Science Canada News ✦ July 20-24
Snuffing out data centre fires, modernizing healthcare, and more ↴
SCICAN NEWS · JULY 20-24
Rapid wound healing. Stamping out data centre fire risk. Modernizing drug access. And much more.
Medical innovation dominated the headlines this past week, revealing some exciting modernization on the horizon. That extended to life sciences policy as well, with a national task force pushing for advancements in drug access and medical science policy, support, and infrastructure.
Let’s dig in ↴
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
Fighting data centre fire risks
As AI innovation and commercialization powers the global boom in data centres, Waterloo researchers say the lithium-ion batteries that keep them running can create a concentrated fire hazard.
Their work focuses on understanding how failures spread and what design changes can reduce the risk of cells failing and triggering thermal runaway.
“Pretty much every single data centre will have a huge quantity of lithium-ion battery storage embedded within it…. We can get into an uncomfortable scenario where if one cell does indeed fail, that energy is essentially being used to heat up adjacent cells. We call this thermal runaway propagation.” — Dr. Vinny Gupta, University of Waterloo
HEALTH CANADA
The push to modernize life sciences
A federal task force is urging Ottawa to modernize drug access, improve health data infrastructure, and boost infrastructure. The group’s aim is to reduce healthcare delays and supply vulnerabilities, while helping Canadian companies grow without being acquired early.
“Chairs of the task force recommend that the Government of Canada take deliberate, bold and swift action to make the changes needed to create a world-leading pharmaceutical and life sciences industry for a healthier and wealthier Canada. The sector must be viewed as a strategic, nation-building sector and fully supported as such. Given longstanding fragmentation across policies, programs and system actors, achieving this ambition will require a more integrated and coordinated approach to action across the full continuum of the sector.”
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Handheld bioprinter for rapid wound healing
The U of T startup VRiT is developing an operating-room bioprinter that uses stem cell technology to regenerate skin and reduce the need for autografts. The company’s recently announced Desjardins Prize funding will be used to support its regulatory planning in preparation for a pre-seed funding raise.
“Currently, when you have a bad skin wound, such as a burn, surgeons usually do an autograft, where they take skin from another part of your body to close the wound. This is extremely painful and results in another wound that has to heal, often with significant scarring. When a 150-year-old technique dominates the market, it signals a need for breakthrough innovation and a new approach.” — Dr. Sushant Singh
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Sleep and beyond: melatonin for chronic pain
Researchers say compounds aimed at the brain’s MT1 and MT2 receptors could eventually move melatonin research beyond sleep aids toward pain management.
Their work suggests that MT1 could affect REM sleep, while MT2 may support deep non-REM sleep. MT2 could also help reduce nerve pain by activating the brain’s natural opioid system.
“CIHR funding enabled us to turn a molecule that began as a concept on paper into a real drug candidate—one that has the potential to open the door to a new class of treatments for sleep disorders and pain.” — Dr. Gabriella Gobbi
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO + MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Nocebo evidence: negative expectations amplify pain
Researchers at U of T and McGill have found the first evidence that a specific brain pathway helps trigger the nocebo effect, in which negative expectations amplify pain. The findings suggest that this is a very real biological response, not “imaginary” pain, and could lead to novel ways to treat pain and anxiety-driven pain amplification.
“I know a number of people who have gone to the doctors, and if there’s no structural or tissue damage, they are told the pain is imaginary or it’s in their head….(This research) is actually tying it to very discrete biology that’s now showing it’s not imagined.” — Dr. Loren Martin
UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
AI spots manipulated online information
Researchers at U Calgary are building tools that use AI and machine learning to classify misleading claims on social media and detect online amplification. Their goal is to track information manipulation linked to elections, foreign interference, and other high-stakes issues.
“Information manipulation is not simply a technological problem. It is increasingly a challenge for democratic governance and national security. Foreign states, political movements and commercial actors all seek to shape how citizens understand political issues, elections, public-health measures and international crises.” — Dr. Jean-Christophe Boucher
MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Preventing crowd crushes and stampedes
Research led by a McGill team has found that dangerous crowd conditions may build gradually through repeated pushing and body contact, rather than appearing all at once. Their model suggests that organizers could improve crowd safety by identifying high-risk zones near exit sides. By managing spacing and staff placement, they may be able to intervene earlier as pressure rises.
“In high-density settings such as concerts, sporting events or festivals, crowd crushes and stampedes can sometimes occur without obvious warning signs…. However, these incidents are often not truly ‘sudden’; they may begin with small pushes between individuals and gradually escalate through ongoing interactions.” — Dr. Shanwei Liu
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Canadian mathematician wins ‘Nobel Prize of math’
U of T professor Jacob Tsimerman has been awarded the Fields Medal — one of four to win it under the age of 40. He was awarded the prize, in part, for helping prove the André-Oort conjecture, a problem that stumped mathematicians for decades. He is the first scholar based at a Canadian institution to receive the prize, which is often referred to as ‘the Nobel Prize of mathematics‘.
“Math is such a team sport that it becomes impossible to disentangle who contributed what on projects. I'm lucky to have many of my collaborators as close friends, which helps work feel fun and playful.”