News

People who self-diagnose and self-prescribe using the Internet could be doing themselves more harm than good, according to a study from the University of Waterloo.

The researchers found that while many people feel confident they can assess the effectiveness of treatments found on the web, separating medically beneficial ones from those that are a waste of money, dubious or even harmful is not as easy as people think.

According to a recent study by the University of Waterloo and Western University, nearly 90 per cent of hospitalized patients have poor vision, putting them at serious risk for falls.

 

Nearly half of people who use a standing desk are at risk of developing lower back pain, according to a study from the University of Waterloo.

The study tested 40 adults, evenly split between male and female, with no previous back issues. It found that 40 percent developed low back pain after standing for two hours. Moreover, if they were previously fatigued, their muscle strength was not able to recover while standing.

The University of Waterloo has signed a joint research agreement with two Japanese organizations to develop effective methods to engineer safe and secure embedded software targeting the manufacturing and automotive sectors.

The five-year project, Hasuo Metamathematics for Systems Design (MMSD), is led by Krzysztof Czarnecki, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Ichiro Hasuo, associate professor at the National Institute of Informatics (NII), and valued at $1.4 million.

Two international researchers will join the University of Waterloo as Canada 150 Research Chairs following an announcement in Ottawa today by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.

The researchers, who come from the U.S. and U.K., are among 24 Canada 150 Research Chairs chosen as part of a program to attract some of the world’s top research talent.

They are:

Technology developed at the University of Waterloo reliably and affordably increases the efficiency of internal combustion engines by more than 10 percent.

A new neutron interferometry technique developed by researchers from the Institute for Quantum Computing, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) will allow for faster and more precise measurements, and could pave the way for advances in imaging, materials science and quantum research.

One in five Muslim Canadians say they have experienced discrimination due to their religion, ethnicity or culture at least once in the past five years.

The University of Waterloo will partner with leading institutes in China to advance research in the areas of connected and autonomous vehicle technology.

Farm manure could be a viable source of renewable energy to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo are developing technology to produce renewable natural gas from manure so it can be added to the existing energy supply system for heating homes and powering industries.