News
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UBC Researchers Discover Key to Immune Cell’s 'Internal Guidance' System
February 5, 2012
UBC researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host. The discovery of the role played by the molecule CD74 could help immunologists investigate treatments that offer better immune… read more
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Carbon Dioxide Gas Reaction Fuels 'Diamond Taxis': UBC Volcanologist
January 19, 2012
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but diamond miners may have a fairly simple chemical reaction to thank for much of their industry’s success. Geologists have long known that diamonds are often embedded and transported upward to the Earth's surface by molten kimberlites. But… read more
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Potential New Approach to Targeting Hepatitis C Could Benefit 170 Million People Worldwide
January 16, 2012
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found a new way to block infection from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the liver that could lead to new therapies for those affected by this and other infectious diseases.More than 170 million people worldwide suffer from hepatitis C, the… read more
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UBC astronomers help map the Universe's dark matter at unprecedented scale
January 9, 2012
UBC and University of Edinburgh astronomers have mapped dark matter on the largest scale ever observed, according to results released today at the winter American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas. The findings, presented by Dr Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland… read more
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UBC Mathematics Appoints New Head
January 3, 2012
Professor Michael Bennett, an expert in Number Theory and Diophantine problems, has been appointed head of the Department of Mathematics effective January 1, 2012.Bennett received his PhD in mathematics from UBC in 1993, and after appointments at the University of Michigan, the Institute for… read more
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UBC Microbiologist One of Nature’s 2011 Science Newsmakers
December 29, 2011
Rosie Redfield, the UBC microbiologist who has been one of the most vocal critics of the NASA-funded 'arsenic-life' study, has been named by the journal Nature as one of Ten People Who Mattered This Year.On December 4 2010, Redfield blogged about the study published in Science. In the study,… read more
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Lava Fingerprinting Reveals Differences Between Hawaii's Twin Volcanoes
November 29, 2011
Hawaii's main volcano chains--the Loa and Kea trends--have distinct sources of magma and unique plumbing systems connecting them to the Earth’s deep mantle, according to UBC research published this week in Nature Geoscience, in conjunction with researchers at the universities of Hawaii and… read more
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Combination of Warming and Predation Could Accelerate Marine Biodiversity Loss
November 28, 2011
The biodiversity loss caused by climate change will result from a combination of rising temperatures and predation – and may be more severe than currently predicted, according to a study by University of British Columbia zoologist Christopher Harley.The study, published in the current issue… read more
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More Than 50-per-cent Decline in Elephants in Eastern Congo Due to Human Conflict: UBC Research
November 10, 2011
Humans play a far greater role in the fate of African elephants than habitat, and human conflict in particular has a devastating impact on these largest terrestrial animals, according to a new University of British Columbia study published online in PLoS ONE this week.In some of the best… read more
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Global Warming Will Reduce Populations of Plant-eaters
October 6, 2011
Rising world temperatures will cause most populations of herbivores – including plant-eating fish – to decline, according to a University of British Columbia biologist. That prediction resulted from updated mathematical models that integrate fundamental biological effects of… read more