Did You Know?

Say Cheese!

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 17:27:26 +0000

It was the 1960’s and cheese producers were cheesed off. People were just not eating enough veal. Slaughterhouses were running short of calf stomachs and the cheese industry was feeling the pinch. There was not enough rennet to meet the demands of turophiles (that's "cheese lovers" from the Greek “turo” for cheese) around the world.

Next Time it Rains, You May Want to Pack More Than Just Your Umbrella

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Have you ever felt sluggish or achy on a rainy day? You’re not alone. While you could see a rainy day as an excuse to cozy up with freshly brewed tea and a movie, your rain-induced back pain may be out of your control.

Orange You Overdoing It? A Deep Dive into the Science of Zone Training

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Truth About Heart Rate Zones: Beyond the Burn

A Frankenstein Backgrounder

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 17:19:58 +0000

Mention Frankenstein, and what springs to most people's minds is Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the “monster.” That's because they’ve skipped the book and seen the movie, which is a true Hollywood-style horror story. In writing her novel, Mary Shelley did not intend to scare her readers—what she penned was a work of science fiction that explored the consequences of allowing science to go astray.

Recycling is Here to Stay: Unpacking Quebec’s Recycling Paradigm Shift

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2025, Quebec not only celebrated the beginning of a new year–– it welcomed a new, bold era of recycling. Quebec’s recycling system is now managed by Éco Entreprises Québec (EEQ), a private non-profit organization that oversees all operations related to selective collection. In Quebec, selective collection refers to the curbside recycling system where household waste is collected separately from your recyclables.

There is Much Pep in Peptide Research

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 28 May 2025 20:47:04 +0000

Peptides are hot! Check the label of a skin care product and you are likely to come across a peptide. Read one of the numerous articles about Ozempic and you will discover that the active ingredient, semaglutide, is a peptide. Have a flagging libido? Kisspentin may be of help. It’s a peptide.

Gutta Percha-From Golf Balls to Root Canals

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 14 May 2025 13:57:24 +0000

Gutta percha is the hardened latex of the Palaquium gutta tree, originally native to Malaysia. This is a natural “thermoplastic” substance, meaning it can be softened with heat and shaped into a form that is retained on cooling. Gutta percha was introduced to Europe in 1842 by Dr. William Montgomerie, a surgeon serving with the British army in the East Indies who had originally come across the substance in Singapore where it was being used to make handles for machetes. He thought the substance would be useful to produce handles for medical devices as well as splints for fractures.

Want to Research Something? This Is How You Get Money for It

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:12:36 +0000

Have you ever seen Black Hawk helicopters fly above the �鶹ɫ��Ƭ campus? Me neither. Yet, there is a persistent conspiracy theory that might as well invoke their presence.

The Sex Lives of Insects

Melody Ko MD — Wed, 07 May 2025 15:47:43 +0000

Sex is always a hot topic. Sex in insects is even more intriguing. Most people’s first reaction when they think of insects, is disgust. After all, insects are (most of them anyway) ugly, strange, and a nuisance when they invade our households. But they are fascinating creatures and easy to study because they are just about anywhere! In fact, there are more insects in the world than any other type of animal, no matter how you measure their numbers, whether in terms of individuals or species.

Conned by Logarithms - How Our Minds Misread Risk

Ben Selinger FRACI, CChem — Fri, 02 May 2025 17:14:26 +0000

History

John Napier is credited with discovering/inventing logarithms but nature had already beaten him to it. Our bodies had already figured it out. Our senses—sight, hearing, taste and touch— use a logarithmic transform to cope with the enormous range of the signals our senses need to handle.

Stem Cells for Pets: Why So Little Progress?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 02 May 2025 17:03:17 +0000

Maxine is doing it. Tiny Timon is doing it too. Nash is about to start and Sushi the pug is now “pain-free and thriving.” At a certain age, seemingly every dog on Instagram starts embracing stem cells.

The veterinary clinics that offer this service call it “innovative” and “proven,” with benefits lasting “many years.” If you are to believe your feed, the fountain of youth has finally been found and its water is teeming with stem cells.

A Taste for Jujubes

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:30:02 +0000

To me, jujubes were always the little chewy things that I never let my kids eat. A mix of sugar, modified starch, modified palm oil, pectin, synthetic dyes, natural and artificial flavours. Not exactly toxic, except maybe to the teeth, but certainly devoid of any exceptional nutritional value. You will therefore understand my surprise when I was asked if it is true that jujubes can fight cancer, improve brain function and extend life.

Chewing Gum Adds to Concerns About Microplastics

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:29:11 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I don’t think I have chewed gum more than a handful of times in my life. It just never appealed to me. But judging by the flattened relics ground into the pavement on sidewalks and the yucky, sticky blobs on the undersides of lecture room desks, I seem to be an outlier when it comes to this practice. However, I’m all in when it comes to exploring the chemistry of chewing gum.

Toxin on the Backs of Some Frogs Is Lethal to Humans

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:44:44 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The blades descend as they have done many times before, threatening to impale the magician’s assistant lying inside the box. But this time the outcome is different. The illusion has been tampered with so that one of the blades does not retract fully as designed and slightly pierces her skin.

The Powder of Sympathy

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:41:49 +0000

Four hundred years ago, Belgian physician Johann Baptist Van Helmont was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for promoting the use of the “Powder of Sympathy.” The idea had been originally introduced by “natural philosopher” Sir Kenelm Digby who claimed that a powder produced with the help of astrological guidance could heal injuries by being applied not to the injured part of the body but on whatever had caused the injury. Digby’s book on this mythical salve went through 29 editions!