/oss/taxonomy/term/2799/all en /oss/article/medical-history/hundred-years-ago-life-changed-diabetics <p>November 26th marks the 100th anniversary of a splendid dinner held at the University of Toronto to recognize perhaps the greatest Canadian achievement in science. A few weeks earlier, the Nobel committee had announced the awarding of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine to Drs. Frederick Banting and John Macleod of the University of Toronto for their discovery of insulin.  </p> Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:54:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9737 at /oss /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/re-animating-dead-spiders-smart-toilets-licking-rocks-and-counting-nostril-hairs-2023-ig-nobel <p>While the 2023 Nobel Prize announcements have come and gone, the chatter around the winners is likely to last far longer.</p> Fri, 20 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9697 at /oss /oss/article/medical-technology-general-science/nobel-prize-chemistry-no-small-matter <p>The word “quantum” derives from the Latin word for “amount,” so that if something is “quantifiable,” it means that it can be measured. Although I think I have a reasonably good grasp of chemistry, I’ll admit that my knowledge of “quantum chemistry” is quantifiably very small. But it is enough to allow me to appreciate the magnitude of this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry, awarded to Drs. Moungi Bawendi of MIT, Louis Brus of Columbia University and Alexei Ekimov of Nanocrystals Technology Inc.</p> Thu, 05 Oct 2023 23:11:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9680 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-medical-general-science/nobel-prize-committee-sends-message-messenger-rna-research-merits-sciences-highest-honour <p>The wall above that photocopier located at the University of Pennsylvania may eventually feature a plaque that reads something like “it was here that Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman met in 1998 and forged a partnership that would lead to millions of lives being saved by modified RNA Covid-19 vaccines and result in the duo being awarded that 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology.” </p> Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9671 at /oss /oss/article/medical-history/first-canadian-nobel-prize <p>As we approach the week during which the 2023 Nobel Prizes will be announced (October 2-9, 2023), it is perhaps timely to consider the events that surrounded the first Nobel Prize awarded to a Canadian. Exactly 100 years ago, Frederik G. Banting and John R.R. Macleod, were awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of insulin” at the University of Toronto.</p> Fri, 29 Sep 2023 12:40:37 +0000 Patricia Brubaker, Ph.D., F.R.S.C. 9667 at /oss /oss/article/medical-student-contributors-history/fighting-fire-fire-how-nobel-prize-winning-scientists-used-malaria-cure-syphilis <p>The history of science is full of disproved experiments, revised textbooks, and rewritten hypotheses. Even Nobel prize-winning research, which is often viewed as the best work science has to offer, can fall by the wayside. One example is the 1927 Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1927/wagner-jauregg/biographical/">Julius Wagner-Jauregg</a> for treating syphilis by infecting patients with malaria.</p> Fri, 22 Sep 2023 23:42:54 +0000 Maya McKeown, B.Sc. 9651 at /oss /oss/article/contributors-general-science/going-date <p>In 1960 Willard Frank Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize for his method of using carbon-14 to find the age of objects ranging from ancient bows and arrows to trees buried in glacial ice. Since then, the technique of radiocarbon dating has been improved so that it can be used with much smaller samples---fractions of milligrams instead of the original 8 grams. This has made it less intrusive when dealing with precious art and in trying to figure out the authenticity of artefacts like the Shroud of Turin.</p> Fri, 07 Apr 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Enrico Uva B.Sc. Dip. Ed. 9465 at /oss /oss/article/medical-did-you-know/lesson-nature-what-click-chemistry-and-why-it-won-nobel-prize <p>“This year’s [Nobel] Prize in Chemistry deals with not overcomplicating matters” says Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. It has a simple and catchy name: Click Chemistry.</p> <p>There is a certain chemical reaction that is often referred to as <b>the</b> click reaction. But that’s a bit of a misnomer. Click chemistry is a framework or methodology for doing chemistry. Specifically, making complex organic molecules, mainly pharmaceutical ones.</p> Wed, 12 Oct 2022 00:58:30 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9261 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/dna-teleportation-really <p>French virologist Dr. Luc Montagnier, who was awarded a share of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, passed away on February 8. The Prize, awarded for his 1983 discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), was richly deserved but was not without controversy. Without doubt, the identification of the virus was certainly a landmark event, but the discovery was disputed by American biomedical researcher Robert Gallo who claimed that he had detected the virus before Montagnier. This led to a long and acrimonious dispute that was finally settled with the intervention of U.S.</p> Thu, 24 Feb 2022 19:07:32 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9035 at /oss /oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes <p>Alfred Nobel wasn't in the best of health but he knew he wasn't dead. Yet, there was his obituary, prominently featured in the morning newspaper. To make matters worse, not only had the newspaper killed him off prematurely, it had described him as a man who "became rich by finding a way to kill more people faster than ever before." The French press service that provided the story had made a mistake. It was actually Alfred's older brother Ludvig who had died while vacationing in Cannes but a reporter had gotten the brothers mixed up.</p> Fri, 08 Oct 2021 17:47:24 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8893 at /oss /oss/article/history/lise-meitner-noble-scientist <hr /> <p><em>Olivia Fraser Barsby is a biology and anthropology student at ���ϲ����� University, specializing in conservation, ecology, evolution and behaviour. </em></p> Mon, 01 Mar 2021 20:10:00 +0000 Olivia Fraser Barsby 8636 at /oss /oss/article/technology-history/man-who-photocopied-dna-and-also-saw-talking-fluorescent-raccoon <p>It may be surprising to learn that the credited inventor of the most important workhorse in molecular biology—the polymerase chain reaction or PCR—once claimed he had seen<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/11/03/nobel-chemist-kary-mullis-making-waves-as-a-mind-surfer/31e7e720-44e4-49ff-8458-a9822cdcb47e/"> a talking fluorescent raccoon</a> near his cabin, which may or may not have been an alien.</p> Thu, 15 Aug 2019 17:30:49 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7873 at /oss /oss/article/history/dr-ralph-steinman-nobel-prize-winning-scientist-who-became-his-own-patient <p><span>For over 100 years the Nobel Foundation has recognized outstanding individuals for contributions to their respective fields. The rules, however, stipulate that prizes cannot be awarded posthumously. But in October 2011, an exception was made for an exceptional individual: Dr. Ralph Steinman was awarded the joint Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine three days after he died of pancreatic cancer. At the time of the announcement, the news of his death had not yet reached the Nobel committee. So they decided that his wife and children would be able to accept his prize on his behalf.</span></p> Wed, 27 Sep 2017 16:07:56 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 2647 at /oss