New international study investigates relatively unregulated world of tattoo ink
Faculty of Science
Newly discovered ‘glaciers’ could be key to human survival in future Mars missions
Western planetary geologists have discovered glacier-like features below the Martian surface in an area that is relatively flat – perfect for future Mars landings.
Western scientists address corrosion issues
Corrosion continues to cause major health and infrastructure problems worldwide. To bring attention to the issues, the World Corrosion Organization acknowledges April 24, 2021 as Corrosion Awareness Day.
Machine learning allows for ‘ultra-fast,’ ‘highly accurate’ classification of COVID-19 virus genomes
Using machine learning, a team of computer scientists and biologists from Western University and University of Waterloo have identified an underlying genomic signature for 29 different COVID-19 virus RNA (ribonucleic acid) sequences. This new data discovery tool will...
Astronomers detect most energetic outflow from a distant quasar
Researchers, led by Western University's Sarah Gallagher, using the Gemini North telescope on Hawai'i's Maunakea have detected the most energetic wind from any quasar ever measured. This outflow, which is travelling at nearly 13% of the speed of light, carries enough...
Researchers solve mystery of Tuvan throat singing
An international research team has uncoupled the mystery of how Tuvan throat singers produce distinctive sounds in which you can hear two different pitches at once – a low rumble and a high whistle-like tone. Fascinated with how this form of throat singing, known as...
CSA contract giant leap towards launching Western into space
Western University’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (Western Space) has landed a major contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to develop an Integrated Vision System for future rover missions that could ultimately represent a flagship Canadian...
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...
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...
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...
STEAM big with Science Rendezvous @WesternU
Western University faculty, staff and students host the third annual Science Rendezvous @WesternU this weekend at TD Stadium. A national science festival taking place in 25 cities across Canada, Science Rendezvous brings together communities to experience the joy of...
Western welcomes CSA astronaut Dave Williams for Space Day
This week, astronaut David Saint-Jacques became the fourth Canadian to complete a spacewalk. Today, scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration presented the first-ever image of a black hole to a global audience. Space, literally and figuratively, is all...