News
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MESSENGER Data Paints New Picture of Mercury's Magnetic Field: UBC Researcher
September 29, 2011
A University of British Columbia geophysicist is part of a NASA mission that is analyzing the first sets of data being collected by MESSENGER as it orbits Mercury. The spacecraft is capturing new evidence that challenges many previous assumptions about our innermost planet.Analyses of new data… read more
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What’s So Unique About the Tropics? UBC Researcher Says: “Less Than We Thought”
September 23, 2011
The temperate forests of Canada or Northern Europe may have much more in common with the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia or South America than commonly believed, according to a research group led by a UBC ecologist. The assertion, published today in the journal Science, is focused on the… read more
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UBC Biologist Wins MacArthur “Genius” Grant
September 20, 2011
Sarah Otto, a zoology professor and director of the Biodiversity Research Centre at UBC, is one of 22 people to be picked for this year’s round of ”genius grants” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Otto, a theoretical biologist, has focused on fundamental… read more
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UBC Researchers Find New Culprit in Alzheimer’s Disease: Too Many Blood Vessels
September 1, 2011
UBC scientists may have uncovered a new explanation for how Alzheimer’s disease destroys the brain – a profusion of blood vessels.While the death of cells, whether they are in the walls of blood vessels or in brain tissue, has been a major focus of Alzheimer’s disease research, a… read more
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UBC Science Unveils $61.8M Sustainable Makeover to Biological Sciences Complex
August 29, 2011
A hub for biology research and education at the University of British Columbia has received a $61.8 million makeover that provides more than 2,200 undergraduates and 370 researchers, staff and graduate students with brand new research labs and classrooms featuring the latest sustainability… read more
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New UBC Chemistry Facility 'Instrumental' in Undergraduate Learning
August 16, 2011
UBC unveiled the Department of Chemistry’s new Shared Instrument Facility today, a ground-breaking learning space designed to provide undergraduate students with unprecedented access to highly specialized equipment.The 262 sq. metre space, which combines a laboratory and student resource… read more
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UBC Researchers Discover Key Mechanism that Regulates Shape and Growth of Plants
August 16, 2011
UBC researchers have discovered a key mechanism that -- much like a construction site foreperson -- controls the direction of plant growth as well as the physical properties of the biopolymers that plants produce. The finding is a major clue in a 50-year-long quest to explain how plants… read more
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UBC researchers unveil advances at world's largest computer graphics conference
August 8, 2011
Advances in computer animation and simulation, high dynamic range 3D displays, and text-art design tools are being presented by UBC researchers at the world's largest computer graphics conference, being held in Vancouver this week. Among the technology and findings being presented by UBC computer… read more
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UBC Researchers Create More Powerful “Lab-on-a-Chip” for Genetic Analysis
July 26, 2011
UBC researchers have invented a silicone chip that could make genetic analysis far more sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective by allowing individual cells to fall into place like balls in a pinball machine.The UBC device – about the size of a nine-volt battery – allows scientists to… read more
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Mangrove Fish Uses ‘Bifocal’ Eyes To See Above and Below Water at the Same Time
July 20, 2011
A “four-eyed” fish that sees simultaneously above and below the water line has offered up a dramatic example of how gene expression allows organisms to adapt to their environment.Gregory L. Owens, a University of British Columbia graduate student, found a sharp divide between the upper… read more