CBS is home to a wide range of innovative and interdisciplinary research programs. The research stories highlighted in this page showcase some of the exciting discoveries emerging from our labs and field sites. These stories have been written by graduate students in the SCRIBE (Students Communicating Research in Biology Education) program [1]. SCRIBE writers take an active role in translating and communicating research results for non-specialist audiences as they develop their knowledge mobilization skills.

Some of our students' SCRIBE stories have been published in CBS research magazines. Click on the thumbnails below to read the first (2018) and second (2021) edition of our research magazine.

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For more information about research taking place in the college, or the SCRIBE writing program, please contact the Associate Dean of Research's Office [4].

Current Stories

Date	Image	Article Title
Sept. 19, 2023		Shedding Light on an Age-old Problem: Researchers Probe Muscle Function Decline in Older Adults [5]
Sept 6, 2023		What is the Key to Stable Ecosystems? Researchers Find Answers in Economic Principles [6]

Past Stories

Date	Image	Article Title
Aug 30, 2023		Scientists are Harnessing the Magic of Math to Predict Species Extinction [7]
Aug 10, 2023		Surviving Pipelines: Young Pacific Salmon Respond Differently to Oil Spills [8]
Aug 1, 2023		Beyond Birds: Wildlife Rehabilitators Discover Spread of Avian Influenza to Small Mammals [9]
June 14, 2023		Just an Arm's Reach Away: The Role of Thyroid Hormones in Urchin Development [10]
May 25, 2023		Un-processing Obesity: Insights into the Relationship Between Processed Foods and Obesity in Parents and Young Children [11]
May 3, 2023		Fighting Off Fungi: New Molecular Tool Joins the War Against Fungal Pathogen [12]
Apr 3, 2023		A Better Morning Brew: Researchers Shed Light on the Asynchronous Flowering of Coffee Plants [13]
Mar 2, 2023		Can Cannabis Treat Brain Cancer? Study Shows that Molecules in Cannabis Have the Potential to Attack Tumour Cells [14]
Feb 23, 2023		Genetic Diversity May Hold the Key to Bringing Back an Iconic Endengered Tree [15]
Jan 30, 2023		Have Your Estrogen and Eat it Too: Phytoestrogens in Soy may Support Kidney Health, Study Finds [16]
Jan 23, 2023		When Squirrels Win the Spruce Cone Lottery, They Stop Shouting "Get Off My Lawn!" [17]
Jan 16, 2023		The Heart Wants what the Heart Needs: Sutdy Offers New Insight into Cardiac Adaptations in Aquatic Athletes [18]
Jan 4, 2023		Divergence Makes the Genome Wander: What an Icelandic Fish is Teaching Scientists About Evolution [19]
Dec 8, 2022		There's Something in the Water: Accurately Identifying Freshwater Microbial Communities [20]
Nov 30, 2022		Small but Mighty: The Surprising Role of Bacteria in Brain Development [21]
Oct 19, 2022		Attack is the Best Form of Defense: Finding New Ways to Target Cystic Fibrosis Bacteria [22]
Sept 19, 2022		Spying on Seabirds: Combining Old and New Tools to Understand How Kittiwakes Expend Energy [23]
Aug 29, 2022		The Roots of Change: How Human Activity is Altering Plant Interactions with Fungi [24]
Aug 16, 2022		A Food Web of Lies: How Misinformation in the Seafood Supply Chain Affects our Role as Top Predators [25]
July 28, 2022		Let Them Play: How Richer Home Environments Make Mice More Social [26]
July 14, 2022		Eat Your Leafy Greens: Dietary Nitrate Improves Metabolic Health, Study Finds [27]
July 11, 2022		Getting the Most out of Grading: How to Make Student Assessment more "Authentic" [28]
July 4, 2022		Stopping the Spread: The Fight Against Metastatic Cancer [29]
June 20, 2022		Low Oxygen Impairs Brain Development in Fish, but the Fish Aren't Stressed About It [30]
June 6, 2022		Life in the Cold Lane: Study Sheds New Light on Beetle Biodiversity in the Sub-Arctic [31]
May 24, 2022		Plant Roots and Mycorrhizal Fungi: The Plot Thickens in a 500-Million-Year-Old Mystery [32]
May 13, 2022		Folic Acid: Friend or Foe? Excess Folic Acid During Pregnancy Without Enough Choline Can Promote Obesity in Offspring [33]
Apr 14, 2022		When Habitual Exercise Becomes a Problem: The Link Between Exercise Addiction and Low Energy Availability [34]
Mar 22, 2022		Fish Out of Water: an Unexpected Discovery [35]
Feb 4, 2022		Learning how to Learn: an Instructional Guide [36]
Jan 17, 2022		Catch me if you can: study reveals the best ways to mark and recapture sea lampreys [37]
Dec 10, 2021		Study Finds Key Brain Protein May Have Role in Psychiatric Disorders [38]
Oct 18, 2021		Chilled out: How Turtles Survive in Frozen Ponds for Months Without Oxygen [39]
Oct 5, 2021		Restoring Natural Habitat on Farmland Yields Big Biodiversity Payoff [40]
Sept 20, 2021		Tiny Wasps Have Big Impact on Spruce Budworm Outbreaks [41]
Aug 17, 2021		It’s a No-brainer: Study Sheds New Light on How Tumour Cells Invade Brain Tissue [42]
July 22, 2021		Gone Fishing: Fish Oil Supplements Reduce Impacts of Breast Cancer in Obese Mice [43]
July 15, 2021		eStudy Turns Conventional Thinking on Myofascial Back Pain Upside Down [44]
July 6, 2021		eDNA: a Conservation Game-changer [45]
June 28, 2021		The Evolution of Learning and Behavior: How Toads Could Unlock the Complexities of Human Behavior [46]
June 14, 2021		How to Improve Drug Production: An Unbe-leaf-able Story [47]
June 8, 2021		Genome Miners Strike Toxin Gold [48]
May 26, 2021		Feed Your Genes: How Genetics Influence Our Response to Food [49]
May 18, 2021		Don’t Fret, Just Sweat [50]
May 10, 2021		Smaller Brains Help Toads Survive a Harsh Life atop Mountains [51]
May 5, 2021		The State of Matter Matters: How Does Consumption of Solid Versus Liquid Fats Affect Appetite? [52]
Apr 26, 2021		Fishing for Ecological Opportunity in Ashby Lake [53]
Apr 19, 2021		Hey, Stress, LEAve Them Plants Alone [54]
Apr 9, 2021		Antidepressants in the Water Affect Daphnia and Their Babies… and Their Babies’ Babies! [55]
Mar 30, 2021		Following the Fertilizer Trail: Study Explains How Nutrient Run-off Leads to Far Off Impacts [56]
Mar 15, 2021		Lost in Translation: Deconstructing Different Knowledge Systems to Improve Cross-Cultural Communication [57]
Feb 19, 2021		Engaging Diverse Learners in Biology [58]
Jan 5, 2021		There’s Nothing Fishy About It: Omega-3’s in Fish Oils Reduce Inflammation [59]
Dec 17, 2020		No More “Use it or Lose it”: New Discovery May Stave Off Muscle Loss During Post-Injury Recovery [60]
Dec 1, 2020		A Diagnostic Bull’s-eye? Researchers Use Platelets and Citrate to Take Aim at Lyme Disease [61]
Oct 28, 2020		This is your brain (waves) on drugs [62]
Sept 18, 2020		Ribosome Royale: A Specialized Secret Agent in the Fight to Detect Cancer [63]
July 6, 2020		Caring for Caribou: Understanding How Logging Affects Survival of a Threatened Species [64]
June 10, 2020		Help Me Genome, You’re My Only Hope: A Fishy Resistance Story [65]
May 28, 2020		Take This to Heart: TBC1D1 May Help Reduce Risk of Heart Disease in Diabetics [66]
May 7, 2020		Blooming Change: A Story of Adaption [67]
Mar 13, 2020		It Takes a Village: Citizen Scientists Monitor Canada’s Favourite Butterfly [68]
Feb 28, 2020		Eat Lots, Fly Early: Supplemental Feeding Leads to Earlier Fledging in Canada Jays [69]
Feb 21, 2020		Together We Stand, Divided We Fall: How Microbes Cooperate in the Human Gut [70]
Feb 4, 2019		We Can’t Direct the Wind, but We Can Adjust the Sails: Using Models to Predict Hypoxia in Lake Erie [71]
Jan 24, 2020		You are What You Eat, but What Should Your Food Eat? Feed-additive Benefits in an Antibiotic-free Future [72]
Jan 16, 2020		Historical Fish Stocking Records may Hold the Key to Saving the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout [73]
Jan 7, 2020		Bold is Best: How Personality Impacts Mating and Chick Survival in Arctic Seabirds [74]
Dec 6, 2019		A Tale of Two Worlds: Emersion and Exploration Behavior in an Amphibious Fish [75]
Nov 5, 2019		What’s Really in your Protein Powder? [76]
Oct 22, 2019		When Cutting Off Blood Supply is A Good Thing: Using Ischemic Preconditioning to Enhance Exercise Performance [77]
Oct 1, 2019		How to Find a Needle in a Haystack, Fast [78]
Sept 16, 2019		Limited Oxygen Builds Stronger Alligator Hearts, Study Finds [79]
Sept 4, 2019		Why You Should Keep Your Finger on the ‘Pulse’ of Carb Substitutes [80]
Aug 15, 2019		Water, Sugar, Salt: A Winning Combination in Hockey [81]
Aug 7, 2019		Limited Phosphorous Supply? Try Your Friendly Neighbourhood Fungi [82]
Aug 2, 2019		Growing Up is Hard: Study Explains High Mortality in Sea Urchins Following Metamorphosis [83]
July 30, 2019		Breaking Taboo: Understanding the Evolution of Menstruation [84]
July 25, 2019		How Rapid Evolutionary Change has Made Landlocked Salmon Less Seaworthy [85]
July 22, 2019		Tips for Healthy Living: Eat Healthy, Exercise, and…Spit in a Tube [86]
July 16, 2019		To Divide or not to Divide? That is the Question Being Answered by Dlx Proteins in Developing Embryo Cells [87]
July 10, 2019		More than Just a Hunger Hormone: Ghrelin Could Help Prevent Diabetes [88]
July 3, 2019		Fruit Flies (Yes, Fruit Flies!) Reveal New Insights into Animal Aggression [89]
June 28, 2019		Frogs of a Stressor Evolve Together [90]
June 24, 2019		Candy or Chips? An Analysis of Taste Preferences and Why it Matters to Your Health [91]
June 13, 2019		A Step Forward in Understanding Injurious Fall Risk in Older Adults [92]
June 5, 2019		The “Goldiloxygen” Zone: Finding the Oxygen “Sweet Spot” for Growing Human Cells in the Lab [93]
May 29, 2019		Poop Bacteria versus C. difficile: Pathogen Proves to be a Complex Opponent in the Battle Between Good and Bad Gut Bacteria [94]
May 22, 2019		‘Tis but a Scratch! Damselflies Lose a Limb to Escape Predators in the Nick of Time [95]
May 13, 2019		Go Ahead and ‘Sweat It’: How to Survive as a Fish Out of Water [96]
May 8, 2019		DNA May Provide Clues Towards Personalized Treatments for Metabolic Syndrome [97]
May 1, 2019		Genetic Study of Early Maturing Salmon Yields Surprise Discovery [98]
April 25, 2019		Got Mussels? Understanding Why Turbid Rivers Have More Bivalve Shellfish [99]
April 16, 2019		Getting to the Heart of the Matter in Aquatic Ecosystem Stability [100]
April 12, 2019		Making Sense of Moving Through Life [101]
April 5, 2019		Biting the Bullet: Why Some Canadians and Wildlife Literally ‘Eat Lead [102]
April 2, 2019		Feathered Jet Setters: Tree Swallows Map out Complex International Routes and Stopovers During Migration [103]
Mar 29, 2019		Study Shows How Agrochemicals Can Increase Risk of Parkinson’s Disease  [104]
Mar 26, 2019		Know Your Enemy: Do Invasive Species Evolve More Rapidly? [105]
Mar 22, 2019		When it Comes to Overtraining in Athletes, Less May be More [106]
Mar 20, 2019		Bill C-69 Fails to Deliver on Indigenous Consultation and Knowledge Systems [107]
Mar 14, 2019		Investigation into Novel Gene Mutation Provides Surprising Insights into Rare Kidney Disease [108]
Mar 6, 2019		New Study Explains Link Between High Fat Diet and Diabetes [109]
Feb 26, 2019		Fishing for Answers: Using Seabirds to Better Understand Fish Populations [110]
Feb 19, 2019		Are Strawberries too Tasty to Evolve? [111]
Feb 11, 2019		How to Build a Better Trap for an Invasive Pest: Study its Personality [112]
Feb 4, 2019		Unfolding the Mystery of How Plants Defy Dehydration [113]
Jan 28, 2019		Winter Blues? Study Suggests Exercise Builds both Fitness and Cold Tolerance [114]
Jan 18, 2019		Fatty Acids Tell a Genetic Story about Health Risks, Says Study [115]
Jan 7, 2019		Uncovering New Pieces of the Bacterial Cell Division Puzzle [116]
Dec 13, 2018		Tape: the Latest Weapon Against Back Pain [117]
Dec 12, 2018		Linking Humans to Fisheries Food Webs [118]
Nov 21, 2018		Zebrafish Moms May Protect Eggs from Stress with Hormone that Reduces Cell Death [119]
Nov 8, 2018		Combatting Obesity with ‘Methyl Donor’ Micronutrients [120]
Oct 12, 2018		Novel Potential Role for Vitamin D During Puberty [121]
Sept 26, 2018		Helping Farmers Avoid Sour Grapes: Researchers Develop Test for Hidden Viruses in Ontario’s Vineyards [122]
Sept 12, 2018		CBS Turns a Scientific Eye to Improving Teaching and Learning [123]
Aug 30, 2018		Researchers Get it “Right” in the Study of Heart Failure [124]
Aug 22, 2018		Solid and Liquid Fat Get Digested Differently, Says Study [125]
Aug 16, 2018		Herbal Medicine Fraud: Do You Know What’s in Your Pill? [126]
Aug 8, 2018		Reduced Skin Sensitivity in Older Adults May Contribute to Poor Balance [127]
Aug 1, 2018		Plant Movement Important for Wind Pollination, Study Says [128]
July 25, 2018		Study Paves Way to Better Identify and Treat Important Pathogen [129]
July 18, 2018		Starting out Strong: Inspiring Lifelong Dietary Habits in Preschoolers [130]
July 11, 2018		Tick Tock: Calibrating the “Molecular Clock” to Date a Species’ Evolutionary History [131]
July 5, 2018		Understanding How Cellular Components Function as a Team [132]
June 27, 2018		How to Multi-task with Ease: Train the Body and Mind as One [133]
June 20, 2018		Want to Know How to Survive Extreme Environments? Ask an Amphibious Fish [134]
June 14, 2018		Revealing the Hidden Relationships Inside Plant Cell [135]
June 7, 2018		Regulating Blood Flow Takes Team Work [136]
May 31, 2018		Not All Frogs are Created Equal When it Comes to Measuring Environmental Quality [137]
May 24, 2018		When Brain Regions Can’t Communicate, and How to Prevent It [138]
May 17, 2018		New Research Reveals How Our Body Responds to Muscle Fatigue [139]
May 9, 2018		Deciphering Mode of Bacterial Infections Could Help Cystic Fibrosis Patients Breathe Easier [140]
May 1, 2018		Lichens: a Bellwether of Biodiversity in City Parks [141]
April 18, 2018		New Possible Drug Targets Emerge for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis [142]
April 9, 2018		Genetics Help Power Atlantic Salmon Restoration [143]
Mar 28, 2018		Unlocking the Potential for Lipid Production in Plants [144]
Mar 21, 2018		You Can't Make a Sea Urchin Without Breaking Some Cells [145]
Mar 16, 2018		A Study in Purple: an Emerging Symbol for Healthy Food [146]
Mar 8, 2018		Common fluorescent label has unintended impact on health of zebrafish [147]
Feb 23, 2018		Study Discovers Unexpected Ability in Cell-trafficking Protein [148]
Feb 7, 2018		Study Shows New Twist on Mind-muscle Connection [149]
Jan 26, 2018		Gaining virtual insights into the molecular structure of the brain [150]
Jan 10, 2018		Iron Deficiencies More Common in Elite Athletes than Previously Thought [151]
Jan 10, 2018		“Junk” DNA Predicts Body Size in Seed Shrimp [152]