Research has implications for improved immunotherapy treatments

08-Jun-2022

Fever, cough, sore throat – symptoms in the spotlight in the era of COVID-19 – are just some of the tell-tale signs of our body’s immune system kicking into action against an unwanted intruder. Whether triggered by an infection, an allergen, or a vaccine, immune responses are driven by a complex ...

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27-May-2022

Some common air pollutants, such as ground-level ozone, are associated with more severe outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection, including admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). To determine whether there was an ...

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A Canadian research team highlights placental sensitivity to such environmental contaminants during pregnancy

05-May-2022

They can be found in cosmetics, plastic containers, furniture, toys, or baby bottles. Endocrine disruptors, molecules disrupting our hormones, are everywhere in our daily lives. However, their alarming effects on human health are little known to the public. A growing number of studies have ...

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Leon Wang’s web tool CityRPI can help locals determine the risks of airborne infection using customizable assessments based on building type and mitigation measures

05-May-2022

It is becoming increasingly likely that humanity will have to learn to live with COVID-19. But that does not mean we should be letting our guards down or ignoring the way it spreads throughout the population. As our understanding of the virus’s transmissibility increases, so too does the range of ...

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19-Apr-2022

A study released today indicates that SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) spreads extensively in households, with children being a significant source of that spread. Approximately 50% of household members were infected from the first-infected individual during the study period. Although kids were less likely ...

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Researchers based at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital harness virally-programmed extracellular vesicles to shrink tumours in mice

13-Apr-2022

A research team based at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital has developed a virus that infects and kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, while also sending out signals to prepare nearby uninfected cancer cells for viral attack. Their new study, published in Nature ...

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A Toronto-based start-up company that partnered for the study, is developing unique UV-LED lighting modules

05-Apr-2022

The same lightbulbs used in offices and public spaces can destroy coronaviruses and HIV, according to a new study from U of T Scarborough. Researchers killed both viruses using UV-LED lights, which can alternate between white light and decontaminating ultraviolet (UV) light. With a cheap ...

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Discovery could open the door to new treatments that improve our immune system’s ability to eliminate the stubborn virus, lead to strides in MS research

29-Mar-2022

Thanks to antiretroviral therapy, HIV infection is no longer the life sentence it once was. But despite the effectiveness of drugs to manage and treat the virus, it can never be fully eliminated from the human body, lingering in some cells deep in different human tissues where it goes unnoticed ...

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18-Mar-2022

Strings of sugars called polysaccharides are the most abundant biopolymers on Earth. Because of their versatile and environmentally friendly properties, these molecules could eventually replace some plastics. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have identified a previously unknown ...

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Findings shed light on factors behind Omicron’s increased transmissibility

24-Jan-2022

Researchers at UBC’s faculty of medicine have conducted the world’s first molecular-level structural analysis of the Omicron variant spike protein. The findings were published in Science. The analysis – done at near atomic resolution using cryo-electron microscopy – reveals how the heavily ...

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