University of Alberta In the News

Video games can help retrain damaged brains

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Playing video games isn't often seen as the healthiest pastime for young people, but a new educational game is helping retrain the brains of students with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a U of A professor says.

Obesity in pregnancy strongest predictor of large babies

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Obesity during pregnancy is the strongest predictor of whether a mother will give birth to a large infant, a new study from Canada suggests.

World champion hurdler added to Bailey international meet

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Add Jason Richardson to the list of big-name track and field stars headed to Edmonton next month for the Donovan Bailey Invitational at the U of A.

University plays good neighbour

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

A dispute between communities around the south campus and the University of Alberta found resolution this week as both sides agreed to a new consultation process.

Canada's renowned freshwater research site to close

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Canadian government has cancelled its funding for the Experimental Lakes Area, a research site in northwestern Ontario that has led to the re-shaping of international policies.

Calgary solar panel program saves homeowners nothing in electricity bills: analysis

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

University of Alberta professor Andrew Leach breaks down a Calgary-based solar panel program, concluding it does not save consumers money on their electricity bills.

Why identical twins look different

Sun, 20 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

A look at two twin boys reveals very different physical and personality traits, prompting the writer to purchase a genetic sampling kit from the University of Alberta.

Harper Government shuts down 'groundbreaking' water station

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The Harper Government is closing the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, a research station scientists have used for decades to study how pollutants like acid rain and phosphates affect lakes. U of A professor David Schindler, who founded and led the project from 1968 to 1989, is not surprised the government has taken this action.

Oil politics: Canada's role in the energy world

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Mention Canada, and images of mounties, maple syrup or possibly Montreal are most likely to spring to mind. But the country is sitting on the second-largest oil reserves in the world.

What the #!%*? is the 'Dutch disease' exactly and does Canada have it?

Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The National Post breaks down NDP leader Thomas Mulcair’s recent “Dutch disease” comments about the oilsands.

U of A students create website aimed at stopping sexual violence

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

A group of University of Alberta students is trying to tackle sexual violence with the launch of its new website, ConsentEd.ca. The site, which went live last week, aims to clarify the public’s understanding of consensual sex and place the responsibility of sexual violence on the perpetrator

Scientists exaggerating risk of cuts to federal research programs: Goodyear

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Concern about cuts to two federal science programs has been overblown, says Gary Goodyear, the minister in charge of the Harper government's research policy. Article mentions a fungus collection at the University of Alberta whose current funding ends in March 2013.

Studies Say

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

A roundup of post-secondary research across Canada cites consumer research conducted by Kyle Murray of the Alberta School of Business.

Federal cuts called a 'disaster' for Canadian science

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Federal cutbacks are a life-and-death issue for Lynne Sigler. As curator of one of Canada’s largest collections of fungi, Sigler has 11,500 strains of living organisms under her care, from the fungi killing North American bats with white-nose syndrome to soil microbes that help rare orchids thrive. The microfungus collection and herbarium at the University of Alberta has been nurturing fungi for more than 50 years. And since 1990 it has been considered a “unique” national resource worthy of federal money. No more. Funding for the collection, and dozens of other “major” and “unique” science facilities and resources across Canada, has been hit by federal cuts in what is being described as a “disaster” for Canadian science. “It’s very dismaying,” Sigler says of a moratorium Ottawa has slapped on the program that pays for the technician and supplies that help keep the fungus collection alive. Unless the moratorium is lifted, she says, funding for the collection will run out in less than a year.

Federal funding cuts threaten Arctic research: scientists

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

EDMONTON - Last August, dozens of scientists from universities in Alberta, British Columbia and other parts of the country travelled to the Yukon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Arctic Institute of North America’s Kluane Research Station and its $2.5 million renovation. Coming mostly from the federal government’s $85 million Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund, the investment in Kluane and several other polar research stations like it was supposed to help make Canada a global leader in responding to and adapting to climate change, resource development and geopolitical issues that are rapidly transforming the Arctic. In response to the federal budgets cuts, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council has ended a funding program that helps keep these and other research facilities across Canada operational. “This seems like really bad planning and even worse policy, to invest heavily in infrastructure without a plan for operating these facilities,” says University of Alberta scientist David Hik, who sits on the board of the Arctic Institute and relies on the Kluane Research Station to support him and his students. “Perhaps there are some longer-term alternatives, but everyone I know is scrambling right now just to keep operational.”

CHINA MOVING UP CANADA’S ENERGY VALUE CHAIN

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

As Canada and Asia deepen their energy ties, the trading relationship is beginning to expand beyond Chinese companies buying Canadian oil, with interest starting to move across the sector’s value chain. U of A political science professor Wenran Jiang is quoted, and there is reference to Canada-China energy forums. Article also appears on CTV.ca.

DIVERSIFY ECONOMY, ALBERTA URGED

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera said Alberta must diversify its economy or put tomorrow’s prosperity at risk.. Article outlines a presentation President Samarasekera made to a real estate forum in Edmonton yesterday. Story also appeared in the Edmonton Journal.

U OF A SPORTS CENTRE HELPS DISABLED EXERCISE ALONGSIDE OTHER ATHLETES

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

The University of Alberta’s Saville Community Sports Centre now has special workout equipment for people with disabilities that allows them to exercise at their convenience alongside their able-bodied family and friends.

New medical technology to give patients more control over medical info

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

A new partnership between the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the U of A and Telus will help patients access and share their health information remotely using a new platform called Health Space. Martin Ferguson-Pell, dean of the faculty and chair of the Health Sciences Council is quoted.

Unicorns and sex? Out of this world

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 -0600

"The thorny penis of the devil, the bizarre anal insertions of Satanists and the mysterious probing of aliens," not to mention a King of Aragon who spent much of his time searching for unicorn horns, all come under scrutiny in a new academic journal. The piece also mentions that editor Kirsten Uszkalo, Circa scholar at the University of Alberta and e-lab scholar at Athabasca University, also in Canada, said the journal was not for "ghost hunters or magical practitioners".