News
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New migration insights could help conserve the world's farthest-migrating species
August 5, 2021
The Arctic tern—which has the world record for the longest annual migration—uses just a few select routes, a key finding that could help efforts to conserve the species, according to a new University of British Columbia study. Globally, Arctic terns are declining and their wide… read more
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Scientists capture most-detailed radio image of Andromeda galaxy to date
July 28, 2021
Scientists have published a new, detailed radio image of the Andromeda galaxy – the Milky Way’s sister galaxy – which will allow them to identify and study the regions of Andromeda where new stars are born. The study – which is the first to create a radio image of… read more
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Astronomers discover smallest white dwarf ever
June 30, 2021
Caltech and University of British Columbia (UBC) astronomers have discovered the smallest and most massive white dwarf star ever seen—at 4,300 kilometers across it’s just larger than Earth's moon. Though the white dwarf is small, it is heavy, "packing a mass greater than that of… read more
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Marine biologist William Cheung named director of UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
June 16, 2021
Renowned marine biologist William Cheung has been appointed director of the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. The appointment is effective July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026 with the possibility of an extension. Cheung is an international leader in studying how climate change affects… read more
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UBC Science researchers receive $7 million in NSERC funding
June 15, 2021
Thirty-three UBC Science faculty members received a total of $7 million in Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants to support long-term research goals for individual researchers for up to five years. This comes from a total of 85 projects across UBC… read more
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Canadian telescope detects 500 fast radio bursts in a year, quadrupling number of known FRBs
June 9, 2021
The CHIME telescope detected 535 new fast radio bursts during its first year of operation – from 2018 and to 2019 – quadrupling the number of known occurrences of the puzzling pulses of radio energy from far outside our galaxy. Scientists with the CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity… read more
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National Research Council of Canada, UBC launch clean energy collaboration centre
June 4, 2021
The University of British Columbia and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) have launched a Collaboration Centre for Clean Energy Transition, the Government of Canada announced today. The new centre aims to accelerate the development and integration of affordable clean alternatives… read more
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Botanical garden as time capsule: Untangling plants’ potential to sequester carbon
June 3, 2021
A study conducted at two botanical gardens in Canada may help researchers better understand the ability of plant life to act as Earth’s carbon sink, and the ability of plant species to adapt to future environmental pressures. “Nature’s primary means of sequestering carbon relies… read more
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Salmon virus originally from the Atlantic, spread to B.C. wild salmon from farms
May 26, 2021
Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) – which is associated with kidney and liver damage in Chinook salmon – is continually being transmitted between open-net salmon farms and wild juvenile Chinook salmon in British Columbia waters, according to a new genomics analysis published today in Science… read more
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Canadian researchers lead development and testing of promising treatment for COVID-19 variants
May 11, 2021
A new anti-viral drug could improve COVID-19 outcomes and survival rates — and is highly effective against multiple variants — according to a new study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Université de Sherbrooke. The drug, called N-0385, blocks the… read more