Fresh produce contaminated with toxic BPA-like chemicals found in food labels: BPA is banned in some countries but similar chemicals like BPS are still allowed
Steps were taken in Canada to reduce the use of Bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical linked to prostate and breast cancer, commonly found in plastics, the lining of food cans, water bottles, and paper receipts. But in many cases, it has been replaced with similar hormone disrupting chemicals, like Bisphenol S (BPS). A new […]
Montana bio station researchers discuss mine risks to salmon rivers
Recently, a group of 23 science and policy experts from the U.S. and Canada published a review of mining risks to watersheds ranging from Montana to British Columbia and Alaska. The paper in the journal Science Advances brought together experts in salmon ecology, watershed science, mining impacts and mining policy to integrate knowledge across research […]
New COVID Vaccines From Canada, China Score in International Trials
A plant-based vaccine developed in Canada and a protein subunit vaccine from China proved safe and effective against symptomatic COVID-19, a pair of phase III trials found. The two-dose plant-based vaccine, a combination of coronavirus-like particles in plants plus an adjuvant, showed 69.5% efficacy (95% CI 56.7-78.8) against any symptomatic disease caused by five pre-Omicron […]
One sea to many oceans: First of its kind study on oxygen flow and its role in sustaining life globally
The Labrador Sea between Canada and Greenland is often referred to as a ‘lung of the deep ocean’ because it is one of only a handful of locations worldwide where oxygen from the atmosphere can enter the deepest layers of the ocean. The ability to sustain animal life in the deep ocean depends directly on […]
Mass die-off of Magellanic penguins seen during 2019 heat wave
In June 2021, an unprecedented heat wave hit the Pacific Northwest and Canada, killing an estimated 1,400 people. On June 28, Seattle reached 108 F — an all-time high — while the village of Lytton in British Columbia recorded Canada’s highest-ever temperature of 121.3 F on June 29, the day before it was destroyed by […]
Prescribing the abortion pill without restrictions is safe and effective, study finds: Researchers say Canada’s experience offers a roadmap for other countries
Abortion remains safe after Canada removed restrictions on the medical abortion pill mifepristone in November 2017. That’s one of the key findings from a UBC-led study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study used comprehensive government health data to examine 315,000 abortions in Ontario between 2012 and 2020. An analysis showed […]
Immigrants to Canada may have lower rate of stroke than long-term residents
Immigrants to Canada have a 33% lower rate of stroke than long-term residents, according to a study published in the August 18, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “Other studies have shown that immigrants tend to have better health than long-term residents, which is thought to be […]
This Is How You Die In Extreme Heat
The heat dome roasting millions of people across the Pacific Northwest and swaths of Canada, sending temperatures in usually temperate places into record-breaking triple digits, has already claimed hundreds of lives. And those are just the ones we can count so far. Climate change has increased average temperatures 2 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century, […]