Student Contributors

The Invisible Houseguest: Should You Worry About Radon in Your Home?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

There may be an uninvited guest in your home. It doesn’t eat your snacks, hog the remote, or leave the toilet seat up—but it might be slowly increasing your risk of lung cancer. Meet radon: a colourless, odourless, tasteless radioactive gas that may be living in your basement rent-free.

So… what exactly is it?

Can McDonald’s Cure Your Migraine? Debunking the Viral McMigraine Trend

Eva Kellner BASc and Hosna Akhgary — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

For those who consider themselves to be a part of the “Migraine girlies” community, you may be familiar with the recent McMigraine trend on TikTok’s #migraine page.

This wellness hack is one that promotes ordering McDonald’s fries and a Coke as a newfound, DIY migraine treatment. In fact, one user (whose TikTok bio says that she is a future heart surgery nurse) claims that this order is “literally the only thing that can fix a migraine.”

Let’s not jump the gun.

Lise Meitner: The Forgotten Mother of Nuclear Fission

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Science is the story of discoveries but sometimes credit isn’t given when it is due. How many women discoverers can you name? Discoveries such as DNA’s double helix structure and the greenhouse effect are tainted by their unjust past. Rosalind Franklin and Eunice Newton Foote, respectively, are two women whose work led to each of these discoveries, and both were snubbed by male researchers.

Liquid Nitrogen Tattoos

Angelina Lapalme — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 18:18:29 +0000

Body modifications have been around for a very long time. Tattoos and piercings were found on a frozen mummy dating back to 3000 B.C.E. In many countries, these modifications have cultural significance, yet they have also been introduced in western culture as a form of self-expression. But sometimes, we can get carried away.

Ultrasound During Pregnancy: Sound Advice or Sound the Alarm?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Let’s be honest—pregnancy is basically a nine-month exercise in overthinking. Is that sushi safe? Should I be sleeping on my left side? And what, exactly, is in prenatal vitamins anyway? Somewhere on that ever-expanding list sits the ultrasound: a routine, widely used tool that some corners of the internet have started side-eyeing with suspicion.

Shedding a light on shedding: The Science of Telogen Effluvium

Ana Sophia Rashid-Cocker BSc — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

It started with a few extra hairs: in my brush, on my bathroom floor, strewn across my pillow. Odd, but nothing too alarming, women shed hair all the time. But then there were more. They were dispersed across my computer at work and would fall into my hands at the slightest tug. I began to spiral: could others see them too? I swore I could feel each strand of hair popping off my scalp and drifting down my back.

Orange You Overdoing It? A Deep Dive into the Science of Zone Training

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Truth About Heart Rate Zones: Beyond the Burn

See the Rainbow - How Skittles Led me to Chromatography

Angelina Lapalme — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 14:04:30 +0000

As a kid, I always played with my food. After a trip to the grocery store, where my mom allowed me to select one candy to bring home, playing turned into experimentation. The candy I chose? Skittles! I had seen several YouTube videos of people taking these colourful candies and placing them in water, causing the vibrant colours to bleed out. Prompted by these videos, I grabbed a shallow dish, filled it with a bit of water and began placing my Skittles around the perimeter.

Does a Chocolate a Day Keep the Grim Reaper Away?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Theobromine is a naturally occurring bitter alkaloid most prominently found in cocoa beans. A metabolite of caffeine, theobromine shares some of the common effects of the household stimulant. Compared to caffeine, theobromine has a much gentler stimulating effect. This is because it lingers longer in our bodies before being metabolized.

$1,950 Worth of Woo: The Biomat, Unwrapped

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Recently, I was forwarded an email about the Biomat—a $1,950 USD “healing mat” that claims to cure everything short of a broken heart. And boy oh boy, is it ever a hotbed of pseudoscience wrapped in a cozy cotton cover and priced like a small vacation. When I dug into the science behind the Biomat’s claims, I found a textbook case of clever marketing dressed up in scientific jargon, with very little evidence to back it up.

What If We Were Able To Graze on Grass Like Cows?

Shona Hanaishi — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

On a future field trip to Mount Royal, I imagine opening up my lunch box to find a small forest of fried insects flavoured with MSG and curry powder. On the side are some salmon rice balls. Noting I missed some greenery, I grab some grass and sprinkle it onto my rice balls.

Recycling is Here to Stay: Unpacking Quebec’s Recycling Paradigm Shift

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

When the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2025, Quebec not only celebrated the beginning of a new year–– it welcomed a new, bold era of recycling. Quebec’s recycling system is now managed by Éco Entreprises Québec (EEQ), a private non-profit organization that oversees all operations related to selective collection. In Quebec, selective collection refers to the curbside recycling system where household waste is collected separately from your recyclables.

InTOXicating Beauty

Angelina Lapalme — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The inspiration for my articles comes mostly from conversations with those around me. Often my friends, family, teachers or even readers ask me questions for which I do not have an immediate answer. As someone who loves to learn, I then proceed to research the topic until I am able to explain it in my own words which then prompts the writing of an article. I owe this article topic to my mom, who like many others had questions about a widely practiced esthetic procedure that aims to freeze time. She started telling me about injections that can each change someone’s face non-surgically.

Hard Facts: What You Didn't Know About Bone Health (But Should)

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 30 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

This past year, I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time thinking about bones. Talking about bones. Reading about bones. Writing about bones. Basically, becoming the unofficial bone correspondent among my friends and family (whether they liked it or not). Why? Because I was doing my honours research project on the bone health of endurance athletes — and in the process, I fell head first into the endlessly fascinating, criminally underappreciated world of bone science.

Don’t Talk to Me Until I’ve Had My Coffee… and Breakfast!

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 23 May 2025 15:08:30 +0000

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I found ourselves chatting alongside two steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee. A great start to my day, if you ask me.

This morning, my refusal of the milk she added to her coffee sparked a conversation that drifted into old wives’ tales. She mentioned that adding milk to coffee could make the caffeine effect last longer and reduce the inevitable crash.