Research and Discovery
Canadian researchers put numbers on health risk
Researchers urged to hone methods for mining social-media data
By Chris Chipello
A growing number of academic researchers are mining social media data to learn about both online and offline human behaviour. In recent years, studies have claimed the ability to predict everything from summer blockbusters to fluctuations in the stock market.
Drug reverses behavioural symptoms in mice with a version of autism
By Cynthia Lee
People affected by a common inherited form of autism could be helped by a drug that is being tested as a treatment for cancer, according to researchers from McGill and the University of Edinburgh.
Fragile X Syndrome is the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorders. It affects around 1 in 4,000 boys and 1 in 6,000 girls. Currently, there is no cure.
By Tod Hoffman
People with airway diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), have a higher incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to the findings of a new study.
McGill study helps identify those most at risk for oral human papillomavirus (HPV)
By Cynthia Lee
Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were more common among men who had female partners with oral and/or genital HPV infection, suggesting that the transmission of HPV occurs via oral-oral and oral-genital routes, according to a McGill University study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Study identifies new player in brain function and memory
By Todd Hoffman
Popular commercial diets can help you lose some weight in the short term, but keeping the weight off after the first year and the diet’s impact on heart health are unclear, according to a study conducted at the Lady Davis Institute (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association.
Research reveals link between renal cell carcinoma and exposure to aristolochic acid
By McGill Reporter Staff
A new study on a large cohort of kidney cancer patients in Europe sheds light on the genetic architecture of the disease — and reveals an apparent link between exposure to aristolochic acid and incidence of kidney cancer, particularly in Romania.
By MUHC Staff
New study examines link between brain cortex and food buying habits
By Anita Kar
Will that be a pizza for you or will you go for a salad? Choosing what you eat is not simply a matter of taste, conclude scientists in a new study at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre. As you glance over a menu or peruse the shelves in a supermarket, your brain is making decisions based more on a food’s caloric content.