Highly targeted therapies can be devised to treat a variety of cancers, specifically acting on the mutated genes causing tumor growth. One challenge with such techniques is delivering the therapy to the interior of the cancer cell, when enzymes in the blood can actively break down the therapeutic molecules or when delivery to healthy cells […]

Today’s modern industries aim at supplying premium quality products that can offer added performance value, lower weight, less environmental impact, decreased manufacturing and maintenance costs, increased durability and safety, and eventually higher customer satisfaction and market competitiveness. To achieve these milestones, new engineered materials such as fiber-reinforced polymers are rapidly replacing traditional single materials such […]

Orthoses are planar insoles for countering the constant and permanent deformations caused by muscular or nerve weaknesses. The orthosis fabrication process at VRAM currently involves five labor-intensive stages: the assessment of the gait, the determination of the corrective measures, the evaluation of the orthosis dimensions, the creation of hand-carved molds for forming the orthosis, and […]

Many genetic diseases caused by small genetic mutations do not result in complete loss of protein fnction, but rather are due to the degradation of mutant protein by a “quality control” mechanism (endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation-ERAD) soon after it is made. Prominent amongst such ERAD-dependent diseases is Cystic Fibrosis(CF), a chronic, progressive, life-threatening genetic disease that […]

Aviation industry uses flight data recorders (FDR) to monitor a high number of parameters during each flight it operates. It is expected that analyzing this data will provide useful information to airlines for improving flight safety and efficiency. However, this analysis is a challenging task in itself because the amount of accumulated data is enormous […]

The Honna River is the drinking water source for the Village of Queen Charlotte (pop. 950), and is also important salmon habitat. Sediment from unpaved forest roads near the river may be entering the channel in significant quantities, reducing water quality. In two previous internships, intern David Reid implemented a channel reach-scale study of all […]

Au Canada, on dénombre plus de deux millions de lacs répartis sur près de 8% de la superficie du pays. En plus d’affecter le climat régional, les lacs et réservoirs de toutes tailles évaporent des quantités substantielles d’eau qui dès lors ne sont plus disponibles pour les gestionnaires de la ressource comme Hydro-Québec. À partir […]

Au cours des dix dernières années, les entreprises pharmaceutiques mondiales ont été confrontées à plusieurs problèmes dont celui de la baisse significative de la productivité de la recherche et développement (R&D). En effet, au cours de cette période, les dépenses de R&D de l’industrie ont augmenté dramatiquement tandis que le nombre de nouveaux médicaments approuvés […]

ln Situ Recovery (ISR) mining is used for about 47% of uranium mining globally. Regulations on restoration of mined aquifers require a return to pre-mining baseline water quality conditions, or conditions where the risk of human exposure is as low as reasonably achievable. Determining the attenuating capacity of down-gradient aquifer solids is key to quantifying […]

For over 100 years, malocclusion is being treated by using metal arch-wires, braces and bands. But these appliances are unaesthetic for the patients so these days patients are more inclined towards clear aligners. However the treatment duration is long which is of a great concern to the orthodontist as it might effects the general oral […]

Polyurethane foams are so commonly used, from rigid dashboards in cars, to insulation in buildings, and the comfy mattresses we sleep upon. Replacing the petrochemical resources used to make them with renewable resources like bark would be a great stride towards sustainability. In order for this to be done the conversion process of bark into […]

Canadians are increasingly using cycling as a means of transportation. However, understanding the risks is problematic as data is limited. To address this, the Spatial Pattern Analysis and Research (SPAR) Lab has created a web-map, BikeMaps.org, to gather data from cyclists on crashes, near misses, hazards, and thefts. Cyclists around the world have enthusiastically begun […]