News ✧ Containing nuclear waste, eroding social trust, institutional distrust, and more
Science Canada News · July 27-31
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Place of birth could shape a baby’s immune system
Researchers at UBC found that the development of infant immune systems may be partly determined by where they are born. Those findings could help support infection risk prediction and infant immune response.
“These differences are frequently involved in response to infections and could be used to predict susceptibility and response to infection throughout the first year of life… The major burden of infectious diseases in early life occurs in developing countries, impacting both survival and subsequent quality of life.” — Dr. Bob Hancock
WESTERN UNIVERSITY
Prepping to contain nuclear waste
Focused on a million-year timeline, a Western University research team is examining the corrosion resistance of nuclear waste storage within a proposed repository in northwestern Ontario.
“We want these containers to last a million years. Copper is stable in groundwater. It’s the sulfide-producing bacteria, which thrive in low-oxygen environments like deep bedrock, that are the real threat to the containers’ long-term integrity.” — James Noël
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Fibromyalgia linked to nervous system
A large international study led by researchers at U of T has found genetic risk factors for fibromyalgia. Many of the isolated genes were found to be active in brain and nerve cells, which strengthens the case that fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder (not necessarily a psychological or immune-specific issue). The findings also point to shared biology with other chronic pain issues.
“For decades, patients have been dismissed or told their pain is simply psychological. Our findings confirm the condition has a clear biological basis.” — Dr. Michael Wainberg
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Hybrid work can be more productive than in-person work
McGill’s Jean-Nicolas Reyt explained on a CBC podcast that hybrid work can be as productive — and even more productive than — in-office work. He also outlined how turnover can be reduced, arguing that what matters most is whether managers set clear expectations, provide structure, and measure results (not busyness).
“Although in-person work may benefit training, meetings and major projects, Reyt argues that office presence is an unreliable measure of performance. Employees can appear busy without producing meaningful results, regardless of location.” — Dr. Jean-Nicolas Rey
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Election losses create voter distrust
A recent McGill study found that those who support losing parties may express less trust in fellow citizens following elections. The effect appears to be strongest among more polarized voters, and the researchers argue that elections may shape not only political attitudes, but also broader social cohesion.
“Social trust is one of the most important ingredients in a well-functioning society. This paper suggests that electoral competition – the mechanism through which democracies are supposed to channel conflict and produce legitimate outcomes – may itself create challenges for social cohesion, especially as partisan animosity grows.” — Dr. Mark Williamson
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
What if AI isn’t trusted?
Dr. Mary Wells at U Waterloo argues that if nations want to lead the AI revolution, they will have to focus on AI that people can trust. That would involve engineers, scientists, and policymakers who design, deploy and govern AI. She says that trust should be treated as a core engineering principle spanning fairness, transparency, accountability, privacy, and human oversight.
“They must learn how to evaluate risk before deployment, monitor deployed systems and recognize when AI should not be used at all. These are not “soft skills.” They are core engineering competencies that determine whether AI earns public confidence and succeeds outside the laboratory.” — Dr. Mary Wells
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
As distrust in institutions grows, people are doing their own research
Dr. Sophie Tseng Pellar believes that distrust in institutions is pushing more people to “do their own research” without the scientific method required to assess evidence. She argues that this can reinforce what people already believe, and uses the history of neuroscience to show how scientific knowledge depends on robust methods, humility, and self-correction.
“Healthy skepticism of power is a civic virtue, some would even argue a duty. Productive criticism of scientific institutions has driven some of the most important advances in human knowledge. The problem is that “doing your own research” without the tools to evaluate evidence: without training in identifying bias, without an understanding of how to assess quality of evidence and most critically, without the humility to follow evidence wherever it leads rather than wherever you hoped it would, doesn’t produce truth. It produces a more confidently held version of whatever you already believed.” — Dr. Sophie Tseng Pellar
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Self-sterilizing dental fillings
Researchers at the University of Alberta are developing polymer fillings that could disinfect their own surfaces under pressure. Their goal is to make restorations last longer and resist new decay. Current polymer fillings can shrink, degrade, and even fail within five to seven years, which is why they’re testing materials that can work during chewing or be activated with ultrasound.
“Every time a filling breaks and we drill, we are removing part of the natural tooth structure, and over the course of time, your tooth weakens and starts fracturing. Our hope is that we develop a filling material that is really permanent and does not fail in five to seven years’ time.” — Dr. Prasanna Neelakantan