Research

A new study investigating how the immune systems of two freshwater sports fish respond to different water temperatures and that could have applications for human health is one of 10 new projects at the University of Waterloo to receive major federal funding with the announcement of the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships and Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.

When Professor Charles Clarke and one of his students entered a name into search engines on their computers recently, they received wildly different results.

For Clarke, associate director of undergraduate studies at Waterloo’s Cheriton School of Computer Science, information about a local computer scientist was the first link in a list of responses.

But the student’s top link led to information about an Iranian pop singer.

People smoke the same number of cigarettes regardless of how much nicotine is in them, according to a new University of Waterloo study.

“There is ample evidence from inside and outside the tobacco industry that major reductions in the nicotine content of cigarettes would result in a less-addictive product," says David Hammond, lead author on the study and professor in Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. “Overall, the impact of a less-addictive cigarette on reducing smoking uptake and cancer prevention is potentially massive.” 

Cigarettes with very low levels of nicotine may reduce addiction without increasing exposure to toxic chemicals, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo. 

The study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology monitored the smoking behaviours of 72 adults as they switched to three types of cigarettes with markedly reduced nicotine levels.

Canada's U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities has named Feridun Hamdullahpur, University of Waterloo's president and vice-chancellor its next Chair for a fixed two-year term.

Hamdullahpur, who previously served as U15 vice-chair, assumes the leadership role from outgoing U15 Chair Amit Chakma, Western University's president and vice-chancellor.

Quick: Would you rather receive lukewarm food served on a hospital tray or order takeout from a menu created just for you?

The choice is obvious – and if Heather Keller had her way, more long term care homes in Canada would give residents access to innovative eating options like restaurant-style food service.

A landmark study aimed at improving the food intake, health and quality of life of older adults in long-term care homes is among three projects at the University of Waterloo receiving close to $1.5 million in grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Mosaic of satellite images of Antarctica taken by RADARSAT-2.
(RADARSAT-2 Data and Products © MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (2008) – All Rights Reserved.  RADARSAT is an official mark of the Canadian Space Agency.)

The University of Waterloo has unveiled a new satellite image of Antarctica, and the imagery will help scientists all over the world gain new insight into the effects of climate change.

Thanks to a partnership between the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA), the prime contractor for the RADARSAT-2 program, and the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) at UWaterloo, the mosaic is free and fully accessible to the academic world and the public. 

Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Dave Rudolph and his group within the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) have successfully launched their smart watershed data integration platform to monitor the hydrologic conditions and water quality within a region of Ontario’s Grand River watershed and to facilitate new innovations in watershed management.