Science + Tech – Views & Research

artist's rendition of a large fish with teeth about to eat a smaller fish

A chance discovery of a 350 million-year-old fossil reveals a new type of ray-finned fish

Conrad Daniel Mackenzie Wilson, Carleton University

Thick columns of vapour pour from the openings of two nuclear power plant cooling towers, which are seen behind power lines

AI is consuming more power than the grid can handle — nuclear might be the answer

Goran Calic, McMaster University

4 reasons to be concerned about Bill C-4’s threats to Canadian privacy and sovereignty

Sara Bannerman, McMaster University

A person holds a smartphone open to Facebook privacy settings.

AI applications are producing cleaner cities, smarter homes and more efficient transit

Mohammadamin Ahmadfard, Toronto Metropolitan University

A group of people gathered in front of a fountain and a large sign reading Hamilton

Indigenous engagement is essential for small modular nuclear reactor projects

Rhea Desai, McMaster University and James LeMoine, McMaster University

‘Making decisions closer to the wharf’ can ensure the sustainability of Canada’s fisheries and oceans

Matthew Robertson, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Megan Bailey, Dalhousie University, and Tyler Eddy, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Mitigating AI security threats: Why the G7 should embrace ‘federated learning’

Abbas Yazdinejad, University of Toronto and Jude Kong, University of Toronto

A dark-haired man speaks into a microphone behind a lectern with a Canada 2020 banner to his left.

6 ways AI can partner with us in creative inquiry, inspired by media theorist Marshall McLuhan

Gordon A. Gow, University of Alberta

Image of a man seen on top of a television with his own image, repeated three times

a man in a white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck smiles at a mobile phone in his hand

Chatbots can help clinicians become better communicators, and this could boost vaccine uptake

Jaigris Hodson, Royal Roads University; David Rand, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Heather Lanthorn, Duke University

a man in a suit and glasses peers through blinds

Tracking apps monitor remote employees’ performance — and invade their privacy

Danielle E. Thompson, University of Waterloo

a green sea turtle looks out over the ocean

One green sea turtle can contain the equivalent of 10 ping pong balls in plastic

Xia (Alice) Zhu, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto, and Matthew Mazloff, University of California, San Diego

We design cities and buildings for earthquakes and floods — we need to do the same for wildfires

Ramla Karim Qureshi, McMaster University

The proposed Strong Borders Act gives police new invasive search powers that may breach Charter rights

Robert Diab, Thompson Rivers University

a uniformed officer walks towards a border marked with diamond-shaped yellow and black checkerboard signs

A neuroscientist explains why it’s impossible for AI to ‘understand’ language

Veena D. Dwivedi, Brock University

Want an advanced AI assistant? Prepare for them to be all up in your business

Isabel Pedersen, Ontario Tech University

a person sitting at a laptop keyboard with AI related icons floating above their hands

Google searches for information about cancer lead to targeted ads from alternative clinics

Alessandro Marcon, University of Alberta and Marco Zenone, University of British Columbia

a woman sits at a laptop against a red background

Experimenting with generative AI to kibbitz and futz towards more inclusive futures

Nathaniel Laywine, York University, Canada; Aram Sinnreich, American University School of Communication, and Victoria Simon, Felician University

a woman in the background points at multicoloured speech bubbles illustrated in the foreground

Canada has a chance to lead on AI policy and data governance at the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit

E. Richard Gold, McGill University and Cristina Vanberghen, European University Institute

Painting of flowers next to an abstract model showing colour in lines and shapes that echo the shape of the flowers.

For both artists and scientists, slow looking allows surprising connections to surface

Amanda Bongers, Queen's University, Ontario and Madeleine Dempster, Queen's University, Ontario

Three scientists speak about what it’s like to have research funding cut by the Trump administration

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

A sign saying science helps you held up by a protestor.

150 years ago, the Metre Convention determined how we measure the world — a radical initiative for the time

Jonathan Simone, Brock University

a woman in a hard hat measures a length of wood with a yellow measuring tape

Fraudulent crowdfunding after the Lapu Lapu tragedy highlights the need for vigilance and oversight

Jeremy Snyder, Simon Fraser University and Valorie A. Crooks, Simon Fraser University

Using fire to produce nanoparticles could revolutionize various industries

Keroles Riad, Carleton University

Red shimmering energy particles, depicting the nanoparticles used to create nanotechnologies.

A person holding a smartphone displaying a news app

Have journalists skipped the ethics conversation when it comes to using AI?

Angela Misri, Toronto Metropolitan University; April Lindgren, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Nicole Blanchett, Toronto Metropolitan University

New recommendations for regulating neurotechnology in Canada include protecting Indigenous rights

Judy Illes, University of British Columbia; Bartha Knoppers, McGill University; Jennifer Chandler, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Ross Upshur, University of Toronto, and Vardit Ravitsky, Université de Montréal

Improving human beings to make them perform better: Why is transhumanism so harmful?

Nicolas Le Dévédec, HEC Montréal

Changing the Eurocentric narrative about the history of science – why multiculturalism matters

Karen K. Christensen-Dalsgaard, MacEwan University

An illustration depicting circles shaded dark in different sections around a large circle connected with lines to another circle. Writing in Persian appears below

Why film adaptations of popular video games often fall flat

Jason Hawreliak, Brock University

A group of five people standing together with the words A minecraft movie written above them.

A woman stands in front a medical professional who is holding both hands vertically, palms up. In the foregrand is an x-ray machine.

Feeling anxious before surgery? Anxiety can harm healing but innovative mental health support could help

Renée El-Gabalawy, University of Manitoba

How our unconscious memory keeps us functioning efficiently in our daily lives

Ben Sclodnick, McMaster University

A man sits in the driver's seat of a car. His hands are both on the wheel, and part of his face is visible in the rearview mirror.

Wildfire season is changing in Canada — posing even greater risks to the nation’s communities and ecosystems

Hossein Bonakdari, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

The smouldering remains of a residential block in Jasper, Alberta.

Investigators are increasingly using technology in conflict-related sexual assault cases

Valerie Oosterveld, Western University

a woman sits with her back to the camera in a tent

From COVID to cancer: Why Canada’s RNA vaccine leadership matters more than ever

Anna Blakney, University of British Columbia and Pieter Cullis, University of British Columbia

Astronomy

Illustration showing a ring of rocks and dust circling a brightly glowing body in space.

How was the Earth built?

Alexander E. Gates, Rutgers University - Newark

The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down

Laura Nicole Driessen, University of Sydney

Is there life out there? The existence of other technological species is highly likely

Maikel Rheinstadter, McMaster University

a planet looms in a purple sky above a rocky landscape

A total eclipse of the Moon, Saturn’s rings ‘disappear’, meteors and more: your guide to the southern sky in 2025

Nick Lomb, University of Southern Queensland

Canada’s first moon rover will soon have a name as it prepares to explore a hostile lunar region

Gordon Osinski, Western University

An orange moon sets behind towers at night.

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

Gordon Osinski, Western University

one large and one small rock hurtle thorugh space towards the planet Earth

A man is holding a basketball and trying to score a point.

NFTs in sports: What to know about the dangers of fraud and counterfeiting

Thierry Warin, HEC Montréal; Nathalie de Marcellis-Warin, Polytechnique Montréal, and Robert Normand, Polytechnique Montréal

Why the future of workplace mental health support may be self-guided online tools

Ehsan Etezad, Saint Mary’s University and John Fiset, Saint Mary’s University

A tired looking woman looks at a computer screen

Amplifying delusions: How social media can negatively impact our mental well-being

Bernard Crespi, Simon Fraser University and Nancy Yang, Simon Fraser University

Meta’s Community Notes program is promising, but needs to prioritize transparency

Sameer Borwankar, McGill University

a phone screen showing a man speaking at a podium

What users need to know about privacy and data after 23andMe’s bankruptcy filing

Aileen Editha, Queen's University, Ontario

23andMe sign seen on the outside of a building

rows of wolf skulls against an orange background

Colossal Bioscience’s attempt to de-extinct the dire wolf is a dangerously deceptive publicity stunt

David Coltman, Western University; Carson Mitchell, Western University; Liam Alastair Wayde Carter, Western University, and Tommy Galfano, Western University

Ambitious changes to Canadian conservation law are needed to reverse the decline in biodiversity

Trevor Swerdfager, University of Waterloo and Derek Armitage, University of Waterloo

a striking orange and black butterfly with its wings spread

How studying trends in human lifespans can measure progress in addressing inequality

Peter Zizler, Mount Royal University and Shoba Ittyipe, Mount Royal University

three small toy figures placed on a bar graph

Extinctions of Australian mammals have long been blamed on foxes and cats – but where’s the evidence?

Arian Wallach, Queensland University of Technology and Erick Lundgren, University of Alberta

Fungi are among the planet’s most important organisms — yet they’re overlooked in conservation strategies

Jonathan Cazabonne, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) and Danny Haelewaters, Czech Academy of Sciences

A cluster of orange _Mycena leaiana_ mushrooms growing from a dead log.

A Black model stands next to a computer screen showing an AI replica of her.

Fake models for fast fashion? What AI clones mean for our jobs — and our identities

Jul Parke, University of Toronto

DOGE’s AI surveillance risks silencing whistleblowers and weakening democracy

Thomas Stuart, University of Victoria

A white man speaks on a stage to a crowd of people in front of a giant projection of an American flag

Medicine’s over-generalization problem — and how AI might make things worse

Benjamin Chin-Yee, Western University and Uwe Peters, Utrecht University

The icons for the smartphone apps DeepSeek and ChatGPT are seen on a smartphone screen

How AI could help safeguard Indigenous languages

Anna Luisa Daigneault, Université de Montréal

A smiling Indigenous man wearing a cowboy hat stands next to a sign featuring the names of town in the Tsilhqot’in language.

Digital clones of real models are revolutionizing fashion advertising

Luana Carcano, Simon Fraser University

a row of identical faces against an orange background.

A golden era for personalized medicine is approaching, but are we ready?

Nazia Pathan, PhD, McMaster University

A jigsaw puzzle in progress picturing blue strands of DNA

AI is for the birds: How machine learning can help predict and manage avian flu outbreaks

Rozita Dara, University of Guelph

two signs on a gate one reading "Do Not Enter Biosecurity in Effect" and the second "Chicken Farmers of Canada"

In terms of violence, what’s the difference between classic ‘real’ porn and deepfake porn platforms?

Andreanne Bergeron, Université de Montréal

An individual is holding a remote control; a television screen shows a woman in her underwear.

AI is making elections weird: Lessons from a simulated war-game exercise

Robert Marinov, Concordia University; Colleen McCool, Concordia University; Fenwick McKelvey, Concordia University, and Roxanne Bisson, Concordia University

two laptops against a red background with an illustration of computer icons

A young black woman who is wearing glasses looks at her smartphone in concern.

Emergency alerts and news notifications can make us stressed and anxious — here’s what you can do to cope

Indu Subramanian, University of California, Los Angeles and Sahib Khalsa, University of California, Los Angeles

The use of drones during wildfires can disrupt response operations

Ali Asgary, York University, Canada

a large is burning on dry vegetation, two firefighters are on the ground and a helicopter flies above

Canada’s immigration process is increasingly digitized, but that can make it difficult to navigate

Ashika Niraula, Toronto Metropolitan University

A frustrated man sits at a desk in front of a laptop looking at paper documents

False alerts — like the one sent during the Greater Los Angeles wildfires — can undermine trust and provoke anxiety

Jack L. Rozdilsky, York University, Canada and Dom Baldasaro, York University, Canada

a birds-eye view of a burned out neighbourhood

How America courted increasingly destructive wildfires − and what that means for protecting homes today

Justin Angle, University of Montana

Homes with fire in the hills behind them.