Many mineral ores are concentrated by froth flotation, a process that often uses toxic chemicals to selectively alter mineral surface properties. With increasing regulatory restrictions, the industry could face a dead end with no alternative reagents that are sufficiently efficient, low cost or environment friendly. It has been previously shown that peptides could selectively bind mineral surfaces.

Mediphage Bioceuticals aims to leverage its DNA ministring platform for personalized genetic medicine. Mediphage Bioceuticals Inc. greatly appreciate Mitacs Accelerate program in providing support to (1) validate msDNA for gene delivery by carrying out a two-phase study, (2) develop and validate phage display libraries for the specific targeting and delivery to target host cells, and (3) determine potential targets for gene therapy in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease with examination of potential negative effects of bacteriophage vector platforms.

Smart wearable biomedical technology has a wide range of application in health monitoring during life activities or in traumatic situations. This technology can provide a practical and convenient solution for continuous health monitoring of elderlies, and patients suffering from different types of dementia like Alzheimer’s Disease. Additionally, the technology can facilitate trauma medicine by providing compact, portable, and easy to use devices to monitor patients in traumatic situations and can help emergency management by real-time data transfer.

Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia), a threatened species in Ontario, breed primarily in either banks at lakeshores or at exposed surfaces in man-made aggregate pits that occur with and without waterbodies. Pits are suspected to be ecological traps for this species but the relative trade-offs in nesting at pits vs. natural sites are poorly known. Availability of aquatic emergent insects is expected to be highest at lakeshore colonies with associated nutritional benefits including Omega-3 fatty acids. However, Bank Swallows may experience differential mercury exposure depending on habitat use.

Infections acquired through long-term catheter use are a major problem for nearly 20% of all patients. This project seeks to apply Econous Systems’ anti-fouling MEG-OH coating to biomedical plastic catheters to see if they prevent the 3 most common microbes: E. coli, C. Albicans and S. Aureus, f rom growing. This will initially involve in vitro testing using a flow-through model to simulate blood flow, monitoring first static and then dynamic microbe growth using fluorescence microscopy. In vivo testing will follow using rats as a preclinical m

Intestinal bacteria are now recognized as important for maintaining our health. Many questions remain about how these probiotic or health-promoting bacteria act to influence health, and how to use them to combat the numerous health problems associated with inflammation. The objectives of this research project are to determine how products made by one of these bacteria, Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011, influence communication between certain cells important in our immune defences, intestinal epithelial cells and antigen-presenting cells. We have found that products of L.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia which worsens over time. Current therapeutic against Alzheimer’s disease provides only symptomatic treatment. This limited effectiveness provides us with an opportunity to direct our research efforts towards developing new agents to prevent or retard the disease. Studies have shown that very small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a chemical found in marijuana, can slow the production of Amyloid beta (A?) protein. This protein is found to be the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease and a key contributor in its progression.

We now live in a world where people can communicate, in real-time, both directly and remotely (e.g., Skype); and where new technologies (e.g., virtual reality, robots, driverless cars) are blurring the traditional lines of human-human and human-computer interactions. The digital world of industry is experiencing a revolution. Products that have traditionally been displayed on computer screens, smart phones, and tablets as two-dimensional (2D) experiences are now beginning to be displayed in 3D, as augmented, mixed, or virtual reality.

Amber, or fossilized tree resin, is a natural trap that provides a valuable source of palaeontological data on insects in ancient ecosystems. The chemistry and composition of the amber itself can also be used to explore which trees produced each amber deposit, and what conditions these trees lived under. Western Canada contains multiple amber deposits near the end of the Cretaceous period (66 million years ago), and small quantities of amber have been found in the sediments of dinosaur bonebeds.

Genetic engineering has proven to be a useful approach for gene therapy and transformation of value-added agricultural plants. However, the current available technologies suffer from several limitations. These include relative low delivery efficiency with difficult-to-deliver cells or complex constructs and limit freedom-to-operate. Considering advances have been made in the applications of nanotechnology to life science and plant biology, particularly in the realm of gene editing technology, improving delivery efficiency is urgently needed.