Media Releases
Below is a selection of recent press releases. For all the latest news please visit www.utoronto.ca/news
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Natural selection enables purple loosestrife to invade northern Ontario
TORONTO, ON - University of Toronto research has found that purple loosestrife – an invasive species that competes with native plants for light and nutrients and can degrade habitats for wildlife – has evolved extremely rapidly, flowering about three weeks earlier as it has spread to northern Ontario. This has allowed populations of the species to thrive in the colder climate with a more than 30-fold increase in seed production. “The ability of invasive species to rapidly adapt to local…
University of Toronto research warns against Wi-Fi in cars
TORONTO, ON – Plans to provide high-speed Internet access in vehicles, announced last month by Canadian telecommunications company Rogers Communications and American provider Sprint Corporation, could do with some sobering second-thought, says a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto. “Because of the potential for driver distraction, safety should be of great concern,” said Professor Ian Spence, author of a new study on the impact of auditory distractions on visual attention. “Many people assume that talking…
Recession’s after-effects could lead to cheating and workplace theft suggests new study
TORONTO, ON – We like to think we'd stick to our ethical principles no matter what. But when people feel financially deprived -- as many did from losses suffered thanks to the last market and banking meltdown -- they are more likely to relax their moral standards and transgress to improve their financial situation. They are also more likely to judge other deprived moral offenders who do the same more leniently, says a new paper to be published in Organizational…
Depression twice as likely in migraine sufferers
TORONTO, ON — The prevalence of depression among those with migraine is approximately twice as high as for those without the disease (men: 8.4% vs. 3.4%; women 12.4% vs. 5.7%), according to a new study published by University of Toronto researchers. In a paper published online this week in the journal Depression Research and Treatment, investigators reported that younger migraine sufferers were particularly at risk for depression. Women with migraines who were younger than 30 had six times the odds…
University of Toronto law professor awarded notable $225,000 Trudeau Foundation Fellowship
TORONTO, ON – Professor Kent Roach, Wilson-Prichard Chair in Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, was awarded an esteemed Trudeau Foundation Fellowship today, worth $225,000, in recognition of his outstanding scholarly and pro bono contributions in constitutional, human rights and anti-terrorism issues. The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is an independent, non-partisan charity established in 2001. Its Fellowships are awarded annually to prominent researchers and thought leaders who make meaningful contributions to the world’s social…
Scientists shed light on the brain mechanisms behind a debilitating sleep disorder
TORONTO, ON - Normally muscles contract in order to support the body, but in a rare condition known as cataplexy the body’s muscles “fall asleep” and become involuntarily paralyzed. Cataplexy is incapacitating because it leaves the affected individual awake, but either fully or partially paralyzed. It is one of the bizarre symptoms of the sleep disorder called narcolepsy. “Cataplexy is characterized by muscle paralysis during cognitive awareness, but we didn’t understand how this happened until now, said John Peever of…
Want ripples on your icicles? University of Toronto scientists suggest adding salt
TORONTO, ON – Though it’s barely the beginning of autumn, scientists at the University of Toronto are one step closer to explaining why winter’s icicles form with Michelin Man-like ripples on their elongated shapes. Experimental physicist Stephen Morris and PhD candidate Antony Szu-Han Chen were spurred to investigate by the ripples that appear around the circumference of icicles that occur naturally. It has been theorized that the ripples are the result of surface tension effects in the thin water film…
Environmental Science experts to teach and train in environmentally-friendly, sustainable building
TORONTO, ON — The University of Toronto Scarborough broke ground today (Oct. 8) on the technologically advanced Environmental Science and Chemistry Building (ESCB). Since the new building will be home to environmental sciences, UTSC is walking the talk: targeting LEED Gold certification with sustainable features that include geothermal boreholes, an Earth Tube system to supply 100 percent fresh air to the administrative wing, unique fritted glazing to minimize solar heat gain, all LED lighting fixtures and a high performance curtainwall. Once…
Norton Rose Fulbright and U of T Law collaborate with Innovation Law Clinic
TORONTO, ON — Norton Rose Fulbright and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law) are pleased to announce their collaboration in the Innovation Law Clinic (ILC) at MaRS Discovery District. The ILC is a unique student clinic dedicated to providing high quality business and IP legal services to start up and early-stage businesses. Students’ work will be supervised by Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers, who will provide their Canadian and global expertise in all aspects of innovation law. The ILC…
Precarious employment on the rise says new working paper from the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity
Toronto ON – Ontario’s economy, and its traditional economic stronghold in the Toronto region, are slowly returning to pre-recessionary levels of employment. Yet there has been growing concern about the kinds of jobs the economy is creating. The growing prevalence of “precarious employment” – jobs that are temporary, part-time, with few benefits and low wages – has been widely discussed in the media in recent months. In Untapped potential: Creating a better future for service workers, the Institute for Competitiveness…