New Poll Of The Month - Weekends in the lab

By MBPGSU, on September 3rd, 2010

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Cancer and Nutrition

By AnnaG, on August 27th, 2010

After taking MBP Oncology course and learning about cancer survival rates and recurrences, I realized that there is pretty much no effective treatment for cancer (I guess I had a very naïve view of this disease for a scientist). I study replication of DNA, so most of the reagents that I am using are potential carcinogens. Also, throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies I heard about a number of professors who developed cancer. So it looks like I am at a greater risk of developing a cancer than a person who works outside of a research field. Since there is no cure for cancer, the best solution is prevention.

MBP Olympics More Than Just A Game

By Samuel Oduneye, on August 26th, 2010

MBP Olympics 2010 on Vimeo.

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” Pierre de Coubertin

The words of the Founder of the International Olympic Committee, could not sound more appropriate. On Friday August 20th, about 100 students, staff and even some faculty members divided into 10 teams and fought valiantly at the 3rd annual MBP Olympics. These Olympics, unlike the slightly more famous ones you see on TV every four years, require an exquisite balance of physical strength, intellectual prowess, mental toughness, and water-proof clothing!

Like the beginning of every epic battle, the afternoon started with burgers, hotdogs and pop. Then the 10 teams (Barberians, C7 Hotties, Gangastz, Hedgeclippers, Lambda, Mouse Models, Photodynamic Super Humans, Rad 2 Ur Face, Short FUSe, and the Artefacts) ventured onto the main fields of Sunnybrook Park in an action-packed afternoon.

The events were scattered across the park as teams went head-to-head, rotating between events. Three-Legged Frisbee, California Kickball, Danger Zone were just some of the events that were featured this year in the MBP Olympics. The video and the rest of the pictures (see below), capture the intensity, passion and skills on display this past Friday, which I believe will go down as the best MBP Olympics yet.

Keep Pushing

By FirasM, on August 19th, 2010

What is a Ph.D.?

Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge:

Happiness Mapped Out

By ApurvaS, on August 17th, 2010

What makes you happy? Perhaps it’s the warm sunshine, the cute kid you see on the subway or listening to your favourite song (Happiness is a warm gun, maybe?). Well, whenever you feel happy press here – on your smartphone that is. The London School of Economics recently launched a free iPhone app called mappiness (http://www.mappiness.org.uk/), which aims to map out what exactly makes individuals happy, as well as the various environmental factors that contribute to their happiness. Factors like noise level, weather and even air pollution will be accounted for when individuals’ happiness levels are mapped out in the UK. What kind of app will they come out with next I wonder?

[From The Star]

10 Levels of Intimacy in Communication

By Samuel Oduneye, on August 17th, 2010

We can all agree that the Digital Age has changed the way we communicate and the level of intimacy associated with it.

Jin Lee new graphic called “10 Levels of Intimacy in Communication” definitely opens the floor for further discussion. What do you think of the levels? Are there similarities in research or scientific communication?

[via Design Year Book]

The NEW Post-Secondary TTC Metropass

By MBPGSU, on August 16th, 2010

If you “ride the rocket” the following information might be of use to you (you can also find more info at http://www.utsu.ca/content/1427):

TTC Metropass Update!

The NEW Post-Secondary TTC Metropass will be available soon!
How to get yours

Step 1: Pre-register
Pre-register at: www.datacard.com/ttc
Enter Access Code uot75011
Print and keep your confirmation!

Step 2: Get Post-Secondary TTC Student Photo ID
Get the ID during the following:

August 25, 26, 27
Hart House – 7 Hart House Circle
Arbour Room/Sammy’s Student Exchange
10:00 to 6:00

August 30, 31 and September 1, 2, 3
UC Room 163
15 King’s College Circle
10:00 to 6:00

Bring .00 (cash only), your Tcard and one other form of ID, plus the confirmation printout from Step 1.

Step 3: Purchase your Metropass
Purchase your Post-Secondary Metropass at each month
Starting August 25th

Hours are 10:00-6:00 between the period August 25-August 31

Sunnybrook Research Institute’s Best Summer Research Project

By Samuel Oduneye, on August 13th, 2010

Congrats to the awardees of the “Sunnybrook Research Institute’s Best Summer Research Project Poster competition” (try saying that 3 times very fast, we have an award for that too!):

The awardees for each discipline were:

For CE – David Katz – 1st place award

Supervisor: Don Redelmeier

Project title: Are Habituated Motorists Generally Safe Drivers?

For CIB – Alvin Lee – 1st place award

Supervisor: Robert Jankov

Project title: Effects of Rho-Kinase Inhibitor on Chronic Inflammatory Lung Disease in a Neonatal Rat Model

For CIB – Lauren Greenwood – 2nd place award

Supervisor: Yana Yusanova

Project title: Acoustics vs. Kinematics: In Search of a Diagnostic Measure

For IM – Stefan Hadjis – 1st place award

Supervisor: Rajiv Chopra

Project title: Treatment of Prostate Cancer using MRI-Controlled Transurethral Ultrasound Therapy: from 2D to 3D

For MCB – Hiten Naik – 1st place award

Supervisor: J.C. Zuniga-Pflucker

Project title: Activation of the Delta-like 4 Promoter by FoxN1

A total of 108 summer students were hired through Research Administration for the time period April 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010.Of this total, 25 were hired by Clinical Epidemiology (CE), 2 hired by Centre for Health Sciences Services (CHSS), 31 were hired by Clinical Integrative Biology (CIB), 31 were hired by Imaging Research (IM), and 17 were hired by Molecular Cellular Biology (MCB). Of these, a total of 28 entered the Best Summer Research Project Competition poster session, 5 from CE, 0 from CHSS, 11 from CIB, 4 from IM, and 8 from MCB.

We Are What We Eat!

By AnnaG, on August 10th, 2010

Long time ago I realized that by changing our diet we could solve many health problems. So, despite the disapproval of my family, I slowly started to change my diet and healthy eating has become my hobby. Currently, I am a pescaterian, which means that my diet consists of plant food as well as fish. This way I eliminate from my diet the hormones and antibiotics that come with meat. Yeas, I know that many fish have high levels of mercury and PCB, as well as cholesterol and fat, but I am not ready to say “no” to it yet.

A Layman’s Primer to Understanding Medical Biophysics

By Guest Blogger, on August 9th, 2010

(by Kathy Wilson)

It’s not something you think you would know or understand when you look at or hear the name alone, but the simple fact is that we have all come across applications of medical biophysics at some point or the other in our lives. Almost every machine that helps doctors perform diagnostic procedures through invasive or non-invasive techniques is an example of what the medical biophysics field has achieved. To put it in simple terms, medical biophysics applies the principles of physics to biological processes to facilitate applications in the medical field. The most common medical biophysics application would probably be your X-ray machine.

Besides being used for medical imaging for diagnostic purposes, medical biophysics is also applied in the field of oncology for both the diagnosis and the treatment of cancer through techniques like radiolabelling and molecular imaging. It also finds importance in the research of vasculature and the function of the circulatory system.