Pioneering U of A researcher part of international team brought together through $24M grant
When Karim Fouad started his career with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine looking for a way to heal spinal cord injuries, he remembers the enthusiasm that rippled through his discipline as prospects for better treatments began to show real promise. “Spinal cord researchers thought they had found the reason the nerve cells don’t regrow in the…
Understanding drugs and viruses key to being ready for the next pandemic
Understanding exactly how antiviral drugs interact with viruses at a molecular level will be key to developing the broad-spectrum therapies needed to battle against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and get ready to fight the next one, according to a newly published paper in the The Journal of Biological Chemistry. The paper reveals the inner workings of the…
Indigenous resource management key to ending environmental degradation and loss of culture
When Danika Littlechild was growing up in Maskwacis, Alta., her uncle would pick her up after school and walk her home through the bush to her kôhkom’s (grandmother’s) house. He would show her different plants and fungi along the way, teaching her their names and telling stories about when to harvest and how to use them for…
Diving at dawn and dusk could save time and money in battle against the voracious predators
Although time is in short supply in the war against the lionfish invasion in the Atlantic and Caribbean, a University of Alberta study suggests taking time to plan the where, when and who of this fight will give wildlife officials the best shot at keeping the voracious trespassers at bay. “Many invasive species removal plans…
Researchers achieve milestone in efforts to get patients with diabetes off injected insulin for good
Diabetes researchers are reporting early success in a first-in-humans clinical trial to test whether pancreatic cells grown from a patient’s own blood can be safely implanted and begin to produce insulin. The team reported on their proof of concept and safety study in a newly published paper in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. Of 17 patients who…
Overactive bladder can distract from balance and stability
A team of University of Alberta researchers focused on aging Albertans has found that urinary incontinence could be a contributing factor in falls among older adults. In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, the researchers showed for the first time that the feeling of having to pee acts as a distracting factor that increases the…
Mimicry is usually designed to protect prey from predators. But some also use the tactic to fool prey
What you see may not be what you get when it comes to the natural world. Many animals use mimicry to fool predators and prey into thinking they’re something else, with insects putting on the best show in this regard. Tens of thousands of species of insects aren’t what they seem at first glance. But…
A rejected patent application nearly derailed years of research, but support from experts saved the day
In 2015, University of Alberta cancer researcher Jack Tuszynski learned that his patent application for a promising chemotherapy treatment for people suffering from metastatic bladder cancer had been rejected by the U.S. Patent Office. “That was it. I thought, ‘We can’t proceed, we’re done, we spent almost a decade working on this and it’s a no go,’”…
The ‘snake with four legs’ is instead a long-bodied marine lizard
Filling in the links of the evolutionary chain with a fossil record of a “snake with four legs” connecting lizards and early snakes would be a dream come true for paleontologists. But a specimen formerly thought to fit the bill is not the missing piece of the puzzle, according to a new study led by…
As part of the celebrations, we're revisiting five great stories showcasing the breadth of work being done at the University of Alberta in the journey towards a cure. For many of the 465 million people around the world living with diabetes, insulin is a lifeline. Since their bodies don’t produce enough of the hormone naturally…
When Karim Fouad started his career with the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine looking for a way to heal spinal cord injuries, he remembers the enthusiasm that rippled through his discipline as prospects for better treatments began to show real promise. “Spinal cord researchers thought they had found the reason the nerve cells don’t regrow in the…
