The Story of Ozempic
Drug discovery is a game of long odds: only one in ten thousand lab discoveries survives the gauntlet from benchtop to prescription pad. Stranger still is the fate of a...
From Inbox to In Silico: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Drug Development
Monday morning begins: you open Outlook, fix a sentence in Word, skim a new paper, and accidentally drift onto social media where yet another “personal assistant” pops up. The recent...
Funding Canadian Biotech: How Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Public Programs Shape Our Innovation Ecosystem
1. VC vs. PE: What’s the Difference? Every biotech company begins its journey with an idea, long before it earns a single dollar. To survive those early years, it needs...
Artistic Involvement in Scientific Breakthroughs
According to Pablo Picasso, “Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” Art in its very nature does not provide an accurate depiction of reality. In fact, oftentimes, it...
Before Pictures
Cryo-electron microscopy, photon counting-computed tomography, quantum imaging – these are a few modern developments that have allowed scientists to capture microscopic details at ultra-resolution. Researchers today have a vast arsenal...
The Hardi Cinader Prize: Celebrating Graduate Students Crafting Scientific Breakthroughs with Artistry and Precision
The Hardi Cinader Prize is a well-recognized award for those in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Each year, this award is given to a graduate student...
Tu Youyou and the Discovery of Artemisinin: How Traditional Chinese Medicine Changed the World
In 2015, Tu Youyou, a Chinese pharmacologist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of artemisinin, a novel antimalarial drug. Her discovery was made possible...
Beyond the stigma: cannabinoids as a therapeutic
With the growing prevalence of marijuana use and legalization across the globe, cannabinoids, the active compounds found in cannabis – otherwise known as marijuana - are increasingly chosen to treat...
Healing Beyond Borders: Re-conceptualizing Mental Health from a Cultural Perspective
Ukuhlanya means “madness” in IsiZulu, an indigenous South African language. Individuals with ukuhlanya may experience extreme mood swings, display heightened anxiety, withdraw from their communities, or even perceive things unseen...
From friend to foe: inflammation and its consequences in aging
With age comes a myriad of mental and physical changes that no one looks forward to, such as aches and pains, forgetfulness, and dulled senses. However, when it comes to...