kristina charania
For healthier shellfish, add lime
November 4, 2013With oceans quickly acidifying due to carbon dioxide emissions, aquaculture farmers face a serious threat to the health of calcifying sea organisms like crabs, clams, mussels and shellfish that we enjoy at the dinner table. “It’s becoming harder and harder for these organisms to build their calcium carbonate shells in larval stages because there are fewer free carbonate ions in acidic seawater,” explained SFU environmental sciences graduate student Carolyn Duckham. Duckham has discovered however that the missing carbonate ions can be restored by adding hydrated lime, an inexpensive, abundant compound that increases pH and could neutralize acidic seawater. During a…
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Professor talks deadly bacteria
October 28, 2013For the second instalment of Café Scientifique’s dialogue series, SFU assistant professor Julian Guttman explained how different pathogenic bacteria infect humans, what illnesses they cause, and the ways some bacteria can be used as bioterrorism weapons. These “talks with docs”…
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University Briefs
September 9, 2013Students choose arts and social sciences over high-paying majors According to a new CIBC World Markets report, university students are still pursuing low-paying majors over lucrative ones — and they know it. Benjamin Tal, CIBC Deputy Chief Economist, notes that…
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Study: Kinky sex better for mental health than “vanilla”
June 17, 2013According to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, using the blindfold and furry handcuffs stashed in your closet may contribute to better mental health than that of lovers keeping it boring and simple between the…
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University Briefs
June 10, 2013By Kristina Charania Ecuador volcano kills U of C student On June 2, University of Calgary chemical engineering student Danielle Kendall was hit by a car-sized block of ice while scaling the Cotopaxi stratovolcano in Ecuador with a group of…
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University Briefs
June 3, 2013By Kristina Charania Spray-on lens technology may revolutionize optical lens fabrication UBC engineer Kenneth Chau worked with a team of researchers to create a spray-on substance for flat lenses which may radically change the way we manufacture and use optical…
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University Briefs
May 27, 2013By Kristina Charania Computer game teaches medical students how to play doctor University of Alberta students have created an educational computer game that simulates real-life hospital situations to enforce the importance of patient safety and communication between medical workers. Headed…
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New federal funding could help SFU save millions of lives
May 20, 2013Lab-on-a-chip technology could mean the difference between quick diagnosis and too-late treatment By Kristina Charania Photos by SFU PAMR In some rural African villages, children are underfed and have little access to safe water and clean toilets, resulting in thousands of fatalities…
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University Briefs
May 20, 2013VIA Rail bombing planner possibly a Quebec university student By Kristina Charania Although Ahmed Abassi, 26, is currently arrested in the U.S. for attempting to expedite one of the VIA Rail bomb plots, a man by the same name is…
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International research team links gene to cancer susceptibility
May 13, 2013Study identifies those with gene variant as more at risk for breast and ovarian cancer By Kristina Charania Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson, SFU biomedical physiology and kinesiology associate professor, is one scientist among 448 others who have collaborated on an international…
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