Free-ranging horses forage for 16-20 h/d, travel up to 20 miles and interact with conspecifics as they choose. Conversely, domesticated horses are often kept in individual stalls, meal-fed, turned out for short durations and not given a choice with whom they interact. These living conditions challenge efforts to mimic horses’ natural feeding rhythms and balance […]

Gene therapy is a cutting-edge treatment that can fix or replace faulty genes to treat diseases, but producing the necessary gene delivery cargo, called vectors, is currently expensive and complex. Many of today’s vectors also trigger immune responses in patients, limiting their efficacy. This project explores a new type of vector made from a harmless […]

This project explores how different processing methods affect the nutritional quality and health benefits of proteins from lupin, a sustainable legume crop. Lupin is rich in protein, environmentally resilient, and cost-effective to produce, making it an attractive alternative to meat and dairy proteins. However, the way proteins are extracted and processed can strongly influence how […]

This international research project brings together scientists and students from Canada and Brazil to study how the immune system becomes disrupted in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes—two major chronic diseases. These conditions are linked to ongoing inflammation in the body, which can lead to serious health problems. A hormone-like molecule called interleukin-10 (IL-10) […]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects movement, much like an orchestra losing its conductor; signals become uncoordinated, leading to tremors, stiffness, and difficulty moving. This happens when dopamine-producing cells in the brain’s substantia nigra die. A major cause of this cell death is oxidative stress, an imbalance between harmful molecules called free radicals and the body’s protective […]

Freshwater turtles are one of the most at-risk vertebrate groups, with nearly two-thirds of species facing extinction risk. Nest predation by mammals is a major threat to freshwater turtles, which has resulted in community-based nest protection efforts in many regions around the world, including Nova Scotia, Canada. Although widely implemented, the efficacy of nest protection […]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition that affects movement, often leading to slower walking, difficulty maintaining rhythm, and increased risk of falls. This project investigates whether combining two approaches—transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, and rhythmic auditory stimulation using music—can help improve walking in individuals with PD. The […]

Heart failure is a serious condition that affects millions of people, and doctors need better ways to track how well patients are doing in their daily lives and how their symptoms develop in time. Smartwatches and similar devices could help by measuring movement and activity, but they lack proper standard. Their accuracy can vary between […]

The proposed project aims to implement cutting-edge made-in-Canada approaches to assess and improve the restoration of habitats impacted by resource extraction. This process—known as reclamation—is often implemented by consulting firms and typically does not produce new publicly-available technologies nor public biodiversity data. By implementing modern DNA barcoding and metabarcoding technologies at Canada’s largest copper mine, […]

Recognizing the widespread issue of insufficient dietary fiber intake and the significant role of cereal grains, this project focuses on Canadian wheat cultivars as a vital source of these bioactive compounds. The research will comprehensively analyze the dietary fiber content, including cell wall polysaccharides and fermentable oligosaccharides/polysaccharides in whole grain flour, commonly consumed white flour […]

Biological systems are exceptionally complex. To understand the biochemical processes that influence diseases in whole organisms, information about all the cell types present and their activities is required. Mass cytometry is a Canadian invention that enables the simultaneous quantification of a large number of parameters at the cellular level in heterogeneous biological samples. Mass cytometers […]

Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound is located just northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Historically the sound has been significantly impacted by human activities. Now it is experiencing ecological resurgence, and there is increasing interest in both greater understanding the sound and applying marine spatial planning (MSP). MSP allocates human activities in marine areas to achieve multiple objectives. […]