As of Jan. 13, India had not had a case of polio in a year. The country was a major centre of polio infection as recently as 2009, when its 741 cases accounted for nearly half the world’s infections. The number of cases dropped to a record low of 42 in 2010. Last year saw [...]
The Manitoban
The Students' Newspaper of the University of Manitoba
Science section
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March of the supersoldiers
Ancestral Developmental Potential Facilitates Parallel Evolution in Ants,” a study out of McGill University published Jan. 6 in Science, shines light on a different class of ant: the supersoldier. The study was able to manipulate normal ant development to produce this rare ant type, characterized by an oversized head. Although the study was focused only [...]
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The big cheese
It is evident when cheese goes bad. A foul-smelling odour paired with the presence of uniquely coloured moulds and fungi renders this once pleasurable food item uneatable. As much as your roommate may protest, the overdue cheese must be thrown out. However, your mouldy cheese may now find use in another field: sterilization. Researchers from [...]
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Haier LCD L40F1180 TV review
I picked up a 40’’ Haier LCD television over Christmas break; we got it for $300, which was a steal. It seems that Haier television’s are popping up everywhere, so it is only appropriate that one is reviewed by the Manitoban. Here are the specs: the television has a 1920 x 1080 resolution, offering full [...]
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Moon-mapping
NASA’s latest Discovery mission has entered orbit around the moon. The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral on Sept. 10, 2011, marking the start of a nine-month cycle during which the craft will make a detailed gravitational map of the moon. The mission involves two spacecraft, GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B, each [...]
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So, how ‘bout this climate we’re having?
On Jan. 5 record breaking temperatures swept over southern Manitoba. Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport reached a high of 6.4 C, Portage la Prairie and Winkler hit 10 C and 11 C, respectively. Environment Canada cites Winnipeg’s historical average temperatures for Jan. 5 at a maximum of -13 C, a minimum of -22.9 C, with the [...]
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Bring on the world cars
The 2012 Ford Focus is a great looking car that is easy to drive, economical and so chock full of technology that you’ll be finding gizmos to play with for years after purchase — but is it a good car for a student? That question is hard to answer, especially in the compact segment the [...]
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Science opinion
Research In Motion, the creator of the BlackBerry, has been struggling to find relevance in the technology and smartphone markets during 2011. It’s a shame, as RIM is a bastion Canadian blue-chip — and it would be a blow to Canadian industry and education if it went away. While other problems exacerbated the BlackBerry’s position, [...]
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Science opinion
I graduated from the University of Manitoba Computer Science department in 2007. Despite what my degree says, I’m not a scientist. I think of myself more as a “science cheerleader.” Science needs cheerleaders, because science is so important. We humans tend to pay much more attention to those things that confirm our preconceived notions than [...]
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Conservation conversation
A draft has been released of a new plan to conserve boreal woodland caribou in eastern Manitoba, and the public has been invited to weigh-in durring a 90-day comment period. The 61-page plan outlines actions the provincial government intends to take to maintain caribou habitats and create self-sustaining populations. “Boreal woodland caribou are a threatened [...]