News

UBC scientist identifies a gene that controls thinness

Why can some people eat as much as they want, and still stay thin? In a study published today in the journal Cell, Life Sciences Institute Director Dr. Josef Penninger and a team of international colleagues report their discovery that a gene called ALK (Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase) plays a role in…

Honey bees could help monitor fertility loss in insects due to climate change

New research from the University of British Columbia and North Carolina State University could help scientists track how climate change is impacting the birds and the bees… of honey bees. Heat can kill sperm cells across the animal kingdom, yet there are few ways to monitor the impact of…

Speaking of Research: Statement in Support of the Global Research Community’s Efforts to End the COVID-19 Crisis

Billions lost as illicit fisheries trade hurting nations who can afford it least

More than eight million to 14 million tonnes of unreported fish catches are traded illicitly every year, costing the legitimate market between $9 billion and $17 billion in trade each year, according to new UBC research. In a paper published in Science Advances, researchers from the Fisheries…

Got a moody teenager? Cows can relate

Dairy cattle undergo personality changes during puberty much like humans do, according to new UBC research published this week in the Royal Society Open Science. While cattle’s personality traits are distinct and consistent at a young age and during adulthood, that isn’t the case…

How do men and women store fat differently? Ask the fruit fly.

When it comes to determining how women and men store fat differently, it turns out fruit flies may hold the key. People and fruit flies are astonishingly alike genetically. In fact, nearly 75 per cent of disease-causing genes in humans can be found in the fly in a similar form. In a new study,…

UBC releases 2018 animal research statistics

UBC’s summary of animals involved in research at the university in 2018 is now available (https://animalresearch.ubc.ca/animal-statistics). This is the ninth consecutive year the university has published the data. UBC is one of only three Canadian universities to publish animal research…

UBC Support for Professor Emerita Joanne Weinberg’s Research

Dr. Weinberg’s research is focused on reducing the devastating impact of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and other adverse early life experiences on brain, biological and immune system development.

UBC expert immobilizes tiny structures linked to metastatic breast cancer

Although breast cancer treatment has made great strides, around 5,000 Canadian women are still expected to succumb to the disease in 2019 alone. And it’s not the breast tumour that will kill them; it’s the spread of the cancer cells to other sites—a process called metastasis…

Aerial drones offer new perspective on resident killer whale behaviour

Scientists at the University of British Columbia are getting a rare glimpse into the underwater behaviour of northern and southern resident killer whales off the B.C. coast with the help of aerial drones. The unique footage, filmed in collaboration with the Hakai Institute, will help researchers…