U of T students aim for infinity, and beyond!

The University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) is reaching for new heights with their latest project: a small-scale spacecraft.

Jeffrey Osborne, UTAT president, told The Varsity that the team is designing a small satellite, with the intent of eventually launching it into space. The satellite’s mission would be to investigate the effects of space on the human body. Osborne believes that that the group may be able to launch a spacecraft every three years, should they receive proper funding.

The team also welcomed experts from the field on January 10 to review the spacecraft’s current progress.

With files from The Varsity

Scientists search Antarctic skies for Big Bang origins

A team of UBC scientists based out of Antarctica have launched a telescope that may reveal clues that shed light on the very beginning of the Big Bang.

The device, called SPIDER, was launched on December 31 and will remain airborne for 20 days, riding the circumpolar winds around Antarctica’s coast.

The telescope will attempt to locate patterns of polarizations that would have occurred only moments after the Big Bang. If it succeeds, the telescope, “would be a smoking gun of how the universe began,” said UBC professor Mark Halpern, a member of the SPIDER team.

With files from CBC News

Dalhousie suspends 13 dentistry students for Facebook controversy

Dalhousie University announced on January 5 that 13 men who were formerly involved in a controversial Facebook group have been suspended from clinic work until further notice.

The men belonged to a group called Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen, in which the fourth-year male dentistry students posted misogynistic comments about female classmates. Among these comments were a poll about drugging women and having “hate” sex with female classmates.

While the suspensions are in place, the men cannot graduate and may not be able to attend their classes.

With files from CBC News