No, she's not cleaning out her apartment, nor is she
planting tomatoes. Instead, architecture student Sophia Vincent and her
classmates are digging into their course work for "Community Rebuilding and
Appropriate Technologies: Earth as a Sustainable Technology." The six-day
course is taught by professor Jean D'Aragon and examines traditional and
environmentally friendly building technologies.
Photo: Owen Egan
New home for
genomes
Seven labs scattered around McGill will unite in one building. The
cutting-edge study of genomes and proteins requires investigators from
disparate fields: biologists, geneticists, mathematicians and computer
scientists. Finally they'll be able to assemble under one roof to ease the
ebb and flow of multidisciplinary research.
Diabetes
discovery
Could a new treatment for diabetes be available soon? Drs. Rosenberg (McGill)
and Vinik (East Virginia Medical School) are behind a breakthrough discovery
in which the pancreas is stimulated to grow new insulin-producing cells.
Pharmaceutical companies are taking this seriously. Very seriously.
Keeping an eye on the
earth
Ten years ago world leaders made a commitment to environmental sustainability
at the Rio Earth Summit. Soon they'll meet again in Johannesburg to work out
an implementation strategy. But how effective will they be? The McGill School
of the Environment and the NGO Alternatives held a conference to discuss
Canada's involvement.
Mineral namesake
Imagine having a rock named after you. How cool is that? Geologist Robert
Martin is the latest McGill staffer to have the honour of his name
historically embedded in the Earth as well as mineralogical sciences.
A man of letters
Filmmaker and historian William Weintraub palled around for decades with
Montreal literary greats Mavis Gallant, Mordecai Richler and Brian Moore. His
correspondence with them reveals the energy of youth and the trials of making
literature your livelihood. He's donated these letters to McGill, along with
books, photos and his own considerable body of supporting work.
Takin' it to the
streets
Jean-François Boivin teaches the sort of epidemiology that falls between the
cracks: the prevalence of HIV, health concerns and practices among street
youth. The research he does with Dr. Elise Roy has won them international
recognition and helped set up a clinic for Montreal street youth.
Northern nutrition
Fermented marine mammal blubber may not be to Laurie Chan's liking, but as a
toxicologists who studies the diet of indigenous peoples in the North of
Canada, he has to know about it (he prefers the plentiful fish). How has the
pollution in the environment affected the food supply of northern dwellers?
What are the risks and benefits of adhering to a traditional food system?
Community
collaboration
Diabetes strikes up to half of the 50-year-olds in some native communities.
To fight this disease, the Mohawk town of Kahnawake, along with researchers
from McGill, has started a healthy living initiative aimed at kids: Kahnawake
Schools Diabetes Prevention Project. KSDPP's promotion of good eating and
physical activity has affected all of the community for the better.
The path to learning in
Asia
What better way to spend your summer than travelling to Asia? Fifty education
interns will go to China and Taiwan to teach English. Professor and director
of the Faculty of Education's International Office Paul Clark talks about
setting up the program and the challenges the interns will meet.
Go, team teachers,
go!
The Allan Blizzard prize for innovative teaching has gone to the McGill
School of Environment for a first-year course on the entire history of the
planet. "The Evolving Earth" was taught by a wide variety of professors so
that the students could benefit from a range of expertise.
Bad news for
dandelions
Some love them in salads, others find them pretty, but many people want to
obliterate them from their gardens. Dandelions, a bonny yellow scourge, can
now be effectively dealt with in an environmentally friendly manner using
fungus, not nasty chemicals. Professor Alan Watson says how.
G8 representative
speaks
Canada's representative to the G8 Summit talks in Kananaskis, Ambassador
Robert Fowler, drops by an international development lecture series to speak
of globalization and Africa.
Spring has sprung
Crazy weather, mood swings and budding flowers are some of the harbingers of
spring. These cue a variety of spring-time hustling and bustling on campus,
from finding jobs, trapping skunks, recruiting newcomers and getting the
barbeque ready for a good slab of meat.
Also in this issue
Letters
Kudos
Kaleidoscope
New librarian at Mac gears up for renovations and innovations while enjoying the scenery; A fond farewell to Queen Mum by a member of the Black Watch.
On campus
Making fossils at the Redpath Museum; Tour of spring wildflowers at the Morgan Arboretum and bird banding with Drs Bird and Titman; Aches and pains as you jump into warm-weather sports? Head to the Sports Clinic; Queen Noor of Jordan will talk to McGill of peace.
