Joanie Tian, Chemistry editor
Joanie, a B.Sc. candidate studying biomedical science, became a Science Borealis Chemistry editor early in 2020. She spends her spare time volunteering, writing, or volunteering to write for different...
View ArticleTreasure island: The rare gemstones of Baffin Island
Joanie Tian, Chemistry editor Nowdluk Aqpik of Kimmirut, Baffin Island was riding in an ATV one afternoon when he spotted a blue gleam out of the corner of his eye. He stopped the vehicle, got out,...
View ArticleSynthesizing photosynthesis: A new method for turning carbon dioxide into...
Joanie Tian, Chemistry editor Given our ever-increasing demands for energy, it is more imperative than ever to find sustainable energy sources. Traditional methods of burning fossil fuels release...
View ArticleNada Salem, Chemistry editor
Nada Salem graduated from the University of Calgary with a B.Sc. in Cellular, Molecular & Microbial Biology and minors in Philosophy and Nanoscience. She is fascinated by genetic medicine and the...
View ArticleLife on the extreme edge: Microbes in astrobiology
Nada Salem, Chemistry editor Our most resilient organisms, emerging from the coldest reaches of the Earth, are essential avenues of research in astrobiology. They model what life might look like in the...
View ArticleJaspreet Sanghera: Playing the “why” game as Science Borealis’s Biology &...
From childhood, Jaspreet’s most delightful memory is playing the “why” game – asking the adults around her a series of “why” questions until they had run out of answers. Fortunately, her mentors and...
View ArticleBeating covidsomnia
Nada Salem and Zahra Nasser, Chemistry co-editors Google searches for ‘insomnia’ have surged in the last few months, reflecting people’s concerns about their changing sleep patterns. Sleep is a complex...
View ArticleLipid nanoparticles: The underrated invention behind the vaccine revolution
Nada Salem, Chemistry editor The race to develop vaccines for COVID-19 marks the beginning of a new chapter in medicine: one where we have solutions for previously incurable diseases, more precise...
View ArticleThe future of carbon: capture, storage, sequestration, re-use
Nada Salem and Zahra Nasser, Chemistry editors The world is on fire. From British Columbia to Greece, the growing effects of climate change have become impossible to ignore. In its latest report, the...
View ArticleThe controversy behind the new FDA-approved drug for Alzheimer’s disease
Rana Semaan, Science in Society editor On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Aduhelm™ (aducanumab-avwa) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease under its...
View ArticleNo pain, more gain: A new way to monitor glucose
Zahra Nasser and Nada Salem, Chemistry editors People with diabetes have measured their blood sugar the same way since the 1970s — a painful daily prick of the finger. While most have no choice but to...
View ArticleIf you can’t beat the cold, join it: How animals cope with Canadian winters
By Nada Salem and Zahra Nassar, Chemistry co-editors We’re almost there! We’ve survived another Canadian winter. It’s just about time to take off our scarves and hats and leave this winter season...
View ArticleThe chemistry behind antioxidants: Are they the real deal?
By Zahra Nasser, Chemistry editor They say: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But is this phrase as true today as when it was coined in 1922? Researchers in Nova Scotia found that today’s apples,...
View ArticleMosquitoes: born from blood
By Zahra Nasser, Chemistry editor For many, summer means long nature walks and family BBQs. After spending an evening outside with my family doing the latter and being the only one to suffer a handful...
View ArticleFrom masala to medicine
By Zahra Nasser, Chemistry Editor To many, turmeric may only be an ingredient used in curry, but there is a lot more to the traditional Indian spice than meets the eye. Historically, turmeric has been...
View ArticleMore sour than sweet: the truth behind citrus waste
By Zahra Nasser, Chemistry editor It’s a fact that’s likely to turn some heads: composting certain kinds of food waste is not as good for the environment as we think. That’s because some food waste...
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