News
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Canadian-led study akin to antimatter forensics
August 1, 2017
A Canadian-led investigation has opened a new chapter in antimatter research. In a study published today in Nature, the ALPHA Collaboration, which includes 50 physicists from 17 institutions including UBC, reports the first detailed observation of spectral lines from an antimatter atom. … read more
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Software teaches computer characters to walk, run, play soccer
July 31, 2017
Computer characters and eventually robots could learn complex motor skills like walking and running through trial and error, thanks to a milestone algorithm developed by a University of British Columbia researcher. “We’re creating physically-simulated humans that learn to move with… read more
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UBC research unearths Canadian sapphires fit for a queen
July 27, 2017
New research from UBC mineralogists could make it easier to find high-quality Canadian sapphires, the same sparkling blue gems that adorn Queen Elizabeth II’s Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch. The so-called Beluga sapphires were discovered near Kimmirut, Baffin Island, Nunavut by brothers… read more
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Hostage situation or harmony? Researchers rethink symbiosis
July 27, 2017
Relationships where two organisms depend on each other, known as symbiosis, evoke images of partnership and cooperation. But a new study in Nature Ecology and Evolution shows that, when it comes to certain microorganisms, symbiotic partners are actually being held “hostage”. The… read more
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Could evolution rescue some BC salmon from climate change?
July 26, 2017
UBC zoologists are set to investigate whether salmon populations are undergoing genetic adaptation to environmental changes—a so-called ‘evolutionary rescue’. The Genome BC-funded research could help predict the fate of salmon species under alternative climate scenarios. Wild… read more
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UBC environmental sustainability research hub welcomes new director
July 13, 2017
Milind Kandlikar has been appointed director of UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) for a four-year term, effective July 1, 2017. Kandlikar’s research focuses on the intersection of technology innovation, human development and the global… read more
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Why we still don’t get gravity
July 5, 2017
Gravity. It’s simple, right? Objects, the larger the better, exerting force on each other. Turns out, it’s a complex subject that we don’t quite understand yet. In the 1970s physicist Stephen Hawking declared that gravity was incompatible with quantum mechanics—laws… read more
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UBC computer scientist named VP research and innovation
June 26, 2017
Gail Murphy, a leading expert in software engineering and chief scientist at Vancouver-based Tasktop Technologies, has been appointed UBC’s Vice-President, Research and Innovation. She will formally begin the role on August 14, 2017. As UBC’s Associate Vice-President Research pro… read more
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How AI helped the FCC auction off $19-billion worth of radio spectrum
June 26, 2017
Mobile phone carriers scooped up airwaves no longer needed by television broadcasters last March in a $19-billion auction designed by UBC and Stanford University researchers. While airwave auctions are nothing new, this one was so complex and involved so many moving parts that computer science was… read more
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Ten million tonnes of fish wasted every year despite declining fish stocks
June 26, 2017
Industrial fishing fleets dump nearly 10 million tonnes of good fish back into the ocean every year, according to new research. The study by researchers with Sea Around Us, an initiative at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and the University of… read more