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Their new technique could make face masks more than just a shield against potentially life-threatening illnesses. Dr. Hyo-Jick Choi, a biomedical engineer and professor, has been investigating how salt crystals can essentially cut through and destroy airborne viruses, like a sharp, briny needle piercing a balloon. But he is quick to warn that his research […]

Montreal/Ottawa, February 11, 2020 — Canada’s 5G future is driving forward at full speed thanks to the crucial ingredient — talent. Baking this recipe is Mitacs, which provides a collaborative innovation model for industry leaders that connects them with academic research to help solve their critical R&D challenges. Mitacs — a not-for-profit organization that fosters […]

Canadian researchers are putting the finishing touches on a face mask that will destroy, not spread, at least three different flu viruses.  The new and improved surgical masks, and first of their kind in the world, will very likely work on the coronavirus, said biomedical engineer Prof. Hyo-Jick Choi at the University of Alberta.  The […]

Consumers may be flocking to stores to buy surgical masks to guard against the coronavirus – clearing out store shelves across Canada – but is this really the best course of preventive action? According to our research, the answer is no. What most people don’t realize is that current masks are limited when it comes […]

The sodium chloride coating applied to the surface of the surgical mask is designed to kill any virus particles which can otherwise survive for up to a week — a risk researchers say the average person isn’t aware of. “Viruses can survive on the surface [of a mask] for a few hours, to a week […]

Even though face masks are selling out everywhere, an Albertan scientist and his team aren’t convinced that masks help. They may even be doing more harm than good. Assistant Professor Hyo-Jick Choi and his team at the University of Alberta are working on face masks that kill coronavirus instead of spreading it. The team believes […]

Should you be in China right now, you’ll see a lot of people wearing surgical masks to protect themselves against coronavirus. A Canadian scientist claims that such masks may actually do more harm than good, if handled improperly – so he’s created a coating that could reportedly change that. A biomedical engineer based out of […]

Hyo-Jick Choi, a biomedical engineer and assistant professor in the chemical and materials engineering department, said masks are a form of personal protection from illnesses, but that they have limitations. “They’re function is to simply filter the pathogens in the air,” Choi explained. “The issue is they do not die right away. So the pathogens, […]

Edmonton, Alberta— In the wake of reports that major retailers are selling out of basic surgical masks amid growing concern of coronavirus spread, a leading University of Alberta researcher — whose Mitacs-funded research intern is leading the charge to develop a universal preventive filter capable of killing viruses — confirms that current masks are limited […]

As people mourned Friday at a memorial service for one of the victims of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752, there was a note of hope with the announcement of a scholarship established in honour of Forough Khadem. Khadem graduated from the University of Manitoba with a PhD in immunology in 2016, and was a promising scientist […]

A Lakehead University scientist seeking to commercialize a breast cancer detection device has been awarded $448,000 by the Canadian Cancer Society to continue her research. The grant allows Dr. Alla Reznik of Thunder Bay to spend the next three years developing the Positron Emission Mammography (PEM), molecular imaging equipment and a new method of diagnosing […]

A researcher at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., has received a national award for his work on creating a breast imaging alternative to traditional mammograms. Sasha Bubon is part of team that has developed a way to use positron emission tomography (PET) to deliver high-resolution images at a much lower dose of radiation. “To […]