/newsroom/taxonomy/term/385/all en /newsroom/simon-gravel Thu, 25 May 2023 17:15:25 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 301086 at /newsroom /newsroom/nicolas-moitessier Fri, 18 Dec 2020 20:10:37 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 253797 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/ctv-news-some-dinosaurs-were-flying-there-were-birds-new-research-suggests-323691 <p>Biologists now have a better idea of the origin of birds and the evolution of flight, two iconic events in the history of life on earth, thanks to work by a group of international scientists including a McGill professor. In updating the evolutionary tree, the team’s findings show some dinosaurs could fly before they evolved into birds, and many others were experimenting with powered flight.</p> Thu, 13 Aug 2020 23:28:35 +0000 amelia.souffrant@mail.mcgill.ca 233899 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/frqs-fund-new-structural-biology-centre-mcgill-university-321519 <p>The health sciences research arm of the Quebec government [Fonds de recherche du Québec – santé (FRQS)] today announced it will provide $2 million to assist in the establishment of the Centre de Recherche en Biologie Structurale (CRBS) at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. The new centre will become the premiere Structural Biology facility in Quebec and a leading centre in Canada, and aims to facilitate structural biology and biophysics for the broader scientific community for the next wave of scientific breakthroughs</p> Wed, 08 Apr 2020 20:27:51 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 207299 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/fossilized-wing-gives-clues-about-labradors-biodiversity-during-cretaceous-320712 <p>A fossilised insect wing discovered in an abandoned mine in Labrador has led palaeontologists from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and the University of GdaÅ„sk to identify a new hairy cicada species that lived around 100 million years ago.</p> <p><i>Maculaferrum blaisi</i>,<i> </i>described in a study published in <i><a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app006692019.html">Acta Palaeontologica Polonica</a></i>, is the first hemipteran insect (true bug) to be discovered at the Redmond Formation, a fossil site from the Cretaceous period near Schefferville, Labrador.</p> Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:11:44 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 199213 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/big-data-reveals-extraordinary-unity-underlying-lifes-diversity-301363 <p>The diversity of life is staggering. From microscopic algae to elephants, life has devised countless ways to thrive in every environment on the planet. But while biologists have tended to focus on the many varied forms that species have evolved, the age of ‘big data’ offers an unprecedented view of some surprisingly common features shared by all creatures, great and small.</p> Mon, 07 Oct 2019 14:59:51 +0000 amelia.souffrant@mail.mcgill.ca 188046 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/are-humans-changing-animal-genetic-diversity-worldwide-301878 <p>Human population density and land use is causing changes in animal genetic diversity, according to researchers at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ.</p> <p>The findings reported in the journal <em>Ecology Letters</em>, show that environmental changes caused by humans are leading to changes in genetic variation in thousands of species of birds, fish, insects, and mammals. The evidence for human impacts was most clear for insects and fish species.</p> Tue, 22 Oct 2019 13:05:14 +0000 amelia.souffrant@mail.mcgill.ca 188085 at /newsroom /newsroom/fiona-soper Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:31:51 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 196643 at /newsroom /newsroom/tomoko-ohyama Tue, 14 Jan 2020 21:47:13 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 196454 at /newsroom /newsroom/nathan-luedtke Mon, 13 Jan 2020 20:37:56 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 196243 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/mapping-global-biodiversity-change-301788 <p>A new study, published in Science, which focuses on mapping biodiversity change in marine and land ecosystems shows that loss of biodiversity is most prevalent in the tropic, with changes in marine ecosystems outpacing those on land. The research, led by scientists from the University of St Andrews, in collaboration with leading universities across Europe, the USA and Canada, including McGill, aimed at reaching a consensus about variation in biodiversity change.</p> Thu, 17 Oct 2019 17:22:46 +0000 jessica.goodsell@mcgill.ca 188077 at /newsroom /newsroom/anna-hargreaves Thu, 19 Dec 2019 19:35:06 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 152856 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/male-guppies-grow-larger-brains-response-predator-exposure-287497 <p><span>Male guppies exposed to predators in the wild or in captivity have heavier brains than those living in relatively predator-free conditions, according to new research published in the journal <em>Functional Ecology</em>.</span></p> <p>Behavioural ecologists at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ in Montreal sampled guppies from two rivers in northern Trinidad. In each river, guppies live both above a waterfall, a location that only guppies and a few other small species of fish have managed to colonize, and below the fall, where many predators including pike cichlids live.</p> Mon, 04 Jun 2018 17:48:51 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 43306 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/borrowing-leaf-biology-preserve-threatened-languages-283334 <p>One of the world’s 7,000 languages vanishes every other week, and half – including scores of indigenous North American languages -- might not survive the 21st century, experts say. To preserve as much linguistic diversity as possible in the face of this threat, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ scientists are proposing to borrow a leaf from conservation biology.</p> Mon, 11 Dec 2017 17:53:52 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 32765 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/climate-warms-mice-morph-283052 <p>New research by Ï㽶ÊÓƵ biologists shows that milder winters have led to physical alterations in two species of mice in southern Quebec in the past 50 years – providing a textbook example of the consequences of climate change for small mammals.</p> <p>The findings also reveal a stark reversal in the proportions of the two mice populations present in the area, adding to evidence that warming temperatures are driving wildlife north.  </p> Fri, 24 Nov 2017 19:20:29 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 32700 at /newsroom