Student Contributors

Is it Time to Cut Mouthwash from Your Oral Health Routine?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

I find that I always go in and out of “mouthwash phases.” Sometimes I convince myself that it is an absolutely necessary component of my oral health routine, while in other moments in life I concede that a two-minute brush and a good flossing will suffice. However, I recently have been finding the mouthwash section of the pharmacy less appealing. I figure now is as good a time as ever to answer a reader’s query: What’s the scoop on using mouthwash? Will it deplete my nitrous oxide?

Who Gets to Speak Online?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

If you spend any time online, you’ve probably noticed that the internet has a bit of a misinformation problem. Scroll long enough and you’ll encounter an influencer with a ring light, discount code, and unwavering confidence explaining how coffee enemas cure cancer, broccoli ruins your hormones, and modern healthcare is a conspiracy. It’s chaotic, occasionally absurd, and when it comes to health advice, sometimes deadly.

China has decided it’s had enough.

A Bear’s Den and a Spaceship May Have More in Common Than You Think

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Having recently moved to Prague, I have spent many of my weekends in the Czech countryside. Life there is slow, with a usual day involving a long walk in the forest as the main event. I am often reminded by my grandmother to keep my eyes and ears peeled (my words, not hers) for wild boars – especially young ones. Now might be a good time to look at this image of these delightful beasts.

Best Before but Not Bad After

Cat Wang MScPH — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 19:13:00 +0000

From grocery stores to our medicine cabinets, dates stamped on products carry a subtle authority. These "best before" or "expiration" dates guide our consumption, influence our purchasing decisions, and, in some cases, shape the ingredients list on our favourite food products. But what do these dates really mean? Who decides them, and how are they determined?

Are Levitating Trains a Health Hazard?

Haleh Cohn BSc — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

For anyone who flies into Shanghai Pudong International Airport, it’s a rite-of-passage to take the Maglev -- short for magnetic levitation -- train into the city. The railway is as much a tourist attraction as it is a transportation system.

I was on board the train this summer, gleefully watching the speed climb to over 300 km/hour, when I overheard the woman beside me ask if the magnetic field emissions posed a health risk.

The Bonk Stops Here

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Walk any marathon finish line and you’ll see them: hundreds of sad, sticky rectangles decorating the asphalt like fallen soldiers of fructose. Energy gels, those gooey, neon-packet shots of “rocket fuel”, are both the saviour and the punchline of endurance sport. They’re a large part of the reason half the field finishes upright, while the other half spends mile 22 negotiating with their intestines.

How a Montreal-Made AI Device Is Helping Surgeons See the Invisible

Abhay Parmar BSc — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

When removing a brain tumour, the distinction between healthy tissue and cancer isn’t visible to the naked eye. Even advanced imaging can miss what hides between those boundaries. For years, this limitation meant surgeons could never be fully sure whether every cancer cell was gone. But a new Montreal-made device called SENTRY is changing that. Co-developed by the Montreal-based company Reveal Surgical, Dr.

The 'Nappuccino': Myth or Midday Miracle?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I never quite outgrew the afternoon nap phase we all went through as kids. Among my friends, napping was (and still is) considered to be my “thing." From my friends creating a photo album of me dozing in the library to getting me a pajama set for my birthday, it’s been a hard reputation to shake. As someone who consistently gets slammed with the strong yearn to catch some post-lunch Zzz’s, the caffeine nap strategy is one I find fascinating.

The Tongue Map Trap

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:51:14 +0000

Let me set the scene: it’s the evening, I’m doomscrolling in bed (as is tradition), and a video from Emma Chamberlain pops up. She's slurping espresso with a “coffee expert” who confidently explains that this technique helps spray the coffee across different “taste zones” of the tongue: sweet at the tip, salty on the sides, bitter at the back, and so on. I sit up, wide-eyed, heart beating loud. Why? Because I’ve just witnessed a science myth that I’ve never encountered before in the wild.

No, Drinking Milk Will Not Increase Your Chances of Winning a Nobel Prize

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“The countries that drink MILK WIN more NOBEL PRIZES.”

Imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge for some milk to add to my coffee and was greeted by this statement. Puzzled, I couldn’t help but scoff as I poured the milk into my cup. Before returning it to the fridge, I of course snapped a picture to send to my friends.

The False Economy of Education Cuts

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 23:45:06 +0000

Why This Matters (Even If You Don’t Live There)

A public education system is the scaffolding of any democracy. It’s where young citizens learn not only arithmetic and grammar, but curiosity, empathy, and the habits of coexistence. Undermine it, and you don’t simply erode a talent pipeline, you corrode the social fabric itself.

A Century in the Making: The DNA Discovery Story

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:13:49 +0000

When most people hear about the discovery of DNA, they picture James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, triumphantly holding up a model of the double helix. But DNA’s story doesn’t begin, or end, there. In fact, the molecule that carries our genetic code had been sitting quietly in lab notebooks for almost a century before Watson and Crick entered the scene. The journey from obscure cellular “gunk” to the blueprint of life is a tale full of false starts, overlooked heroes, and more than a little scientific drama.

Seeds of Hope Require Roots of Integrity: Remembering Jane Goodall

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

On Wednesday October 1st, 2025, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away while on a speaking tour in the United States. As an esteemed scientist whose life mission was to advocate for wildlife, promote conservation, and strengthen ties between humans and other members of the animal kingdom, she stayed true to her mission up until her final moments. A researcher who spent more of her time traveling than not (300 days out of the year), Dr.

Faster, Higher, Stronger… Enhanced?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

For most people, track and field exists as a fleeting summer spectacle: ten days every four years when the fastest, strongest, and most gravity-defying humans wage war on a 400-metre oval. For me, this sport is much more. During my time as a varsity athlete, I was consumed by the oval: on it, I trained and competed; beyond it, I devoured every development in the professional track world.

Can Nature Design Technology Better Than Us?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Biomimicry, a scientific field dedicated to using nature as a model to guide the development of more efficient and better technology, recenters the anthropocentric narrative that often takes the reigns in science.