Browse the latest news and discoveries relating to animal research at UBC.
News
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February 26, 2020
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…
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February 12, 2020
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…
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January 27, 2020
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,…
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December 18, 2019
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…
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November 19, 2019
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.
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November 6, 2019
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…
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November 4, 2019
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…
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September 4, 2019
New viruses discovered in endangered wild Pacific salmon populations
Three new viruses—including one from a group of viruses never before shown to infect fish—have been discovered in endangered Chinook and sockeye salmon populations. While the impact of the viruses on salmon health isn’t yet known, all three are related to viruses that cause…
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September 3, 2019
Slowed metabolism helps geese fly high
New physiology study sheds light on how bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas A few years before NASA astronaut Jessica Meir began learning to fly a spacecraft for her upcoming trip to the International Space Station, she was in flight-training of a different kind: teaching bar-headed geese…
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August 1, 2019
High insulin production may contribute to pancreatic cancer
UBC scientists have demonstrated for the first time a causal link between high insulin levels and pancreatic cancer. In a study published today in Cell Metabolism, researchers lowered insulin levels in mice predisposed to developing pancreatic cancer and found that these lower levels protected the…