News
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What exactly is a planet? Scientists propose improved definition
July 11, 2024
The proposal refines current definitions that require planets to be round bodies which orbit our sun and have ‘cleared’ their neighbourhoodsPlanetary scientists are proposing a new definition for what we can call a planet. If accepted, it would replace the current definition from 2006 that caused… read more
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Chemists synthesize an improved building block for medicines
July 2, 2024
Chemists have overcome a major hurdle in synthesizing a more stable form of heterocycle—a family of organic compounds that are a common component of most modern pharmaceuticals.The research, which could expand the toolkit available to drug developers in improving the safety profiles of medications… read more
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The mystery of the missing butterflies in Vancouver
June 25, 2024
A wet, cool spring and spraying for invasive insects may be the reasons behind a drop in butterfly sightings this year. iNaturalist, an online service where anyone can upload their pictures or observations of plants and animals, records about 400 observations of 22 species of butterflies in… read more
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UBC Chemistry, EOAS welcome new leadership
June 24, 2024
Two of UBC’s largest science units will welcome new heads this summer, with Professor Laurel Schafer and Dr. Erik Eberhardt taking on the leadership of the departments of Chemistry and Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, respectively. Both appointments begin July 1, 2024. Professor Schafer,… read more
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UBC expands first-year, small-class experience to all BSc students
June 17, 2024
A renewed and expanded first-year seminar will give all incoming UBC Science students a crucial small class experience—one that will challenge them to think critically about what it means to be part of the scientific community.“SCIE 113 is unlike any other first-year experience available at UBC,”… read more
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Computational sciences research at UBC gets Discovery Grant, CRC boost
June 14, 2024
Computer visualization, quantum computing, advanced mathematics and statistical models for conservation efforts are among the research areas being funded at UBC Science as part of the latest round of NSERC Discovery Grant investments.The new Discovery Grant funding announced today will support… read more
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Basic income could solve global poverty and stop environmental destruction, study finds
June 7, 2024
Providing a basic income could boost global gross domestic product (GDP) by $US163 trillion while acting to curb environmental degradation, UBC research has found.An analysis of 186 countries found that providing basic income, or regular, set payments to all adults in the world, could boost global… read more
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Hummingbirds have feelings too: an acute sense of touch that could help them hover
May 29, 2024
New research mapping a hummingbirds’ sense of touch onto specific areas of the brain shows the little creatures are sensitive to even slight puffs of air.The study, published today in Current Biology, could help show just how hummingbirds perform their signature hover near the flowers they… read more
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Euclid serves up first science with a side of stellar images
May 23, 2024
Five new images of the universe taken by the Euclid satellite are now available, along with the mission’s first scientific papers and data. The never-before-seen images demonstrate the European Space Agency (ESA) satellite’s ability to unravel the secrets of the cosmos and enable scientists to… read more
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UBC zoologist named fellow of the Royal Society UK
May 16, 2024
Dr. Sally Otto—a theoretical biologist focused on fundamental questions of population genetics and evolution—has been elected to the Fellowship of the United Kingdom’s Royal Society. She joins 12 other UBC Science fellows elected to the society over the past decades.A highly acclaimed scientist, Dr… read more