News
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How a versatile gut bacterium helps us get our daily dietary fibre
January 19, 2014
UBC researchers have discovered the genetic machinery that turns a common gut bacterium into the swiss army knife of the digestive tract -- helping us to metabolize a main component of dietary fibre from the cell walls of fruits and vegetables. The findings illuminate the specialized roles played… read more
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Improved maps, old school pencils, await UBC geology students this summer
January 15, 2014
This May, UBC geology students doing field studies will be able to put theory into practise -- and avoid cliffs -- using new base maps funded through Shell Canada’s Campus Ambassador Program (CAP). Every summer UBC geology students hone their field techniques at the Geological Field School… read more
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Newly discovered three-star system to challenge Einstein’s theory of General Relativity
January 5, 2014
A newly discovered system of two white dwarf stars and a superdense pulsar–all packed within a space smaller than the Earth’s orbit around the sun–is enabling astronomers to probe a range of cosmic mysteries, including the very nature of gravity itself. The international team,… read more
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Catching the big wave: 'Universal ripple' could hold the secret to high-temperature superconductivity
December 19, 2013
UBC researchers have discovered a universal electronic state that controls the behavior of high-temperature superconducting copper-oxide ceramics. The work, published this week in the journal Science, reveals the universal existence of so-called ‘charge-density-waves’ -- static… read more
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Scientific data lost at alarming rate
December 19, 2013
Eighty per cent of scientific data are lost within two decades, according to a new study that tracks the accessibility of data over time. The culprits? Old e-mail addresses and obsolete storage devices. “Publicly funded science generates an extraordinary amount of data each year,”… read more
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UBC lead on CERN-ATLAS project to head Physics and Astronomy
December 18, 2013
UBC’s lead researcher on the ATLAS project – one of two large detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN responsible for discovering the Higgs boson – has been named head of the University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Colin Gay, a leading expert in… read more
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UBC immunologist honoured with BC women in science award
December 17, 2013
UBC immunologist Pauline Johnson has been recognized with a 2013 Community Leadership and Excellence Award by the Minerva Foundation for BC Women, a non-profit dedicated to promoting women and leadership in the province. Johnson is the only second tenured female professor in the history of the… read more
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UBC researchers receive $7.2 million to develop test for pulmonary disease 'lung attacks'
December 6, 2013
Two UBC researchers are leading a $7.2 million project to develop a test identifying patients at risk for the debilitating and often deadly lung attacks brought on by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada and a leading cause of hospital… read more
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UBC-SFU visual analytics hub receives $1.3 million in government, industry support
December 3, 2013
The Government of Canada and IBM have announced $1.3 million in support to help establish the Visual Analytics Research and Instructional Laboratories (VIVA), a data-visualization research and training partnership between UBC and Simon Fraser University. The announcement includes a Federal… read more
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UBC researchers named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
November 25, 2013
Three UBC ecologists who study the natural world at very different scales--from marine ecosystems, to plant and soil systems, to microbial communities--have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific… read more