Technology

When Your Phone Makes Time Disappear

Lia Erisson — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:41:46 +0000

When I think about the first few hours of my day, I picture myself getting up, making breakfast, picking out my outfit, and tidying my apartment. What I don’t often recall are the 30 or so minutes I spend doomscrolling on Instagram or playing video games as soon as I wake up. To be honest, that time barely registers as having existed at all.

In all likelihood, you have similar experiences in your day-to-day life.

Why Were Nevalyaska Dolls Once Made With Gunpowder?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:35:27 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

I searched eBay for a “nevalyaska.” I just had to have one because of the fascinating story I came across about this little doll’s origin in the Soviet Union.

White Noise May Worsen Sleep

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:40:01 +0000

Getting a good night’s sleep is paramount to health; and yet, whenever we reach for a sleep aid, we are told there are risks involved.

How Dreams and Frog Hearts Led to the Discovery of Neurotransmitters

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:44:10 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The banging on the door at 3 in the morning of March 12, 1938, by Gestapo agents was fierce. They were rousing Otto Loewi out of bed to drag him off to jail. His crime? Loewi was Jewish. It didn’t matter that two years earlier he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for a landmark experiment that was destined to change the course of medicine.

Granitoids, Pebbled Ice and Crescent Chips: Curling Chemistry

Ada McVean M.Sc. — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 17:48:37 +0000

As you can imagine, there's a lot of physics involved in curling. Rotation speeds, angles, momentum transfer, friction analysis, ecetera. But would you also believe there's a bunch of chemistry at play here, too?

Rare Blood Clots After Certain COVID Vaccines, Explained

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:12:37 +0000

The light at the end of the pandemic tunnel was marred by a worrying shadow. As the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, headlines fuelled anxiety: some people were developing life-threatening blood clots after receiving either the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (made by one of its subsidiaries, Janssen Vaccines) or the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot.

Interesting Chemistry Hides in Cookware

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:57:51 +0000

Like most chemists, I like to cook. After all, what is cooking but the appropriate mixing of chemicals? In the lab we use flasks and beakers, but how do we equip our kitchen? Tiffany's in New York offers a silver frying pan for thousands of dollars, specialty stores sell gleaming copper pots for a couple of hundred, while a thin aluminum pot can be had most anywhere for a few dollars. What's the difference?

If You Play With Fire, You Can Get Burned

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:20:30 +0000

Fountain candles are small tubes filled with chemicals that when ignited spew out a plume of glowing sparks into the air. They sure capture attention! The effect can last a few seconds (cake fountain candles), up to a minute (bottle fountain sparklers) or several minutes (special effects for stage shows and concerts). These devices all consist of some combustible materials packed into a cardboard tube with the length of the visual effect being determined by the amount and specific composition of the chemicals packed into the tube.

Bumpy, Not Broken: What Turbulence Really Means

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 02:17:29 +0000

If you’re anything like me, flying doesn’t exactly bring out your most relaxed self. I recently crossed the Atlantic and encountered a stretch of turbulence that had me gripping the armrest with the primal determination of a newborn testing its palmar grasp reflex. This is the article I wish I could’ve read at 35,000 feet, somewhere between bargaining with the universe and believing my snack choice was my “last meal.”

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.

Deceitful AI Videos Mislead Seniors on Important Health Issues

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

I had never received an email in Vietnamese before. My request for an interview had been written in English, and the channel I had reached out to made English-language videos, but the reply I received was a simple question written in Vietnamese: “What can we help each other develop?”

The man in the videos was white, but of course, he was never real in the first place.

Traffic Has Increased at My Office. It's Because of the Ducks

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:15:56 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Shedding Accurate Light on Light Therapies: What Photobiomodulation Does—and Doesn’t—Do

Daniel Barolet MD, FRCPC — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:34:29 +0000

Light is often described as the source of life—and in many ways, that’s true. It drives photosynthesis, regulates our sleep–wake rhythm, and influences mood. In recent years, though, light has also been promoted as a medical treatment. Some claims make biological sense; others, like so-called intravenous light detox, do not.

As someone who has spent more than two decades studying and applying photobiomodulation (PBM), I’ve seen both credible science and creative marketing. PBM can help, but only when the right wavelengths, doses, and treatment schedules are used.

Milk History Does a Body Good

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:15:23 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The history of humans drinking cow’s milk is fascinating and not devoid of controversy.

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.