aquatic Ecosystems (CNAES) will play a key role in ensuring well-informed decisions are made when it comes to this country’s wetlands, lakes and rivers.