Meet the researcher who single-handedly built Canada’s largest bee collection

Professor Laurence Packer’s lab houses bee specimens from over 100 countries and, in fact, he has very nearly completed his collection of the world’s bee genera in his online archive. This is the first digital archive of its kind, and its contribution to our understanding of bees is immeasurable. Laurence Packer, professor of biology in […]

New research finds pro-White racial bias among minority children

A Psychology professor ran two separate studies – one with non-Black minority children in Canada and one with Malay and Chinese children in southeast Asia – and found pro-White bias in both groups. It’s important to understand why and how this is happening, especially since these unconscious preferences are also found in adulthood. Racism and […]

Lassonde researchers perfect hybrid reconfigurable robotic harvester

Two mechanical engineers have fine-tuned robotic harvesting so that the machine gathers energy from the sun and wind, and adapts to windy weather. This could be a game changer for green farming, labour and food production in Canada and around the world. Automated crop harvesting has rightfully captured many imaginations due to its tremendous potential […]

Surgeons’ interviews offer eye-opening implications for health-care system

New research finds that surgeons’ scheduling decisions are based on patient needs and idiosyncratic priorities. This study, in which researchers interview surgeons as they consider the centralized scheduling of surgeries, has profound implications for the health-care system and hospital administrators. The Schulich School of Business at York University produces stellar research on the functioning of […]

Q&A with composer reveals how and why she transformed a WWI tragedy into song

Stephanie Martin, of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, chats with Brainstorm about her powerful opera about a Canadian hospital ship that was torpedoed in June 1918. This is how history comes to life. Where does a composer look for inspiration? For York University Professor Stephanie Martin, an accomplished composer and conductor […]

Toronto has twice as many urban Indigenous people than previously believed

Urban Indigenous people have been historically underrepresented in various censuses. New and highly applicable research brings this into sharp focus and offers a statistical solution that will have broad impacts across governmental and health policy and could be applied to other hard-to-reach populations.

Intrepid historian spurs “electrifying” discovery in Canterbury Cathedral

Professor Rachel Koopmans convinces a conservation expert at Canterbury Cathedral to re-examine a panel of stained glass believed to have been created in the Victorian era. It turns out the glass is 800 years old – two centuries older than Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales – and is, in fact, the earliest surviving portrait of pilgrims to the site.

Why we cling to beliefs – some dangerous, some not – and how to combat this urge

A new book raises fundamental questions about belief and explains why we hold on to certain convictions, even when they’re self-destructive or harmful. This page-turner will be of interest to those in psychiatric fields, psychology students and members of the public.

Anti-bullying project on LGBTQ youth, a vital resource in schools and beyond

A ground-breaking venture, The Beyond Bullying Project, offers a repository of real-life experiences that will shed light on this vital topic as well as offer support and resources. This could inform educators, school administrators, government policy-makers, LGBTQ youth, parents and more.

Reexamining a Muslim veil case where judge blocked feminist interveners

An Osgoode PhD student reconsiders a 2015 case in which a Muslim woman challenged federal policy requiring the removal of her niqab during the citizenship oath. The judge blocked several organizations that sought to intervene with feminist perspectives – a decision that could have a “chilling effect” on public interest interventions in Canadian courts, some believe.