Judge overturns decision in favour of soup thieves

Three University of Saskatchewan cafeteria workers were fired in March, 2012 for reportedly pilfering soup on the job and smuggling gravy and expired fruit cups home with them.

The majority of the university board later decided that the firing was an “excessive disciplinary response,” due to the fact that dismissal of thieves was not outlined in their policy.

A Saskatchewan judge has just overturned the new decision, citing it as, “unreasonable and outside the range of acceptable outcomes.” He sided with the minority of the board in thinking that the three were “involved in a series of deliberate thefts,” this being made worse by the fact that they initially denied the charges.

With files from National Post

U of A research looks to artificial movement

University of Alberta professor Jaynie Yang has been researching the possibility of returning mobility through the use of fully functioning robotic exoskeletons. Her research has been enabled by a four-month lease of the ReWalk, the first robotic exoskeleton in Canada.

The ReWalk was initially designed to aid in the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries. Yang’s team hopes to conduct a 12-week study of people with various spinal cord injuries and capabilities to find out what the technology is capable of.

“We want to know what’s possible with this exoskeleton, because people can walk in it for extended periods, and that’s what’s needed to provoke changes in your nervous system,” Yang said.

With files from The Gateway

Upright MRI helps UBC researchers treat osteoarthritis

Using an upright open magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, UBC researchers hope to make advancements in the treatment of osteoarthritis: the machine found at the Vancouver Coast Health Research Institute’s Centre for Hip Health and Mobility is the only one of its kind in Canada.

These machines have advantages over the traditional closed machine that requires the patient to lie still on a flat surface. Their unique design allows for the imaging of joints in their full range of motion, the significance being that imaging the joint under stress could help doctors provide more targeted treatment for their patients.

With files from The Vancouver Sun

UBC students climb mountains for charity

A group of University of British Columbia students from the school’s Tanzania Hearts Babies Project spent several days trekking up to the bases of both Mount Everest and Mount Kala Pattar for charity. The students recently released a montage of their trip, which took place in May.

With their climbing, the students aimed to bring awareness to the problems of heart defects among Tanzanian children. The group initially intended to merely climb the mountains, but the idea rapidly grew into a humanitarian effort through Tanzania Hearts Babies Project.

With files fromThe Ubyssey