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Wednesday, November 4, 2015
By Malcolm Cunningham, Institute of Cognitive Science, Carleton University Summary of the Issue Following the recent Canadian federal election, there has been an upsurge of public discussion about reinstating the mandatory long-form census. The previous government canceled it in 2010 citing privacy concerns and coercive data collection methods... More
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
By Nadine Frost, Department of Chemistry, Carleton University What did you eat today? Chances are, whatever it is you chose to eat, you might have also consumed some mycotoxins in your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi that can contaminate many of the world’s major food crops, and... More
Saturday, October 3, 2015
By Mary Daniel, Department of Biology, Carleton University It’s a simple question, is it not? Well, no not really. There are many theories behind why organisms age. Is it something planned and carried out? Or is it something random that occurs due to damage? In this blog, I will go through four main theories... More
Thursday, September 3, 2015
By Natalie Linklater, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carleton University Wastewater; it’s the term we use to denote anything and everything that gets flushed in toilets, rinsed down drains and washed off our streets. It can include residue from soaps and creams, residual pharmaceuticals, pollution from streets, and yes… poop.... More
Monday, August 31, 2015
By Hymie Anisman, Dept. of Neuroscience, Carleton University Last week’s blog outlined several issues related to addictions in general, and then considered some features that were unique to gambling addiction. A discussion (rant?) followed regarding the role of the gambling industry, as well as governments, in facilitating and fueling gambling,... More
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
By Hymie Anisman, Dept. of Neuroscience, Carleton University Addictions, especially those involving drugs, continue to be a problem world-wide. Several neurobiological and psychosocial processes have been implicated in addiction, which have led to a variety of treatment strategies, although most haven’t been overwhelmingly successful. It’s... More
Saturday, July 25, 2015
By Susan Braedley, School of Social Work, Carleton University Sometimes a turf war hides bigger problems. In a continuing saga between fire fighters and paramedics, the recent flare-up in Ontario over “who does what” is one example. For decades, many municipalities in Canada have seen a steady, dramatic increase in 9-1-1 calls for medical... More
Saturday, July 11, 2015
By Hymie Anisman, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University Placebo responses, as most people are aware, refer to responses elicited by a treatment that can’t actually have direct organic effects on neurobiological processes. The effects of placebos are often considered in the context of pain relief or in some psychological conditions,... More
Thursday, June 4, 2015
By Suzanne Waldman, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University How do we make decisions about which risks to take, and which to not take? Do we look at evidence about the likeliness of harm, or do we go with our gut feel? Do we trust science, or follow celebrity advice? Why some people... More
Saturday, May 23, 2015
By Martin Wellman, Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University In Statistics Canada’s most recent report on overweight and obesity in 2013, 18.8% of Canadians aged 18 or older were obese based on their body-mass index, while 41.9% of men and 27.7% of women were overweight [1]. We are all aware of these health conditions in... More
Thursday, April 30, 2015
By Stuart J. Murray, Department of English Language and Literature, Carleton University Earlier this spring, I was asked to present my work on bioethics at the annual Ontario and Canada Research Chairs Symposium. In 7 minutes, I was to present a PechaKucha style presentation: 20 images, each displayed for 20 seconds, with my dynamic... More
Friday, April 10, 2015
By Kim Matheson, Department of Health Sciences, Carleton University Like many health researchers who are committed to having an impact on human behavior in order to prevent illness, I saw the ‘Nudge’ phenomena as a welcome revelation. And so when a colleague of mine presented a paper at a recent symposium, I, like many... More
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