Browse the latest news and discoveries relating to animal research at UBC.
News
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March 13, 2019
Cardiorespiratory fitness of farmed Atlantic salmon unaffected by virus
The respiratory systems of Atlantic salmon function normally even when carrying large loads of piscine orthoreovirus (PRV), new UBC research has found. Yangfan Zhang “We didn’t find significant harm to the fish’s respiratory physiology despite the virus replicating to a load…
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March 11, 2019
Honey bees can help monitor pollution in cities
Honey from urban bees can tell us how clean a city is and help pinpoint the sources of environmental pollutants such as lead, new University of British Columbia research has found. In a study published today in Nature Sustainability, scientists from UBC’s Pacific Centre for Isotopic and…
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February 25, 2019
New protein “switch” could be key to controlling blood-poisoning and preventing death
Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered a new protein “switch” that could stop the progression of blood-poisoning, or sepsis, and increase the chances of surviving the life-threatening disease. Sepsis, an inflammatory disease that arises when the body’s…
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February 21, 2019
UBC researchers discover how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation
Findings could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered how blood vessels protect the brain during inflammation—a finding that could lead to the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases…
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February 20, 2019
Mega experiment shows species interact more towards tropics and lowlands
One of the largest field experiments ever conducted is providing the best evidence yet in support of a key Darwinian theory—that interactions between species are stronger toward the tropics and at lower elevations. An international research team used a simple experiment that mimics how…
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February 6, 2019
Fish chemical cocktail reveals how a single gene may alter an aquatic ecosystem
Linking genomics, evolution and ecology, study reveals broad implications of how species adapt to their local environment Variations in a single gene in tiny stickleback fish alter how they interact with their environment and potentially trigger changes across an ecosystem, a new study from the…
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December 13, 2018
UBC releases 2017 animal research statistics
The University of British Columbia’s summary of animals involved in research at the university in 2017 is now posted online here as part of UBC’s overall commitment to openness and transparency. This is the eighth consecutive year the university has published the data. UBC is one of…
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December 6, 2018
Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds all around the world
Industrial fisheries are starving seabirds like penguins and terns by competing for the same prey sources, new research from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Montpellier and the Sea Around Us initiative at the University of British Columbia has found. In a study published…
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December 4, 2018
Dairy calves’ personalities predict their ability to cope with stress
A UBC study published earlier this year found that dairy calves have distinct personality traits from a very young age. Researchers from the faculty of land and food systems tested calves for pessimism, fearfulness and sociability at both 25 and 50 days old, and learned that each calf has an…
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November 27, 2018
Newly discovered wasp turns social spiders into zombies
It sounds like the plot of the world’s tiniest horror movie: deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a newly discovered species of wasp transforms a “social” spider into a zombie-like drone that abandons its colony to do the wasp’s bidding. That’s the gruesome, real-life…