News
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Hummingbirds rely on raw power, not physique, to outmaneuver rivals
November 19, 2015
Brute strength is surprisingly important to the ability of hummingbirds to outmaneuver rivals for nectar and evade predators, according to new University of British Columbia research published in eLife. An intensive study of 20 Anna’s hummingbirds, Calypte anna, reveals that birds with the… read more
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UBC physicists share in $3M Breakthrough Prize
November 9, 2015
Twenty-nine current and past UBC researchers will each take home a modest share of the $3 million Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics announced yesterday at NASA Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California. The high-profile Silicon-Valley funded award is being shared between five… read more
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UBC’s Life Sciences Institute celebrates a decade of interdisciplinary excellence
October 30, 2015
With over 2,000 scholarly publications, 30,000 citations, more than 20 spin-off companies, 250 patents, three approved drugs and another 10 in clinical trials, UBC’s Life Sciences Institute is celebrating a precocious first decade of existence. As scientists from the Faculty of Medicine and… read more
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Only four per cent of the ocean is protected: UBC research
October 26, 2015
Despite global efforts to increase the area of the ocean that is protected, only four per cent of it lies within marine protected areas (MPAs), according to a University of British Columbia study. UBC Institute for Ocean and Fisheries researchers found that major swaths of the ocean must still be… read more
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Physics course adopts open textbook, saves students $90,000
October 15, 2015
UBC students are collectively saving $90,000 this year in a physics course by shifting to an open textbook. Students in Introductory Physics (PHYS 100), previously used a commercial textbook as well as four other services or tools to support learning in the course. Beginning in September they… read more
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Researchers create inside-out plants to watch how cellulose forms
October 8, 2015
Researchers have been able to watch the interior cells of a plant synthesize cellulose for the first time by tricking the cells into growing on the plant’s surface. “The bulk of the world's cellulose is produced within the thickened secondary cell walls of tissues hidden inside the… read more
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Taking stock of women in STEM on Ada Lovelace Day
October 7, 2015
By Adriana Suarez-Gonzalez October 13 is Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Widely regarded as the first computer programmer, in 1842 Lovelace created an algorithm for Charles Babbage’s… read more
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Organic semiconductors get weird at the edge: UBC research
October 6, 2015
As the push for tinier and faster electronics continues, a new finding by UBC scientists could help inform the design of the next generation of cheaper, more efficient devices. The work, published this week in Nature Communications, details how electronic properties at the edges of organic… read more
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Four gut bacteria decrease asthma risk in infants
September 24, 2015
New research by scientists at UBC and BC Children’s Hospital finds that infants can be protected from getting asthma if they acquire four types of gut bacteria by three months of age. More than 300 families from across Canada participated in this research through the Canadian Healthy Infant… read more
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UBC Science students take ‘probeeotic’ idea to international genetics competition
September 18, 2015
A group of UBC students is betting probiotics could be the key to protecting bees from death caused by harmful pesticides. “We rely heavily on bees for our food. They pollinate more than $15 billion worth of crops in the U.S. every year, but they are dying at alarming rates,” said Yu… read more