91˿Ƶ

Male guppies exposed to predators in the wild or in captivity have heavier brains than those living in relatively predator-free conditions, according to new research published in the journal Functional Ecology.

Behavioural ecologists at 91˿Ƶ in Montreal sampled guppies from two rivers in northern Trinidad. In each river, guppies live both above a waterfall, a location that only guppies and a few other small species of fish have managed to colonize, and below the fall, where many predators including pike cichlids live.

Classified as: guppies, brains, ecology, Biology, predators, Simon Reader, behavioural ecologists
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Published on: 4 Jun 2018

Poison dart frogs are well known for their deadly toxins and bright colours, which have made them a classic example of warning coloration.

The Dyeing Dart Frog, for example, is highly toxic and warns its predators with a bright yellow-and-black pattern.

However, new research led by scientists at the University of Bristol has revealed that the colour pattern does more than simply signal “danger”. Counterintuitively, it also works as camouflage.


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Classified as: poison dart frogs, Camouflage, 91˿Ƶ, Redpath Museum, University of Bristol
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Published on: 4 Jun 2018

The level of sex hormones such as testosterone in a man's body could influence his religiosity. A new study by Aniruddha Das of 91˿Ƶ in the Springer journalAdaptive Human Behavior and Physiologyadds to the growing body of evidence that religiosity is influenced not only by upbringing or psychological makeup, but that physiological factors could also play a role.

Classified as: sex hormones, religion, testosterone, androgen, DHEA, Aniruddha Das, sociology
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Published on: 1 Jun 2018

It's not every day that one receives a call from a researcher asking if they want to participate in a study on aging for the next 20 years of their lives. That's what 50,000 Canadians aged 45 to 85 have agreed to do in taking part of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), one of the largest and most comprehensive studies on the health and well-being of the country’s aging population.

Classified as: aging, christina wolfson, canadian longitudinal study on aging, Research Institute of the 91˿Ƶ Health Centre (RI-MUHC)
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Published on: 31 May 2018

You are what you eat. Or so the saying goes. Science now tells us that we are what the bacteria living in our intestinal tract eat and this could have an influence on how well we age. Building on this, 91˿Ƶ scientists fed fruit flies with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement called Triphala that was able to prolong the flies’ longevity by 60 % and protect them against chronic diseases associated with aging.

Classified as: probiotics, microbiome, fruit fly, bacteria, Satya Prakash, Susan Westfall
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Published on: 31 May 2018
Pain-induced changes in the brain’s opioid receptor system may explain the limited effectiveness of opioid therapy in chronic pain and may play a role in the depression that often accompanies it, according to a study from the NIH’s Intramural Research Program and 91˿Ƶ. Although the study, published in the journal Pain, was conducted in rats, and the results of animal studies may not be directly applicable to people, the findings provide new insights into how the brain may respond to pain and opioids.
Classified as: chronic pain, opiods, Laura Stone
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Published on: 27 May 2018

Top finalists pitch to win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes

By Diane Weidner, Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning

Classified as: CLIC, Hakim Family Prize
Published on: 25 May 2018

We are all familiar with the drawbacks of dehydration, but we rarely hear about the harmful effects of overhydration. It is known that excess fluid accumulation can lead to dangerously low sodium levels in the blood or hyponatremia – a life-threatening condition that can result in brain swelling. Similarly, more is known about the mechanisms in the body that detect and drive thirst while little is known about how the brain detects a state of overhydration.

Classified as: hyponatremia, Charles Bourque, dehydration, overhydration, Research Institute of the 91˿Ƶ Health Centre (RI-MUHC)
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Published on: 22 May 2018

A new method for projecting how the temperature will respond to human impacts supports the outlook for substantial global warming throughout this century – but also indicates that, in many regions, warming patterns are likely to vary significantly from those estimated by widely used computer models.

Classified as: climate change, projections, historical temperature increase, climate models, Shaun Lovejoy, Raphaël Hébert
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Published on: 15 May 2018

A team of researchers believe that Quebec’s protected areas are poised to become biodiversity refuges of continental importance. They used ecological niche modeling to calculate potential changes in the presence of 529 species in about 1/3 of the protected areas in southern Quebec almost all of which were under 50 km2 in size. Their results suggest that fifty - eighty years from now (between 2071–2100) close to half of the protected regions of southern Quebec may see a species turnover of greater than 80 %.

Classified as: science, conservation, Research, School of the Environment, climate change, ecosystem response to climate change
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Published on: 15 May 2018

Historically, our view of host defense against infection was that we must eliminate pathogens to eradicate disease. However, this perspective has recently been challenged as scientists have taken a lesson from plant biologists about an ancient strategy involving the ability to “tolerate” rather than “resist” infection to maintain health. This concept, referred to as “disease tolerance”, provides an opportunity to develop new strategies that mitigate the consequences of infection.

Classified as: tuberculosis, cyclophilin D, CypD, Maziar Divangahi
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Published on: 11 May 2018
The human heart can be viewed as both a mechanical and an electrical device – one that contracts and pumps billions of times over an average lifespan. How does it manage to achieve this feat without lapsing into dangerous irregularities?
Classified as: Heart, Kaleem Siddiqi, computer science, CIM
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Published on: 10 May 2018

Dr. Claudio Cuello, Professor and inaugural Charles E. Frosst/Merck endowed Chair in Pharmacology at 91˿Ƶ’s Faculty of Medicine is among a group of 48 leading biomedical and health scientists whose work is being recognized with election to the prestigious British Academy of Medical Sciences, announced on May 10. The new Fellows have been elected for their outstanding contributions to biomedical and health science, leading research discoveries, and translating developments into benefits for patients and the wider society.

Classified as: Alzheimer's disease, Brain@91˿Ƶ, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Published on: 10 May 2018

91˿Ƶ chemistry professors Hanadi Sleiman and Chao-Jun Li are among the six recipients of this year’s Killam Research Fellowships. The two-year fellowships, awarded to exceptional researchers working on groundbreaking projects of broad significance, are valued at $70,000 a year.
Classified as: Hanadi Sleiman, Chao-Jun Li, Department of Chemistry, Killam fellowships
Published on: 8 May 2018

Have you ever considered that working night shifts may, in the long run, have an impact on your health? A team of researchers from the 91˿Ƶ affiliated Douglas Mental Health University Institute (DMHUI) has discovered that genes regulating important biological processes are incapable of adapting to new sleeping and eating patterns and that most of them stay tuned to their daytime biological clock rhythms.

Classified as: night shifts, Douglas Mental Health Institute, Laura Kervezee, Marc Cuesta, Nicolas Cermakian and Diane B. Boivin
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Published on: 7 May 2018

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