Everything is made of something. Books are made of pages, which are made of paper, which is made of wood. All of these items are made up of molecular complexes that break down into tiny atoms. What differentiates these atoms from one another is the number of subatomic particles, protons and neutrons, that compose them.… Keep Reading
The universe is comprised of billions of galaxies—encompassing all of space, all of time, and all of its contents. It all started with a Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. On Nov. 16, particle physicist and cosmologist Oscar Hernández spoke about the Big Bang at AstroMcGill’s event Where, When & Will It Ever End: a… Keep Reading
A global effort, with contributions by McGill astrophysicists including Assistant Professor of Physics in the McGill Space Institute (MSI), Daryl Haggard, and postdoctoral researcher Melania Nynka, has detected gravitational waves coming from the collision of two neutron stars in orbit. Among the many implications of this discovery, the origin of certain elements—such as gold—emerged. Gravitational… Keep Reading
On Sept. 20, the Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) General Council held its second meeting of the academic year. On the agenda was the announcement of available positions within the Society, responses to the increase in club activity, and comments on upcoming academic initiatives. New Student Positions to be Filled SUS President Jasmine Leung began… Keep Reading
On Sept. 14 at Soup and Science, students were made privy to the exciting field of Sustainable Materials Chemistry, as presented by Matthew Harrington, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. “Since 1950 we’ve accumulated over five billion metric tonnes of plastic in our environment and landfills with a projected increase to 12 billion… Keep Reading
Rapid chemical analysis that takes days to complete in a lab can now be done with the click of a button. A self-proclaimed “Beast in Science,” associate professor in the McGill Department of Chemistry, Nicolas Moitessier, worked with his team of computer engineers and biochemists at the Moitessier Research Group in Montréal to develop new… Keep Reading
“I can’t sleep some nights if I’m thinking about a model,” Rob Harkness said, laughing. Though easy to misinterpret, Harkness, a chemistry PhD student from the Mittermaier lab—who study biological systems primarily using calorimetry and NMR—is in fact talking about science. “I’ve woken up some nights to text my supervisor, ‘Is it this?’” he explained.… Keep Reading
The path to sustainable science achieved another milestone when chemistry professor Chao Jun Li and his team published their findings in Science Advances last week. The group have uncovered a way to convert aldehydes into carboxylic acids. However, unlike traditional synthesis methods, which use prohibitively expensive quantities of silver or carcinogenic chromium reagents, Li’s group… Keep Reading
