��ɫTV News - News releases

Sun safety declining in Canada amid rise in skin cancer cases

webfull — Fri, 02 May 2025 14:44:48 +0000

Despite decades of public health messaging, Canadians are spending more time in the sun and using less sun protection – raising alarms among researchers as melanoma cases continue to climb.

That trend is highlighted in a ��ɫTV-led study that analyzed national survey data collected between 2011 and 2018 from over 77,000 people, representing a weighted sample of 21 million Canadians.

Published: 2 May 2025

Researchers improve the accuracy of AI writing tools

webfull — Thu, 01 May 2025 14:33:42 +0000

A ��ɫTV-led team of researchers has developed a new method that significantly improves the accuracy and efficiency of large language models (LLMs) when generating computer code and other structured text.

Large language models (LLMs) are powerful AI tools that are capable of writing everything from essays to programming scripts in a wide range of languages. However, they often make mistakes when generating text that must conform to constraints, leading to errors or outputs that don’t work. Existing solutions to fix these issues are often unreliable or too slow.

Published: 1 May 2025

��ɫTVl researchers develop practical new tool for detecting nanoplastics and microplastics in the environment

webfull — Thu, 01 May 2025 12:59:27 +0000

A team of ��ɫTV researchers has developed a cost-effective, high-throughput technology for detecting nanoplastics and microplastics in the environment.

Published: 1 May 2025

Study suggests we don’t just hear music, but ‘become it’

webfull — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:56:55 +0000

An international study co-authored by ��ɫTVl psychologist Caroline Palmer suggests our brains and bodies don’t just understand music, they physically resonate with it. These discoveries, based on findings in neuroscience, music, and psychology, support Neural Resonance Theory (NRT).

NRT maintains that rather than relying on learned expectations or prediction, musical experiences arise from the brain’s natural oscillations that sync with rhythm, melody and harmony. This resonance shapes our sense of timing, musical pleasure and the instinct to move with the beat.

Published: 30 April 2025

Researchers identify two new crocodile species

webfull — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:59:51 +0000

��ɫTV researchers, in collaboration with Mexican scientists, have discovered two previously unknown species of crocodiles, one living on the island of Cozumel and the other on the atoll of Banco Chinchorro, both off the Yucatán Peninsula. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) and highlight the urgent need for conservation efforts, the researchers say.

Published: 24 April 2025

Our brains can communicate wordlessly, through our eyes

webfull — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:07:35 +0000

��ɫTVl researchers have demonstrated something long assumed: that glances can transmit information about one’s mental state to others without a single word being exchanged. They speculate that this primal ability may have played a role in assuring survival of human society at times when making a sound could have attracted predators.

Published: 23 April 2025

Drugs targeting ‘zombie cells’ show promise for treating chronic back pain

webfull — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:32:42 +0000

In a preclinical study led by ��ɫTV researchers, two drugs targeting “zombie cells” have been shown to treat the underlying cause of chronic low back pain. The condition affects millions of people worldwide.

Current treatments manage symptoms through painkillers or surgery, without addressing the root cause.

Published: 22 April 2025

Fighting honey fraud with AI technology

webfull — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:10:40 +0000

��ɫTV researchers have developed an AI-powered method to verify the origin of honey, ensuring that what’s on the label matches what’s in the jar. The breakthrough offers a potential solution to a long-standing problem.

“Honey is one of the most fraud-prone commodities in global trade. It often involves mislabelling where it was produced or the types of flowers that bees collected nectar from,” said lead author Stéphane Bayen, Associate Professor and Chair of ��ɫTVl’s Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry.

Published: 14 April 2025

New drone-assisted 3D model offers a more accurate way to date dinosaur fossils

webfull — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 13:09:29 +0000

A new study from ��ɫTV is reshaping how scientists date dinosaur fossils in Alberta’s Dinosaur Provincial Park (DPP). Using advanced drone-assisted 3D mapping, researchers have uncovered significant variations in a key geological marker, challenging long-standing methods of determining the ages of dinosaur fossils.

Published: 10 April 2025

What links cannabis use and psychosis? Researchers point to the brain’s dopamine system

webfull — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 15:18:25 +0000

A ��ɫTV-led study found that people with cannabis use disorder (CUD) had elevated dopamine levels in a brain region associated with psychosis.

“This could help explain why cannabis use increases the risk of hallucinations and delusions, key symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders,” said first author Jessica Ahrens, a PhD student in ��ɫTVl’s Integrated Program in Neuroscience.

Published: 9 April 2025