News
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Wide distribution of opioid antidote kits can slash overdose deaths during epidemics
April 18, 2018
British Columbia’s Take Home Naloxone program significantly reduced the number of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in 2016, according to new research from the BC Centre for Disease Control and University of British Columbia. The study, published in the Lancet Public Health, used a new… read more
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What’s in a niche? Time to rethink microbial ecology, say researchers
April 16, 2018
Scientists in Canada, the United States and Europe are looking to rewrite the textbook on microbial ecology, advocating a new approach to studying the most abundant form of life on Earth. When it comes to microbe species, they argue, niche is much more important than names. "Traditional ecology… read more
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Student-centred science classes flourishing at UBC, despite slow adoption across North America
April 9, 2018
A new study in Science is highlighting the University of British Columbia's success in adopting student-centred teaching in science classes. The analysis of more than 2,000 classes at colleges and universities across North America found that 55 per cent of science classes continue to be dominated… read more
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UBC and BCIT launch Western Canada's first degree in forensic sciences
March 29, 2018
UBC and BCIT are teaming up to train B.C.’s next generation of forensic scientists. Future graduates of the new combined honours program will receive a bachelor of science in biochemistry and forensic science from UBC and BCIT. It will be the only program of its kind in Western Canada. … read more
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Canada 150 Research Chair in evolutionary genomics joins UBC Science
March 29, 2018
Judith Mank, an evolutionary biologist internationally recognized for her research into the genetic causes and evolutionary consequences of differences between the sexes, will join the University of British Columbia this year. Mank, Josef Penninger and Azim Shariff are the latest international… read more
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Researchers capture first representative of most abundant giant viruses in the sea
March 28, 2018
Bodo saltans virus, the first isolated representative of the most abundant giant viruses in the sea, has been unveiled by researchers at the University of British Columbia. The virus, whose genome weighs in at 1.39 million bases of DNA, is one of the largest giant viruses ever isolated, and the… read more
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New pheromone insight may help predict mountain pine beetle outbreaks
March 19, 2018
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have shed new light on how mountain pine beetles produce an important pheromone called trans-verbenol, which could aid in efforts to better predict outbreaks. In recent years, mountain pine beetles have destroyed more than 25 million hectares of… read more
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Coral reefs suffering in Philippines despite outlawing damaging fishing practices
March 16, 2018
Some of the fishing methods used in today’s small-scale fisheries are causing more damage to coral reefs than ever, a new UBC study has found. The study, conducted in the Philippines by the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries’ Project Seahorse and the Landscape Ecology Group at the… read more
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Reefs help protect vulnerable Caribbean fish from climate change
March 15, 2018
New research from UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries suggests that larger reef areas may help protect the Caribbean’s coral reef fish communities from the impacts of ocean warming. “We are seeing alterations to local reef fish populations due to warming ocean… read more
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Quantum mechanics runs hot in a cold plasma: UBC research
March 14, 2018
University of British Columbia researchers have found a new system that could help yield ‘warmer’ quantum technologies. Quantum technologies such as quantum computers have the potential to process information much more quickly and powerfully than conventional computers. That prospect… read more