/oss/taxonomy/term/259/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-history/water-cures-have-flowed-through-history <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/the-right-chemistry-water-cures-have-flowed-through-history">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 16 Aug 2024 19:12:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10040 at /oss /oss/article/environment/human-guided-evolution-closer-you-think <p>We tend to fixate on the drastic changes caused by evolution over huge timescales. It’s easy to ignore the small variations between generations that add together over time to form the big evolutionary changes we focus on. This unintentional side-lining of small adaptations can blind us to the ways in which humans are directly affecting the evolutionary processes of nature. From tuskless elephants to fish that can’t smell, animals are developing specialized adaptations to allow them to live in ecosystems that have been disrupted and altered by mankind.</p> Thu, 18 Mar 2021 16:23:57 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8660 at /oss /oss/article/health/i-am-woman-why-am-i-always-so-cold <p>I am always cold. I’ve had this problem ever since I was a child, when I’d sneak into the living room in the winter and turn up the thermostat while my parents weren’t looking. When I still worked in an office (pre-pandemic), I noticed that often my female colleagues and I would be wearing sweaters in the dead of summer to keep warm in our over-air conditioned building. Yet my male colleagues seem impervious to the cold - often wearing short-sleeves.</p> <p>Which led me to wonder: Do women feel cold more than men and if so, can science explain this difference?</p> Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:31:18 +0000 Gaia Remerowski, MS, Science Journalism 8647 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/you-inherit-part-your-fingerprint-your-parents <p>Our fingerprints are a one-of-a-kind pattern, so unique to an individual that even identical twins don’t share them. And yet I’m here to tell you that you inherit part of your fingerprint from your parents. Huh?</p> <p>If you look closely at your fingerprints, you’ll notice that their patterns are one of three main types: loops, whorls or arches.</p> Fri, 19 Jul 2019 16:22:30 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7836 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/koalas-have-fingerprints-just-humans <p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/koalas-make-a-monkey-out-of-the-police-1313275.html">In 1975</a> police took fingerprints from six chimpanzees and two orangutans housed at zoos in England. They weren’t just looking for a unique souvenir; they were testing to see if any unsolved crimes could be the fault of these banana-eating miscreants.</p> <p>While these primates ended up being as innocent as they seemed, the police did determine that their fingerprints were indistinguishable from a human’s without careful inspection.</p> Fri, 19 Jul 2019 16:14:53 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7835 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/feeding-dogs-theyre-human-raw-grain-free-and-vegan-diets-dogs <p>Given the breadth of commercially available dog foods it can be tricky for dog owners to make informed decisions on how to feed their pets. Add into the mix the wealth of websites and books advocating for specialized dog diets and feeding your dog well can seem like a monumental task.</p> <p>In <a href="/oss/article/nutrition/what-should-i-be">a previous article</a> I addressed what owners are able to know about a type of food, and what they aren’t, based on the package.</p> Wed, 20 Mar 2019 18:19:25 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7657 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-you-asked/why-are-there-so-many-different-body-types-among-people <p>While this question seems simple, it turns out there are a lot of complex processes behind your development of a particular body size or shape.</p> Thu, 23 Aug 2018 16:29:52 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7320 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/queen-ants-dont-have-divine-right-their-thrones-just-right-genetics <p><span>Humans have classified more than 12,500 species of ants, and there are an estimated 10,000 more waiting to be discovered. Besides their incredible strength, almost all of these species have something in common: queens. </span></p> Thu, 02 Aug 2018 17:39:57 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7200 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/crows-garbage-collectors <p>Let’s crow about crows. They are smart birds. In Australia they have learned to feast on the repugnant cane toads that other animals avoid because of the toxin they secret from from glands above their eyes. Crows are not deterred; they turn the toads over and peck away at the creatures’ neck and feast on their insides. Amazingly, these birds also use sticks as tools to get at food and are intelligent enough to be trainable.</p> Sat, 13 Jan 2018 19:56:46 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6883 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/owls-dont-have-eyeballs <p>You know how we (humans) have eyeballs? Well, owls don’t. <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/birds-eye-view-wbt/">They have eye tubes or cylinders</a>, rod-shaped eyes that do not move in their sockets as eyeballs do. Instead, owls have to move their bodies or heads in order to look around. Since moving their torsos would likely make noise that would alert their prey to their presence, owls have evolved to have necks that can spin up to 270° essentially silently.</p> Thu, 11 Jan 2018 18:39:58 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 6879 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/hypnic-jerks <p>If you ever twitch while falling asleep, you’re not alone. In fact 70% of the population experience this phenomenon, called a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk">hypnic or hypnagogic jerk</a>. </p> Sun, 17 Sep 2017 18:15:18 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2628 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/whiskers-humans <p>Humans might not have hair as thick as chimpanzees covering their body, but our arm, leg and eyebrow hair all serves as reminders of our primate ancestry. So why don’t Homo sapiens have whiskers like other simians? To answer that, let me explain first what whiskers do, besides look adorable.</p> Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:44:12 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2571 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/standing-tall <p>There are many good reasons why living organisms are adept at moving themselves around without tripping or falling all the time. This was such a crucial skill for survival that early on in our evolutionary history, the primitive brains of our ancestors were primarily concerned with coordinating muscles and senses. Any creature that fell over too much was eaten by predators pretty quickly, creating a strong evolutionary pressure toward animals that could move reliably.</p> Tue, 23 May 2017 16:42:57 +0000 OSS 2476 at /oss /oss/article/bombardier-beetle-and-its-chemical-bombs <p>Based on their ability to discharge “chemical bombs” when threatened, bombardier beetles are aptly named.  Beetles are different from other insects in that while they can fly, they cannot do so instantly. Their wings are stored under wing covers and have to be released before they can take to the air. Sort of like Clark Kent having to shed his everyday clothes before becoming Superman. Since beetles cannot instantly fly away when attacked, they have evolved emergency defenses to use while they plot their getaway.  </p> Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:59:44 +0000 Dr. Joe Schwarcz 1542 at /oss