Scandinavian studies professor debunks idea of ‘racial purity’ that makes racist extremists identify with Viking culture
There’s an urgent and pressing need for everyone to understand the Vikings, argues Scandinavian studies scholar Natalie Van Deusen. That’s because all manner of Viking symbols and misconceptions about a golden age of Nordic racial purity have been appropriated by racist extremists looking to justify their xenophobia and acts of violence, according to the University of…
New understanding leads U of A researchers to try a new class of drugs against SARS-CoV-2 and HIV
A newly discovered mechanism at work in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients may also lead to new treatments for COVID-19, according to a team of researchers at the University of Alberta. The recently published paper in the journal of the American Society for Microbiology, mBio, reveals how HIV attacks peroxisomes, organelles found in all cells that help…
Experts share their knowledge, hopes and fears about the chances of finding a way to inoculate the world against the deadly virus
With more than 100 teams around the world racing to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, what are the chances of getting something that works? The World Health Organization’s list shows 21 vaccine projects in either phase one or two of clinical trials, and two projects, one in China and the other in the U.K., in phase…
A community program using Dungeons & Dragons to foster social growth among at-risk youth has caught the attention of University of Alberta researchers, who plan to evaluate its apparent success. The Level-Up Gaming League was created by local management consultant Bryan Sali, who noticed a lack of social skills among homeless youth while working about seven years…
Landmark 35-year research project yields surprising findings about happiness, relationships, generational differences and more
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the differences between generations and the sociological forces defining their worldviews and behaviour. Stereotypes abound: the silent generation is inflexibly conventional, the baby boomers are narcissistic, generation X members are lazy. And millennials just take too long to grow up. But few of these assumptions…
Pollinators are responsible for about one out of every three bites of food people eat. Without them, we would starve
We hear with alarming frequency that honey bees are in decline around the globe due to mysterious diseases, climate change, pesticides and habitat loss. But what of the other pollinators – solitary bees, bumblebees, pollen wasps, bee flies, ants, midges, hoverflies, butterflies, moths and beetles? How are they faring? Pollinators don’t have to be tiny…
But recent evidence presents no cause for panic, says U of A infectious disease specialist
For those worried about the airborne transmission of COVID-19, University of Alberta infectious disease expert Nelson Lee wants to be clear: don’t panic. “We're not talking about long-range transmission that can cause super-spreading events,” said Lee, one of 239 scientists from around the world who sent an open letter to the World Health Organization warning of mounting…
Until his death in 1970, Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves never had a single regret about the lives that were lost as a result of the Manhattan Project
Right up until practically the last minute, only an elite few knew about the building, testing and ultimate plans to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the "gadget" was about to be tested, Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves – who ran the project from its inception – tried to explain it as the…
U of A researchers say COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease are linked thanks to ACE2 enzyme and may respond to same treatments
A new blood test that reliably predicts outcomes for heart failure patients could lead to new diagnostics and treatments for COVID-19 patients as well, according to newly published research from cardiologists at the University of Alberta. The researchers examined circulating angiotensin peptide levels in the blood of 110 people who were experiencing heart failure due to…
The majority of people who worked on the Manhattan Project were only told what they needed to know to do their jobs
While Oak Ridge, Tenn., would make U-235, the fuel for the Hiroshima atomic bomb, Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves looked for a site in the West that was far from population centres. It also needed a generous supply of electricity to run the bomb factories and water to cool the reactors. Hanford, Wash., downriver from…
There’s an urgent and pressing need for everyone to understand the Vikings, argues Scandinavian studies scholar Natalie Van Deusen. That’s because all manner of Viking symbols and misconceptions about a golden age of Nordic racial purity have been appropriated by racist extremists looking to justify their xenophobia and acts of violence, according to the University of…
