Maximizing the benefits of flaxseed oil The first step on Binudith (Bin) Warnakulasooriya’s road to discovery could never be described as “a eureka moment”. Rather, it was the moment when he picked up a bottle of flaxseed supplement capsules, glanced at the nutritional information on the label and wondered what this substance called “lignan” was. [...]

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Fredericton student creates new method to study health risks of chemicals Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical additive found in plastic products, has been much in news when Canada became the first country to ban the chemical in baby bottles last year. Found in such everyday products as plastic water bottles, its possible health effects [...]

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Towards drug-free cell transplants for diabetics Representing Edmonton region at this year’s national Sanofi-Aventis Biotalent Challenge (SABC) by no means marks the end of research into a cure for diabetes by Victoria Tian, Connie Le and Kathryn Chevalier. The three friends from Old Scona Academic High School are determined to see where their project leads [...]

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From the Great Lakes to Argentina , Europe and the great river systems of Asia , nitrate contamination of drinking water is a global problem that threatens the health of humans and ecosystems. When chemical fertilizers and animal or human waste pollute surface and ground water, toxic nitrate ions can reach concentrations high enough to [...]

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Wheat starch research gets a boost With almost half of the calories in the human diet supplied by starch-based products, and increasing worldwide demand for industrial starches, an ongoing priority for agricultural researchers is adding to their knowledge about starch production in grain crops, specifically how to improve and regulate starch yield and composition. The [...]

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Paralyzed rats regenerate spinal cord with Nepean student’s discovery Every year 1,400 Canadians severely injure their spinal cord resulting in full or partial paralysis. Despite intense therapy less than 1% of them recovery completely. Regrowing and reconnecting severed nerve fiber or axons has been exceedingly challenging for the best medical researchers in Canada. Starting with [...]

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Teenager Proves Juniper Berries Fights Breast Cancer — a potential new home-grown anti-cancer agent? Could juniper berries be Canada’s newest breast cancer treatment? That’s what Rebecca Hollett of St John’s wondered after learning that an elderly woman diagnosed with untreatable breast cancer attributed her survival for more than three years to a daily cup of [...]

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Student discovers that rhubarb extract may prevent Alzheimer’s disease Motivated by working in seniors’ homes, 17-year-old Linda Liu discovered that an extract from rhubarb prevented the misfolding of a protein that is associated with disease. The extract also dissolved previously misfolded proteins offering the glimmer of hope of both potential prevention and treatment for the [...]

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Using Ultrasound to ‘See’ if Cancer Treatments Are Working Three Thornhill students have successfully used ultrasound to detect cancer cells, opening the door to a new, inexpensive cancer diagnosis tool. “We wanted to find an alternative way of detecting effectiveness of cancer treatments that would be non-invasive,” said 17-year old Ellie. Their hope was to [...]

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