Science + Tech – Views & Research

a woman performs with her face projected on a large screen behind her

Understanding how Taylor Swift constructs her songs helps explain her phenomenal popularity

Alexander Carpenter, University of Alberta

More people are considering AI lovers, and we shouldn’t judge

Neil McArthur, University of Manitoba

two scientists — a Black woman and a white man — in lab coats looking into microscopes

Biology is complex and diverse, so scientific research approaches need to be too

Thomas Merritt, Laurentian University and Allie Hutchings, Laurentian University

Lemurs can help save Madagascan forests, but first we need to protect them

Colombe Nirina Sehenomalala, Université de Montréal and Iulia Bădescu, Université de Montréal

a mother white-haired lemur with a baby on her back

Gene-edited pigs may soon enter the Canadian market, but questions about their impact remain

Gwendolyn Blue, University of Calgary

How drones are changing the way wars are fought

Alexandre Massaux, Université de Toulon

An image of a destroyed drone lying in a desert

a chessboard with the black king and queen standing surrounded by fallen white chesspieces

I’m a statistics professor who became embroiled in the world of online chess drama

Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, University of Toronto

Why are we so obsessed with bringing back the woolly mammoth?

Rebecca Woods, University of Toronto

A robot stole my internship: How Gen Z’s entry into the workplace is being affected by AI

Melise Panetta, Wilfrid Laurier University

Two young adults, seen from behind, sit at a desk using laptops

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

an outcropping of rock with a knife shown for scale

The oldest rocks on Earth are more than four billion years old

Hanika Rizo, Carleton University and Jonathan O’Neil, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

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

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.

Indigenous engagement is essential for small modular nuclear reactor projects

Rhea Desai, McMaster University and James LeMoine, McMaster University

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Danielle E. Thompson, University of Waterloo

a man in a suit and glasses peers through blinds

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

Astronomy

Close up of mountains on the surface of the moon

Moon mining is getting closer to reality: Why we need global rules for extracting space resources

Martina Elia Vitoloni, McGill University

How was the Earth built?

Alexander E. Gates, Rutgers University - Newark

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

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.

The best space telescope you never heard of just shut down

Laura Nicole Driessen, University of Sydney

Logos for various dating apps on a smartphone

More than just a bad date: Navigating harms on LGBTQ+ dating apps

Christopher Dietzel, Concordia University and André Matar, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

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

Crypto platforms feel like gambling because they are: Users are drawn to high-risk behaviour

Amy Swiffen, Concordia University and Martin A. French, Concordia University

a green table with plastic chips and playing cards, A hand holds cards, revealing 2 kings.

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

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

tiny organisms against a black background

Plankton can investigate crime, affect the climate and influence science

Beatrix Beisner, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM); Maria Grigoratou, Umeå University; Sakina-Dorothée Ayata, Sorbonne Université, and Susanne Menden-Deuer, University of Rhode Island

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.

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

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

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

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.

AI in universities: How large language models are transforming research

Ali Shiri, University of Alberta

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

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

Goran Calic, McMaster University

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

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

Mohammadamin Ahmadfard, Toronto Metropolitan University

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

Veena D. Dwivedi, Brock University

Canada needs a national AI literacy strategy to help students navigate AI

Mohammed Estaiteyeh, Brock University

A teacher and two children at a desk using a laptop

AI-generated influencers: A new wave of cultural exploitation

Ateqah Khaki, The Conversation and Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

A collage showing four brightly coloured images of young woman who are "virtual influencers."

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

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

A person holding a smartphone displaying a news app

Vanishing data in the U.S. undermines good public policy, with global implications

Kristi Thompson, Western University and Albert Malkin, Western University

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

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

Ramla Karim Qureshi, McMaster University

AI-powered assistive technologies are changing how we experience and imagine public space

Ron Buliung, University of Toronto

A man wearing a green cap and tshirt and hearing aid stands in a city street